Contracting Knowledge: Commissioned Research and the Sociology of the Environment

Abstract

Contract work for the grey-suited guardians of government research does little for the research ratings: commercial-in-confidence reports sink without trace and anonymous authors are understandably reluctant to admit their involvement in this seedy side of sociology. Academic careers do not generally depend upon successfully completed contracts or on close contact with the practicalities of policy making. In any case, the tightly programmed environment of commissioned research is certainly not conducive to the careful construction of sociological theory. Yet it would be wrong to dismiss developments within these grubby margins of sociological activity. After all, commissioned projects do represent a potential source of income. Just as important, the organisation and management of contract researching has far-reaching implications for the place of sociological analysis within such fields as health, housing and the environment.