Policy Hub
Learns from experience of what works and what does not. A learning approach to policy development includes the following aspects:
Bridging the policy/ research divide: Reflections and Lessons from the UK / Sandra Nutley - keynote paper presented at 'Facing the Future: Engaging stakeholders and citizens in developing public policy'. National Institute of Governance Conference, Canberra, Australia 23/24 April 2003. Draws upon data from the UK to argue that there is the potential for policy decisions to be better informed by research evidence. This requires an investment in research, some rethinking of policy processes, and the development of mechanisms for bringing research and policy closer to one another.
Evaluation of Success For All: Attributing successes to specific themes/initiatives. DfES, 2005 - examines the feasibility of measuring the extent of impact of Success for All initiatives, from all themes on the cross-cutting public sector agreement targets, and the relative impact of Success for All initiatives, other policy effects and other external factors on the theme level targets.
The Foot and Mouth Disease: lessons to be learned inquiry report. TSO, 2002 - report of the independent inquiry chaired by Dr Ian Anderson, identifies the lessons that can be learnt from the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease attack. These include basing policy decisions on the best available scientific evidence and ensuring that the processes for providing scientific advice are widely understood and trusted.
Foot and mouth: applying the lessons from the 2001 outbreak - National Audit Office, 2005 - report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (HC 184 2004-2005) on the progress made by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in implementing recommendations made by the Committee of Public Accounts, following the 2001 outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease. Good progress has been made on most of the recommendations made by the Committee but some key areas remain where further work is needed.
The Future Governance - closed January 2004, consisted of 30 research projects in the social sciences concerned with lesson drawing in public policy and policy transfer.
The Inquiry into BSE and variant CJD in the United Kingdom. 2000 - this extract of the report reviews the key lessons that emerged from the BSE story, analyses what went right, what went wrong and why.
Learning lessons from the Estates Renewal Challenge Fund. ODPM, 2005 - a study which identifies transferable lessons from the Estates Renewal Challenge Fund experience, that could inform future practice in schemes involving area-based regeneration and/or local authority housing disposals.
Lessons from the Development of Cross Cutting Units. CMPS, 2002 - since 1997 a number of new cross cutting units have been set up (for example, the Social Exclusion Unit), and are beginning to work in different ways to the traditional civil service model. This brief report summarises some of the lessons to be learned from these cross cutting units in their first years of existence. The report is based on qualitative interviews with senior civil servants and a practice exchange workshop.
Lessons from top councils. Audit Commission, 2002 - first Comprehensive Performance Assessessment (CPA) of single tier and county councils in England. The CPA seeks to measure both current performance on a range of services but also provide an assessment of the council's capacity to improve in the future. The first CPA concludes that the best authorities are those that stay focused on priorities based on local people's needs and work more in partnership.
The Select Committee on Public Administration is a cross-party House of Commons Committee with the remit of examining the workings of Central Government to ensure that public services are managed effectively and fairly and that senior Government Officials are fully accountable. Key reports include:-
National School of Government offers a wide range of courses on various aspects of policy making