Imposed Use

Abstract

Abstract Central to the evidence-based paradigm is the explicit goal to increase the influence of scientific research on public policy. One of the central issues regarding evidence-based policy is how policymakers will actually use the best evidence to inform their decision-making. The research utilization literature delineates a number of ways that evaluation research can exert an influence on policy decisions, including conceptual, instrumental, and political. Limitations of these routes of research influence on policy, along with a growing interest in the evidence-based paradigm, have given rise to the term “imposed use,” first coined by Carol Weiss. This chapter describes the promise and limitations of imposed use for advancing evidence-based crime and justice policy.