Making Sense of ‘What Works’: Evidence Based Policy Making as Instrumental Rationality?

Abstract

The notion of evidence-based policy making (EBP) has gained renewed currency in the UK in the context of the current Labour Government's commitment to modernise government. Thus, a key driver of modernisation is seen as evidence based policy making and service delivery - ‘what matters is what works’. The aim of this article is to critically examine the assumptions underpinning EBP asking, in particular, the extent to which the increased emphasis on the role of evidence in policy making is indicative of ‘technocratic politics’ underpinned by an instrumental rationality which erodes the normative basis of policy making and undermines the capacity for ‘appropriate’ practice. It is argued that the current emphasis on EBP needs to be understood in the context of recent trends in governance processes and the development by New Labour of performance management for public services. The nature of the evidence we can expect from evaluation and the role of evidence in policy-making practice are critically examined. It is argued that we need an expanded notion of ‘practical reason’ to guide ‘appropriate practice’ within the context of a broader framework of ‘responsible government.’