Introduction

In research contracts, the relationship between funders, those being evaluated and commissioned researchers is a complex one and differentially impacts upon the outcome of research according to the focus, and sometimes whims, of the funder, the reaction of those sites subject to the research, the service users, the policy context, and the perspectives and theories of change of the researchers themselves. It is a complex and mixed picture with lots of pinch points where the objectivity of the research process may be compromised (Walters, 2003a, 2003b, 2005).

Arguably, all commissioned research potentially involves a contract between the funder and the researcher but there is often a conventional distinction made between basic or pure research and applied or contract research. The former is typically commissioned via research council funding and taking place within an academic context ostensibly in pursuance of knowledge for its own sake, and the latter may be commissioned via local and national government, individual organisations, and other charitable sources with a problem-oriented approach designed to impact in a more immediate way upon policy and practice. This chapter focuses on the latter, so-called ‘contract research’, where, typically, the agenda for the focus of the research is set beyond the initial control of the researcher. The regulation of research in this context is discussed but rarely acted upon (Khoshnood, 2006; Miller et al, 2006). The research is undertaken by way of a contractual agreement that can circumscribe the extent and nature of the research. The outcomes are usually explicitly linked to an aspect of policy analysis, change, implementation or development. The policy context dominates the focus of the research and predetermines to a considerable extent the agenda, approach, methods chosen and outcomes to be achieved within an inevitably constrained, and usually inadequate, budget.

Commentators have shown that following the election of New Labour in 1997, and throughout subsequent Labour administrations, there was a growth in contract research opportunities along with demand for ‘evidence-led’ policies (Parsons, 2002; Walters, 2009; Widmer, 2009; Smith 2010).