Constructing a Policy Field Aimed at Homelessness: How Epistemic Communities Shape Discourse

Abstract

This paper explores the formation of the discourse that structures policies aimed at reducing homelessness in Norway. It discusses how experts interacting within epistemic communities contribute to the shaping of discourse, and how research is used to constitute the interpretation of the situation as homeless. The findings indicate that the discourse of homelessness has developed within an epistemic community, acknowledging a naturalistic definition and a structural explanation of homelessness, a community in which both researchers and policy makers have participated. The discourse is also marked by the dominant influence of international research on homelessness, rather than a focus on the local situation of people experiencing homelessness in Norway. This raises the question of whether research has mainly been used symbolically in the formative period of the policy field, strengthening the position of housing in social policies, rather than investigating the challenges of persons experiencing homelessness.