The literature on public policy advice underwent a shift in the 1980s with the introduction of the concept of Policy Advisory Systems. This concept explores advisory units and individuals, both within and outside the government, forming interconnected networks that support political decision-making across various sectors through policy analysis, knowledge, and expertise. Actors commonly mentioned in this context include the bureaucracy itself, which constitutes the state's analytical capacity, as well as councils, (ad hoc) commissions, research institutes, think tanks, universities, and consulting firms. Since then, this concept has gained prominence in the literature, becoming a primary framework for analyzing how different forms of knowledge influence public policies. Key themes in this literature include examining where these advisory actors are located and the dynamics shaping these systems across countries. This includes issues like the externalization and politicization of advisory processes, alongside the types of advice provided. More recently, there has been growing discussion on the operation and management of these systems within increasingly complex and polarized governance environments, where scientific knowledge itself has been scrutinized and politicized.
This panel aims to explore the diverse mechanisms through which advice informs the public policy cycle within this evolving context, spanning different jurisdictions, politico-administrative traditions, and policy sectors. Proposals of theoretical or empirical nature are invited for discussion, spanning multi-level perspectives from the individual to institutional levels, and extending to the supranational level of policy advice. It is particularly relevant to explore under-researched areas in policy advice, including case studies from Global South countries, and to examine the influence of the growing populist wave on advisory systems, amidst a rising skepticism towards expert arguments. The panel also encourages cross-national and intra-national comparisons of advisory networks across policy sectors and subsystems.