Roundtable:
Moving Evidence-Based Policy Making Forward at the Regional and Local Level
(Scientific Research, Complex Systems, and Tools of Analysis)
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Although there is an increasing awareness of the benefits of evidence based policy, regional and local policymakers often do not have the capacity, time or resources to feasibly and rigorously design and test policies or programs in their area of intervention. Additionally, regional and local policymakers may face uncertainty about how to find and match with an experienced researcher. As a consequence, evidence-based policy design and rigorous policy testing are perceived as infeasible and discarded. This roundtable will highlight examples of regional and local governments that are successfully collaborating with researchers to design evidence-driven policies, including rigorous policy testing, that can inform our understanding of how to tackle challenging social problems such as poverty or social exclusion. These policymakers will share their knowledge and experiences on the lessons learnt about how to overcome common barriers to getting scientific evidence off the ground and the value of these partnerships. The range of topics covered may include the use of administrative data, how to measure outcomes beyond administrative records, the use of systematic reviews, making stakeholders participate in the policy process and its evaluation, or to identify opportunities to embed rigorous evaluation into daily program activities.
