The coproduction of immigrant integration policy and research in the Netherlands: The case of the Scientific Council for Government Policy

Abstract

The Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) is centrally positioned within the Dutch research-policy nexus. In particular, it has developed a tradition of involvement in the field of immigrant integration. This paper analyses the role of the WRR as a 'boundary organisation' in the development of both immigrant integration research and policy in the Netherlands. It shows that the WRR not only plays a role in the diffusion of scientific knowledge to policy, but also in negotiating the boundaries and the division of labour between research and policy. It operates on the research-policy nexus, but also contributes to the shaping of this nexus. Studying the 'boundary work' of the WRR therefore allows us to develop a better understanding of how and why the relationship between immigrant integration research and policy in the Netherlands has evolved from a symbiotic relationship in the 1970s and 1980s to a more antithetical relationship in recent decades. © Beech Tree Publishing 2009.