A study led by Dundee University has spotlighted the need for a dedicated "Office of Political Staff Support" to professionalise the work of special advisers and other political aides.
The proposal is based on the findings of more than 80 interviews with special advisers and civil servants in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
It builds on previous academic work that has identified a lack of human resources processes for political staff, and seeks to improve how spads are managed to improve institutional memory and reduce turnover – making government more effective in the process.
A paper on the study, written by Prof Jennifer Lees-Marshment, says creating an Office of Political Staff Support would aim to professionalise political advising, oversee talent management and handle problems such as harassment.
“Investing public money in improving this much neglected area of political management for political advisers and staff would bring multiple benefits," Lees-Marshment writes.
“Supporting all political staff and advisers in one place will be cost efficient. An Office of Political Staff Support would develop a professional community which properly prepares and trains political advisers and the people who manage them, improving their individual performance but also the functioning of the political offices they work in, and retain high-performing political staff and advisers.”
Her paper argues that the proposed office should be for all political advisers and political staff who work for politicians. In the UK this would mean that, in addition to the dozens of spads who work for UK ministers, it would also support researchers and advisers working for MPs and advisers who help shadow ministers – a cohort extending to several thousand staff in total.
Lees-Marshment says that while investment would be needed to “create a permanent, professional and visible one-stop service for those who work for politicians”, current resources could be redeployed for some of the work.
“Existing civil servants working in roles related to political advisers and staff in parliaments, parliamentary bodies and government departments could be combined and supported to form the foundational core at little cost," she said.
In her paper, Lees-Marshment says it is clear that not all roles in the proposed office could be undertaken by civil servants. She argues that HR professionals and political advisers themselves should also share in the leadership of the office.
However she notes that civil servants would be good sources of “non-partisan information” on process issues and rules, as well as for sharing institutional knowledge.
Lees-Marshment said the professional development the Office of Political Staff Support ought to deliver should range from initial core orientation covering information political advisers need on their first day to bespoke training for longer-serving advisers.
She said training content needed to be “broad and diverse” and cover generic professional skills like unconscious bias, budgeting and project management; media management; training for managing political advisers; and bespoke political skills such as prioritising demands and “building resilience to cope with political loss”.
Lees-Marshment concludes that political advisers who work for MPs, ministers and prime ministers play a vital role in the functioning of government, but have historically received little support or effective management, to help them perform their highly demanding roles.
She said human resource management that is both practical and fit for purpose would “professionalise political advising and, in turn, support elected politicians to do their job, making government more effective”.
Her paper can be read here.