I looked back at my blog posts on the politics of ‘evidence based policymaking’ and found that I wrote quite a lot (particularly from 2016). Here is a list based on 7 key themes.
1. Use psychological insights to influence the use of evidence
My most-current concern. The same basic theme is that (a) people (including policymakers) are ‘cognitive misers’ seeking ‘rational’ and ‘irrational’ shortcuts to gather information for action, so you won’t get far if you (b) bombard them with information, or (c) call them idiots.
Three ways to communicate more effectively with policymakers (shows how to use psychological insights to promote evidence in policymaking)
The Psychology of Evidence Based Policymaking: Who Will Speak For the Evidence if it Doesn’t Speak for Itself? (older paper, linking studies of psychology with studies of EBPM)
Older posts on the same theme:
Is there any hope for evidence in emotional debates and chaotic government? (yes)
We are in danger of repeating the same mistakes if we bemoan low attention to ‘facts’
These complaints about ignoring science seem biased and naïve – and too easy to dismiss
How can we close the ‘cultural’ gap between the policymakers and scientists who ‘just don’t get it’?
2. How to use policy process insights to influence the use of evidence
I try to simplify key insights about the policy process to show to use evidence in it. One key message is to give up on the idea of an orderly policy process described by the policy cycle model. What should you do if a far more complicated process exists?
Why don’t policymakers listen to your evidence?
The Politics of Evidence Based Policymaking: 3 messages (3 ways to say that you should engage with the policy process that exists, not a mythical process that will never exist)
Three habits of successful policy entrepreneurs (shows how entrepreneurs are influential in politics)
Why doesn’t evidence win the day in policy and policymaking? and What does it take to turn scientific evidence into policy? Lessons for illegal drugs from tobacco and There is no blueprint for evidence-based policy, so what do you do? (3 posts describing the conditions that must be met for evidence to ‘win the day’)
Writing for Impact: what you need to know, and 5 ways to know it (explains how our knowledge of the policy process helps communicate to policymakers)
How can political actors take into account the limitations of evidence-based policy-making? 5 key points (presentation to European Parliament-European University Institute ‘Policy Roundtable’ 2016)
Evidence Based Policy Making: 5 things you need to know and do (presentation to Open Society Foundations New York 2016)
What 10 questions should we put to evidence for policy experts? (part of a series of videos produced by the European Commission)
3. How to combine principles on ‘good evidence’, ‘good governance’, and ‘good practice’
My argument here is that EBPM is about deciding at the same time what is: (1) good evidence, and (2) a good way to make and deliver policy. If you just focus on one at a time – or consider one while ignoring the other – you cannot produce a defendable way to promote evidence-informed policy delivery.
Kathryn Oliver and I have just published an article on the relationship between evidence and policy (summary of and link to our article on this very topic)
We all want ‘evidence based policy making’ but how do we do it? (presentation to the Scottish Government on 2016)
The ‘Scottish Approach to Policy Making’: Implications for Public Service Delivery
The politics of evidence-based best practice: 4 messages
The politics of implementing evidence-based policies
Policy Concepts in 1000 Words: the intersection between evidence and policy transfer
Key issues in evidence-based policymaking: comparability, control, and centralisation
What Works (in a complex policymaking system)?
How Far Should You Go to Make Sure a Policy is Delivered?
4. Face up to your need to make profound choices to pursue EBPM
These posts have arisen largely from my attendance at academic-practitioner conferences on evidence and policy. Many participants tell the same story about the primacy of scientific evidence challenged by post-truth politics and emotional policymakers. I don’t find this argument convincing or useful. So, in many posts, I challenge these participants to think about more pragmatic ways to sum up and do something effective about their predicament.
Political science improves our understanding of evidence-based policymaking, but does it produce better advice? (shows how our knowledge of policymaking clarifies dilemmas about engagement)
The role of ‘standards for evidence’ in ‘evidence informed policymaking’ (argues that a strict adherence to scientific principles may help you become a good researcher but not an effective policy influencer)
How far should you go to secure academic ‘impact’ in policymaking? From ‘honest brokers’ to ‘research purists’ and Machiavellian manipulators (you have to make profound ethical and strategic choices when seeking to maximise the use of evidence in policy)
Principles of science advice to government: key problems and feasible solutions (calling yourself an ‘honest broker’ while complaining about ‘post-truth politics’ is a cop out)
What sciences count in government science advice? (political science, obvs)
I know my audience, but does my other audience know I know my audience? (compares the often profoundly different ways in which scientists and political scientists understand and evaluate EBPM – this matters because, for example, we rarely discuss power in scientist-led debates)
Is Evidence-Based Policymaking the same as good policymaking? (no)
Idealism versus pragmatism in politics and policymaking: … evidence-based policymaking (how to decide between idealism and pragmatism when engaging in politics)
Realistic ‘realist’ reviews: why do you need them and what might they look like? (if you privilege impact you need to build policy relevance into systematic reviews)
‘Co-producing’ comparative policy research: how far should we go to secure policy impact? (describes ways to build evidence advocacy into research design)
The Politics of Evidence (review of – and link to – Justin Parkhurt’s book on the ‘good governance’ of evidence production and use)
5. For students and researchers wanting to read/ hear more
These posts are relatively theory-heavy, linking quite clearly to the academic study of public policy. Hopefully they provide a simple way into the policy literature which can, at times, be dense and jargony.
‘Evidence-based Policymaking’ and the Study of Public Policy
Policy Concepts in 1000 Words: ‘Evidence Based Policymaking’
Practical Lessons from Policy Theories (series of posts on the policy process, offering potential lessons for advocates of evidence use in policy)
Writing a policy paper and blog post
12 things to know about studying public policy
Can you want evidence based policymaking if you don’t really know what it is? (defines each word in EBPM)
Can you separate the facts from your beliefs when making policy? (no, very no)
Policy Concepts in 1000 Words: Success and Failure (Evaluation) (using evidence to evaluate policy is inevitably political)
Policy Concepts in 1000 Words: Policy Transfer and Learning (so is learning from the experience of others)
Four obstacles to evidence based policymaking (EBPM)
What is ‘Complex Government’ and what can we do about it? (read about it)
How Can Policy Theory Have an Impact on Policy Making? (on translating policy theories into useful advice)
The role of evidence in UK policymaking after Brexit (argues that many challenges/ opportunities for evidence advocates will not change after Brexit)
Why is there more tobacco control policy than alcohol control policy in the UK? (it’s not just because there is more evidence of harm)
Evidence Based Policy Making: If You Want to Inject More Science into Policymaking You Need to Know the Science of Policymaking and The politics of evidence-based policymaking: focus on ambiguity as much as uncertainty and Revisiting the main ‘barriers’ between evidence and policy: focus on ambiguity, not uncertainty and The barriers to evidence based policymaking in environmental policy (early versions of what became the chapters of the book)
6. Using storytelling to promote evidence use
This is increasingly a big interest for me. Storytelling is key to the effective conduct and communication of scientific research. Let’s not pretend we’re objective people just stating the facts (which is the least convincing story of all). So far, so good, except to say that the evidence on the impact of stories (for policy change advocacy) is limited. The major complication is that (a) the story you want to tell and have people hear interacts with (b) the story that your audience members tell themselves.
Combine Good Evidence and Emotional Stories to Change the World
Storytelling for Policy Change: promise and problems
7. The major difficulties in using evidence for policy to reduce inequalities
These posts show how policymakers think about how to combine (a) often-patchy evidence with (b) their beliefs and (c) an electoral imperative to produce policies on inequalities, prevention, and early intervention. I suggest that it’s better to understand and engage with this process than complain about policy-based-evidence from the side-lines. If you do the latter, policymakers will ignore you.
The UK government’s imaginative use of evidence to make policy
What do you do when 20% of the population causes 80% of its problems? Possibly nothing.
How can you tell the difference between policy-based-evidence and evidence-based-policymaking?
Key issues in evidence-based policymaking: comparability, control, and centralisation
Two myths about the politics of inequality in Scotland
Social investment, prevention and early intervention: a ‘window of opportunity’ for new ideas?
A ‘decisive shift to prevention’: how do we turn an idea into evidence based policy?
Can the Scottish Government pursue ‘prevention policy’ without independence?
Note: these issues are discussed in similar ways in many countries. One example that caught my eye today:
All of this discussion can be found under the EBPM category: https://paulcairney.wordpress.com/category/evidence-based-policymaking-ebpm/T
See also the special issue on maximizing the use of evidence in policy