Policy Hub
In November 2008, the National School of Government and the Public Management and Policy Association (PMPA) published a collection of essays designed to contribute to the current debate on the nature of evidence-based policy and the process of academic practitioner exchange that underpins it in the UK today.
Knowledge bases: the academy and practice reflects on the nature of knowledge and evidence, the value of theory and theories to aid understanding, and the challenges of using knowledge of complex issues in the practical world.
Truths and powers: perspectives and propositions looks at the differing perspectives of the academic and the practitioner, each founded in their own culture and values, and identifies some suggestions for creating successful dialogue between them.
What is evidence and who owns it? argues that evidence-based policy involves a transactional process, encapsulating the idea of ‘selling’ evidence to policy-makers in ways that ensure it will be ‘bought’.
Finding a path through the maze describes, through a case study, the challenges of making academic-practitioner dialogue work as these cultures come into contact with each other.
Who’s sitting on Dali’s sofa? provides an example of a way in which academic approaches to policy-making can shed new light on difficult problems and introduce reflexive and flexible ways of thinking about old issues.
Sourcing and using evidence in government considers, over time, the strengths and weaknesses of the relationship between academics and government in the field of science and calls for the development of longer-term relationships and an ongoing dialogue between the practitioner and academic communities.
The report, priced at £10.00 a copy, may be purchased from the Public Management and Policy Association. PMPA can be contacted at info.pmpa@cipfa.org
For further information please visit the PMPA website http://www.pmpa.co.uk/