The Changing Relationships Between Research, Society and Policy in the Netherlands Reflections on the WRR ‘Máxima Report’

The WRR, The Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy, has been a key advisory body in the field of migration and integration since the late 1970s. The heated reception of its 2007 report Identification with the Netherlands—rechristened the Máxima report after a speech by the then Crown Princess—marked an important turning point. Analysis of its reception shows that scientifically informed policy advice must increasingly address two developments: the growing significance of public opinion and the changing relationship between science, policy, and politics. To continue to fulfil its role as honest broker, scientific policy advice must be aware of the breadth of academic and other stakeholder opinion and of deeper public worries and emotions, without being captured by the ‘public majority’. This is necessary in an age when reaching out to the publics—often via media—appears as the most effective route to making an impact on politicians and policy-making.