New directions in evidence-based policy research: a critical analysis of the literature
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REVIEW
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New directions in evidence-based policy research: a critical analysis of the literature Kathryn Oliver1,2*, Theo Lorenc2 and Simon Innvær3
Abstract Despite 40 years of research into evidence-based policy (EBP) and a continued drive from both policymakers and researchers to increase research uptake in policy, barriers to the use of evidence are persistently identified in the literature. However, it is not clear what explains this persistence – whether they represent real factors, or if they are artefacts of approaches used to study EBP. Based on an updated review, this paper analyses this literature to explain persistent barriers and facilitators. We critically describe the literature in terms of its theoretical underpinnings, definitions of ‘evidence’, methods, and underlying assumptions of research in the field, and aim to illuminate the EBP discourse by comparison with approaches from other fields. Much of the research in this area is theoretically naive, focusing primarily on the uptake of research evidence as opposed to evidence defined more broadly, and privileging academics’ research priorities over those of policymakers. Little empirical data analysing the processes or impact of evidence use in policy is available to inform researchers or decision-makers. EBP research often assumes that policymakers do not use evidence and that more evidence – meaning research evidence – use would benefit policymakers and populations. We argue that these assumptions are unsupported, biasing much of EBP research. The agenda of ‘getting evidence into policy’ has side-lined the empirical description and analysis of how research and policy actually interact in vivo. Rather than asking how research evidence can be made more influential, academics should aim to understand what influences and constitutes policy, and produce more critically and theoretically informed studies of decision-making. We question the main assumptions made by EBP researchers, explore the implications of doing so, and propose new directions for EBP research, and health policy. Keywords: Critical analysis, Evidence-based policy, Knowledge utilization, Science and technology studies
Introduction: the evidence-based policy movement Although sceptics can be found, few researchers or policymakers would publicly disagree that evidence-based policy (EBP) is a goal for both academe and government. Reports describing the importance – and difficulty of – achieving this goal are published with regularity [1-3]. Perhaps unlike other disciplines, EBP has staunch advocates who contribute to an ever-increasing body of commentary around the subject. EBP is sometimes said to have derived from evidencebased medicine (EBM), which dates back at least to 1972, with Archie Cochrane’s seminal work on effectiveness and * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, Bridgeford Street, Manchester M13 9PL, UK 2 Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP), University College London,
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