Evidence-based best practice is more political than it looks: a case study of the 'Scottish Approach'

an article by Paul Cairney (University of Stirling, UK) published in Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice Volume 13 Number 3 (2017)

Abstract

National governments use evidence selectively to argue that a successful policy intervention in one local area should be emulated in others ('evidence-based best practice').

However, the value of such evidence is always limited because there is:

• disagreement on the best way to gather evidence of policy success,
• uncertainty regarding the extent to which we can draw general conclusions from specific evidence, and
• local policymaker opposition to interventions not developed in local areas.

How do governments respond to this dilemma?

This article identifies the Scottish Government response: it supports three potentially contradictory ways to gather evidence and encourage emulation.

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