The Role of the Federal Statistical System in Evidence-based Policymaking, or How to Make the Statistical System Essential

Abstract

This article discusses the strained nature of the relationship between the research/analytic world and the policy/political world. The research/analytic world in general and the statistical community in particular are portrayed as not wanting to be pulled into partisan politics. At the same time, the policy makers are portrayed as not seeing that statistical analysis is essential to confronting difficult real-world decisions. The article points out that there is a fundamental pressure pushing the two together: the federal budget. It shows that over the past decade or two, funding for statistical agencies has been under increasing pressure to show the “return on investment” of the taxpayers’ dollars. The article suggests that the way out of this problem is by becoming an essential partner with the policy makers in dealing with the challenging issues that they face by supporting and advancing evidence-based policymaking.