The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.tandfebooks.com/, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. There has been an enormous increase in interest in the use of evidence for public policymaking, but the vast majority of work on the subject has failed to engage with the political nature of decision making and how this influences the ways in which evidence will be used (or misused) within political areas. This book provides new insights into the nature of political bias with regards to evidence and critically considers what an ‘improved’ use of evidence would look like from a policymaking perspective. Part I describes the great potential for evidence to help achieve social goals, as well as the challenges raised by the political nature of policymaking. It explores the concern of evidence advocates that political interests drive the misuse or manipulation of evidence, as well as counter-concerns of critical policy scholars about how appeals to ‘evidence-based policy’ can depoliticise political debates. Both concerns reflect forms of bias – the first representing technical bias, whereby evidence use violates principles of scientific best practice, and the second representing issue bias in how appeals to evidence can shift political debates to particular questions or marginalise policy-relevant social concerns. Part II then draws on the fields of policy studies and cognitive psychology to understand the origins and mechanisms of both forms of bias in relation to political interests and values. It illustrates how such biases are not only common, but can be much more predictable once we recognise their origins and manifestations in policy arenas. Finally, Part III discusses ways to move forward for those seeking to improve the use of evidence in public policymaking. It explores what constitutes ‘good evidence for policy’, as well as the ‘good use of evidence’ within policy processes, and considers how to build evidence-advisory institutions that embed key principles of both scientific good practice and democratic representation. Taken as a whole, the approach promoted is termed the ‘good governance of evidence’ – a concept that represents the use of rigorous, systematic and technically valid pieces of evidence within decision-making processes that are representative of, and accountable to, populations served.
The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.tandfebooks.com/, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license.
Cairney helps us appreciate these challenges, explaining how policymakers understand and use evidence, and inviting scientists to reflect on how they can be effective in that context.’– Professor Brian Head FASSA, The University of ...
This open access book provides a set of conceptual, empirical, and comparative chapters that apply a public policy perspective to investigate the political and institutional factors driving the use of evidence to inform health policy in low ...
The Politics of Evidence and Results in International Development critically examines the context and history of the current demands for results-oriented measurement and for evidence of value for money.This book will inspire development ...
This book asks how governments in Africa can use evidence to improve their policies and programmes, and ultimately, to achieve positive change for their citizens.
Judy Robson, Sen. Carol Roessler, Rep. Melissa Sargent, Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber, Rep. Donna Seidel, Rep. Gary Sherman, Rep. Pat Strachota, Rep. Susan Vergeront, Rep. Daniel Vrakas, Rep. Joan Wade, Rep. Mandy Wright, and Rep.
This is the consensual starting point for Ray Pawson′s latest foray into the world of evaluative research. But this is social science after all and harmony prevails only in the first chapter.
This open access book offers unique insight into how and where ideas and instruments of quantification have been adopted, and how they have come to matter.
The authors deal not only with finding and using scientific evidence, but also with implementation and evaluation of interventions that generate new evidence on effectiveness.
In C. Weible, T. Heikkila, K. Ingold, & M. Fischer (Eds.), Policy Debates on Hydraulic Fracturing. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Weible, C., & Ingold, K. (2018). Why Advocacy Coalitions Matter and Practical Insights About Them.