Technocracy Reinvented: The New Evidence Based Policy Movement
| Author | Emma Clarence |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207670201700301 |
| Date | 01 July 2002 |
| Published date | 01 July 2002 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Editorial
Technocracy
Reinvented:
The
New
Evidence
Based
Policy
Movement
Emma
Clarence
University
of
Aberdeen
"For
forms
of
government
let
fools
contest,
Whate'er
is
best
administered
is
best"
-
Alexander
Pope
(An
Essay
on
Man:
Epistle
iii.)
Introduction
For
all
governments
there
is
often
an
attempt
to
establish,
according
to
their
own
agenda,
what
actually
'is
best
administered'
in
the
realms
of
policy
making.
Whilst
there
is
an
expansive
literature
on
the
subject,
there
is,
not
unexpectedly,
little
agreement
on
the
most
appropriate
approach
and
such
lack
of
certainty
enables
governments
to
find
their
own
'best'.
Let
us
not
delude
ourselves,
there
is
no
irrefutable
'best'
in
the
world
of
policy
making
and,
as
in
many
things,
fashion
plays
its
part;
ways
of
making
and
doing
policy
are
subject
to
whims
and
trends.
Arguably
the
one
constant
over
time
is
the
inherent
messiness
of
the
process;
a
messiness
politicians
are
perennially
tempted
to
tidy
up
by
getting
experts
to
establish
'what
is
to
be
done'.
In
practice
policy
is
not,
nor
can
it
ever
be,
a
neat
process
which
begins
with
'deciding
to
decide'
and
concludes
with
an
evaluation
before
starting
all
over
again.
However,
and
because
of
the
intrinsic
messiness,
governments
frequently
seek
to
impose
order
and
control
upon
it.
The
current
government
is
looking
to
evidence
to
bring
order:
Evidence
Based
Policy
Making
(EBPM)
is
in
vogue.
The
suggestion
that
evidence
should
contribute
to
policy
is
one
that,
more
usually
than
not,
leads
people
to
question
if
evidence
has
not
always
made
such
a
contribution.
Naturally
using
evidence
to
influence
and
formulate
policy
making
is
not a
new
phenomenon.
Though
Solesbury
(2002,
p.93),
claims
that
'evidenced-based
policy
seems
to
be
principally
a
British
commitment'
it
has
been
identified
elsewhere.
Innes
(2002,
p.102)
highlights
its
longevity
(although
with
periods
of
unfashionableness)
in
the
United
States.
Nor
is
it
absent
from
'other
Anglophone
countries'
(David,
2002,
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
17
No.
3
Autumn
2002
I
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