Open AccessEvaluation, Science and Pragmatism
Author(s) -
Nicholas D. Huntington
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
policy quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2324-1101
pISSN - 2324-1098
DOI - 10.26686/pq.v17i1.6728
Subject(s) - aotearoa , pragmatism , politics , work (physics) , political science , public administration , policy analysis , sociology , evidence based policy , public relations , positive economics , epistemology , law , economics , engineering , mechanical engineering , medicine , philosophy , alternative medicine , pathology
In Aotearoa New Zealand, as elsewhere, the evidence-based policy movement has been one of the most visible recent influences on how policies are described, discussed and debated. It is now commonly taken for granted that good policy work involves using evidence, and that it is important to increase the influence of data and research uptake during policy development. Promoting evidence-based policy has even been used as the raison d’être for the founding of a political party. However, the voices and perspectives of practitioners themselves are often missing from conversations about evidence’s role in policy work. Drawing on my doctoral research, this article presents three stances that frame how policy workers approach evidence in their practice.