Henggeler, Anina; (2025) Knowledge, data and power: A study on England’s pandemic response. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The role of data and analytics in evidence-based policy (EBP) has grown significantly to become essential across government functions such as security, health and education. This trend became particularly evident in England during the COVID-19 pandemic, where diverse data sources were central to public health decisions. However, this reliance on data introduced new dimensions of influence from both state and non-state actors, raising questions about power dynamics in the use of evidence. In England, as elsewhere, pandemic data governance involved a complex mix of state and non-state actors, including Government bodies, academia, consultancy firms and technology providers. This diverse group played a crucial role in shaping data and analytics for COVID-19 policymaking, ultimately determining what was ‘known’ or ‘unknown’ and by whom. The use of data to inform and legitimise public policy had far-reaching implications, with measures such as lockdowns, border closures, quarantines, school closures and curfews significantly restricting individual freedoms and reshaping civilian life on an unprecedented scale. The increasing role of data in policy has raised questions about new dimensions of influence on the part of both state and non-state actors. Despite this, policymakers and scholars still have only limited insight into the role played by power in data use – and, more broadly, in evidence – in public policy. This study addresses this gap by asking How were data used as a form of power within evidence-based policy during England’s pandemic response? Drawing on Susan Strange and Blayne Haggart’s contributions to International Political Economy, this thesis develops a conceptual framework to explore data as a form of power within EBP. The research draws on policy documents and interviews with 20 Government officials to examine the institutional and technical arrangements surrounding contact-tracing data across two case studies. The first case investigates the NHS COVID-19 App, revealing how Google and Apple’s control over application infrastructure limited the Government’s data capabilities, thus impacting public health measures. The second case examines the power dynamics between central and local government in manual contact tracing, highlighting how centralisation marginalised local knowledge and capability and thus weakened the crisis response. This thesis brings to the forefront two distinct dimensions of structural power in the use of evidence in policymaking. In light of these findings, this thesis advocates a reevaluation of EBP frameworks to incorporate structural power dynamics, promoting an approach to evidence use that is better aligned with EBP's original aims of enhancing transparency and accountability in policymaking. Additionally, the thesis offers practical policy recommendations for navigating power dynamics in EBP, particularly in the context of pandemic preparedness. These insights serve as a call to action, urging researchers and policymakers to adopt a conceptualisation of power within evidence use, developing the EBP framework to achieve a model that is more transparent, accountable and fit for purpose in the 21st century.

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