Day 9: Evidence in the real world

"You say "evidence". Well, there may be evidence. But evidence, you know, can generally be taken two ways" - Dostoevsky, Crime & Punishment, 1866

The blogs over the past two weeks have demonstrated that embedding rigorous evidence in decision making is not always a straightforward task. As the above quote shows, this is further complicated by data not always showing a single course of action for decision makers to take.

Day 8: Opening up data for better, cheaper evidence and the new army of armchair evaluators

We have talked about the need for more and better use of evidence, but this does not always mean commissioning costly academic research. Instead we can find new ways of utilising the information already available and empowering wider society to make use of it. This means that as well as innovating with new programmes and policies, we also need to innovate with the tools we use to evaluate them.

Day 7: Making the debate relevant

Not everybody thinks that evidence is the most important thing in the world. But most would recognise that knowing whether a programme of intervention is going to be harmful to them, their family or friends, is a big deal.

Day 6: Managing the politics of decision making

Research, evidence and data do not exist in a vacuum.  To influence decision making, sources of information have to compete with a myriad of other factors, ranging from political pressure, lobbyists, public opinion, ideology and personal values. If the research findings clash with the dominant view, how can these factors be managed to embed evidence into decision making?

Day 5: Dealing with negative findings

Most people would recognise that we need to improve how we measure the impact of services and programmes. Yet what do we do when an evaluation brings back negative findings? In the quest for 'what works' do we shy away from discussing what doesn't?