The Dearing Inquiry as Process – Delegated Thinking and the Limits of Expert Advice

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Abstract
The Dearing Inquiry into Higher Education is assessed in terms of its contribution to a style of policy‐making which has lain dormant for two decades. The paper questions the effectiveness of national inquiries in general, and asks whether there is a case for anticipating further inquiries as proposed by the Dearing report. The Inquiry itself is examined as part of a critique of state‐sponsored delegated thinking, in which the state delegates but does not abdicate its policy‐making function. Tensions between academic experts and the elite policy‐making community are also analysed. The paper concludes that inquiries have less to do with inquiry, and more to do with the legitimation of state policy options. A way is cleared for a further paper which explores the alternatives for higher education.

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