Evidently useful
31st Oct 2011
Whilst attention has understandably focused on the potential financial implosion within the eurozone, on the domestic front, last week’s announcement by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) that it is to establish the ‘UK Alliance for Useful Evidence’ is of interest to all organisations with a stake in government policy.
NESTA, an independent body which aims to make the UK more innovative, has been looking into the issue of the evidence base on which social policy and practice in the UK is conducted. Following the successful development of the US Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, which has had a strong impact on policy development in the Obama administration, the UK Alliance for Useful Evidence will provide the ‘focal point’ for the evidence agenda and seek to develop a more rigorous approach to a range of policy areas in which the use of fully-evidenced arguments is not yet standard practice – generating a greater understanding about ‘what works and what doesn’t’ in terms of public policy.
For businesses and other organisations seeking to engage with government over any given policy issue, the announcement by NESTA serves to highlight the continued need for thorough research to develop an evidence base in support of arguments being made. Given the current context of tight fiscal constraints and a Government keen to look at ways it can boost growth, the rigorous approach to policy-making advocated by NESTA is gaining prevalence. It is, of course, often the case that decisions are made on the basis of factors other than researched argument. The real test for the approach advocated by NESTA will arise when rigorously researched positions prove to be in direct conflict with a point of principle fundamental to the Government.