KNOWandPOL is an EC-funded integrated project on the role of knowledge in policy making in European countries. Our case study is concerned with mental health policy in Scotland: for more, click on the header above.
This study aims to identify and understand the cognitive and intellectual roots of public policy decision making, to explore the ways of thinking which inform government.
Our team comprises Richard Freeman, Jen Smith-Merry and Steve Sturdy, and we work closely with Jenny Ozga, Martin Lawn and Sotiria Grek of the Centre for Educational Sociology, who are conducting a parallel study of education in Scotland.
Our research includes an organizational mapping of mental health policy in Scotland, as well as case studies of the Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland consultation, the concept of recovery and the development and use of indicators of mental health and well-being (WEMWBS).
We have also carried out an extended study of the role of WHO in mental health in Europe, supported by case studies of the role of WHO in mental health in Scotland and five other European countries.
We hold regular feedback sessions with research users, while a number of reports are now available from our project website.
For more information about the KNOWandPOL project, mail: j.l.smith@ed.ac.uk.