Evidence-Based Policy

Cartwright and Hardie make a well-meaning and serious attempt to speak to a nonacademic audience, share their expertise, and help solve real and practical policy problems * Health Affairs *
Refreshing and insightful, this book should be read by all those who inhabit the boundaries between policy, evidence and uncertainty. * James Wilsdon, Times Higher Education *
Cartwright and Hardie have produced an admirably clear and immensely practical guide on the use of evidence in policy making. * Ray Pawson, Journal of Social Policy *
Using evidence to inform public policy seems like the natural, smart, and effective thing to do. But acting on this intuition can be fraught with complexity and can lead to decisions that are neither smart nor effective. Evidence-Based Policy is the primer we have been waiting for, and with its marvelous blend of theory and examples provides compelling evidence that improved decision making is possible. * Michael Feuer, Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at The George Washington University, and author of Moderating the Debate: Rationality and the Promise of American Education *
Evidence-based policy is an enormously serious step in the long, steady improvement of bringing scientific knowledge to bear on public policy. But EBP is not as simple as it is often presented. This is a guide-unprecedented in its rigor and accessibility-to why it is easy to get EBP wrong and why it matters to get it right. * Kenneth Prewitt, Former Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, and Chair of the National Research Council Committee on The Use of Social Science Knowledge in Public Policy *
This books sparkles with intelligence. It develops a subtle argument lucidly and accessibly about the role of evidence in policy. It is a powerful antidote to the simplistic idea that policy simply needs to listen to the 'facts' about' what works.' It explains what is really involved in injecting evidence effectively into the formation of social policy. Essential reading for anyone who aspires to rational policy-making. * Mike Hough, Professor of Criminal Policy, Birkbeck, University of London *
Chock full of accessible examples, this book explains clearly and cogently what's involved in making intelligent use of evidence in developing social policy. It should be essential reading for all wanting to contribute to effective evidence-based policy. * Nick Tilley, author of Crime Prevention and co-author of Realistic Evaluation *
This well-written book reflects many of the central ideas that underlie my Reports on Child Protection in England. It combines rigorous theory with a valuable profusion of tips and case studies to give practical advice on how to think about what evidence you really need. * Eileen Munro, author of the U.K. Government commissioned 2011 independent review of child protection in England *
the reader will discover an exacting and mathematically precise critique of the explanatory credentials of randomised controlled trials combined with a mass of worldly wise illustrations of the evidence actually needed to support practical policy decisions. * Ray Pawson, Journal of Social Policy *