Is it ‘what works’ that matters? Evaluation and evidence‐based policy‐making

Abstract

The notion of evidence‐based policy‐making (EBP) has gained renewed currency in the UK in the context of the current Labour Government's commitment to modernise government. Thus, a key driver of modernisation is seen as evidence based policy‐making and service delivery—‘what matters is what works’—in the context of a performance management strategy for regulation of public services. The aim of this paper is to critically examine the assumptions underpinning EBP asking, in particular, the extent to which the increased emphasis on the role of evidence in policy‐making is indicative of instrumental rationality which erodes the normative basis of policy‐making and undermines the capacity for ‘appropriate’ practice. The potential for theory‐based evaluation to deliver on its evidential promise is critically examined and, based upon an expanded notion of ‘practical reason’, it is argued that we need to extend the scope of our concern from ‘what works’ to what is ‘appropriate’ in addressing complex and ambiguous social problems, embracing ethical‐moral concerns.