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‘Politicians have a difficult job’: Professor Jo Silvester |
Professor aims to make MPs pay their way
Euro funding for study to give politicians skills for government
THEY’VE never been lower in public esteem, and now a university is spending £100,000 in a project to find out how politicians can become more “effective”.
In the wake of the MPs’ expenses scandal City University will be investigating what factors influence MPs and councillors’ professional development.
Occupational psychologist Professor Jo Silvester is leading the year-long project, backed with European funding.
She will look at the support politicians need to develop specific skills for government, and how this is best provided.
Prof Silvester, based at the School of Social Science said: “Despite the widespread acknowledgement that politicians’ work equals, if not exceeds, that of business leaders, there is an incredible lack of research into what training politicians need to govern effectively.
“It is essential we start to understand how to support politicians as they face unique challenges such as the country’s economic recovery and public spending restraints.“
In 2002 Prof Silvester designed the first competency-based selection process for prospective parliamentary candidates for the Conservative Party. She has recently completed a similar project for the Liberal Democrat Party. Other cross-party research has led to the development of a national skills framework for local councillors, sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Professor Silvester added: “Since I started studying politicians both nationally and locally I realised they do a difficult job. They are often expected to understand technology and issues without having any real experience. For example mentoring – allowing them to work side by side with an experienced colleague – can be extremely beneficial and make them a lot more competent and effective at their job.” |
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