Back سياسة مستندة على أدلة Arabic Politika založená na faktech Czech Τεκμηριωμένη χάραξη πολιτικής Greek Política basada en evidencia Spanish سیاست‌گذاری مبتنی بر شواهد Persian Näyttöön perustuva politiikka Finnish Politique fondée sur les preuves French 証拠に基づく政策 Japanese 증거기반정책 Korean Políticas baseadas em evidências Portuguese

Evidence-based policy

Not to be confused with Policy-based evidence making, research conducted to support a pre-determined policy, or Evidence-based policing, an approach that utilizes evidence-based methods in police departments.

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Evidence-based practices

Evidence-based policy (also known as evidence-based governance) is a concept in public policy that advocates for policy decisions to be grounded on, or influenced by, rigorously established objective evidence. This concept presents a stark contrast to policymaking predicated on ideology, 'common sense', anecdotes, or personal intuitions. The methodology employed in evidence-based policy often includes comprehensive research methods such as randomized controlled trials (RCT).[1] Good data, analytical skills, and political support to the use of scientific information are typically seen as the crucial elements of an evidence-based approach.[2]

An individual or organisation is justified in claiming that a specific policy is evidence-based if, and only if, three conditions are met. First, the individual or organisation possesses comparative evidence about the effects of the specific policy in comparison to the effects of at least one alternative policy. Second, the specific policy is supported by this evidence according to at least one of the individual's or organisation's preferences in the given policy area. Third, the individual or organisation can provide a sound account for this support by explaining the evidence and preferences that lay the foundation for the claim.[3]

The effectiveness of evidence-based policy hinges upon the presence of quality data, proficient analytical skills, and political backing for the utilization of scientific information.[2]

While proponents of evidence-based policy have identified certain types of evidence, such as scientifically rigorous evaluation studies like randomized controlled trials, as optimal for policymakers to consider, others argue that not all policy-relevant areas are best served by quantitative research. This discrepancy has sparked debates about the types of evidence that should be utilized. For example, policies concerning human rights, public acceptability, or social justice may necessitate different forms of evidence than what randomized trials provide. Furthermore, evaluating policy often demands moral philosophical reasoning in addition to the assessment of intervention effects, which randomized trials primarily aim to provide.[4]

In response to such complexities, some policy scholars have moved away from using the term evidence-based policy, adopting alternatives like evidence-informed. This semantic shift allows for continued reflection on the need to elevate the rigor and quality of evidence used, while sidestepping some of the limitations or reductionist notions occasionally associated with the term evidence-based. Despite these nuances, the phrase "evidence-based policy" is still widely employed, generally signifying a desire for evidence to be used in a rigorous, high-quality, and unbiased manner, while avoiding its misuse for political ends.[5]

  1. ^ Baron, Jon (1 July 2018). "A Brief History of Evidence-Based Policy". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 678 (1): 40–50. doi:10.1177/0002716218763128. ISSN 0002-7162. S2CID 149924800.
  2. ^ a b Head, Brian (2010). "2 Evidence-based policy: principles and requirements" (PDF). Strengthening Evidence Based Policy in the Australian Federation: Roundtable Proceedings. Vol. 1. Productivity Commission. pp. 13–26. ISBN 978-1-74037-311-1.
  3. ^ Gade, Christian (2023). "When is it justified to claim that a practice or policy is evidence-based? Reflections on evidence and preferences". Evidence & Policy. 20 (2): 244–253. doi:10.1332/174426421X16905606522863. S2CID 261138726.  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  4. ^ Petticrew, M (2003). "Evidence, hierarchies, and typologies: Horses for courses". Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 57 (7): 527–9. doi:10.1136/jech.57.7.527. PMC 1732497. PMID 12821702.
  5. ^ Parkhurst, Justin (2017). The Politics of Evidence: from Evidence Based Policy to the Good Governance of Evidence (PDF). London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315675008. ISBN 978-1138939400.[page needed]

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