Understanding the Use of Evidence in Civil Service Policy Making

Aims and objectives

The main aim of this studentship is to understand the methods and reasons behind the Civil Service's use of social science evidence in shaping government policies. The research will specifically assist the Evaluation Task Force at the Cabinet Office by improving their understanding of how effectively the Civil Service uses and manages evidence, and, if appropriate, how the use and management of evidence can be enhanced.

The research will have five main objectives.

1. To provide a typology of different actors and institutions in the social science evidence ecosystem in influencing the quantity, quality and use of evidence in governmental decisions and policy. Relevant actors and institutions include the Evaluation Task Force itself and Government departments, but also research institutions (e.g., Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex; Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRISP), Loughborough), commissioners of research (e.g.

UKRI), NGOs (e.g. What Works Centres) and activist organisations (e.g. New Economics Foundation).

Although it might be tempting to categorise actors according to institutional characteristics (e.g. university based research centres), it is also important to use characteristics related to motivations, mission statements and sources of funding.

2. To develop a typology of how evidence is acquired, from whom it is acquired and used by the actors identified under objective 1. This may include political or symbolic aspects, as well as rational aspects. Further, it will address how groups set thresholds for what constitutes robust and/or usable evidence.

3. To understand the factors that may influence the actors identified under objective 1 to acquire and use evidence in the ways identified under objective 2.

4. To identify and make explicit a model of what the Evaluation Task Force and wider Civil Service consider to be procedurally appropriate and inappropriate procurement and use of evidence, mapping findings from objectives 1 and 2 onto this model.

5. Using findings under objective 4, develop recommendations on which strategies may be effective at bringing about the cultural change required to move the UK Civil Service closer to evidenced informed policy making. Examples may include: i) developing how-to-work-with-social researcher toolkits and courses for early career civil servants; ii) how-to-use evidence-toolkits for ministers; iii) guidance on how to develop incentives to engage politicians with training on how to use evidence.