The use, mediation and construction of evidence by the federal bureaucracy: who is and what happens at the interface between management and academics?

Abstract:

The interface between management and academia is one of the constitutive elements of the field of public policies. The decision-making process takes place in specific contexts that mobilize different subsidies, including scientific knowledge. This article aimed to understand who performs and how the intermediation between managers and researchers occurs within the Brazilian federal government. The methods used were survey research and two case studies. The results point to intermediary bureaucrats with a high level of education, whose relational activities contribute to the role they play. There is an active posture and joint action between managers and researchers to produce applied knowledge. Therefore, the research does not corroborate the Theory of Two Communities and points to the existence of multiple epistemic communities, shaped by the decision-making context.

Keywords:
evidence-based public policies; evidence; knowledge brokerage; bureaucracy