Lost in translation? : the challenge of informing public policy with evidence

My comments are those of a practitioner. I think that is of value because, as Brian W. Head correctly emphasizes in his article "Toward More 'Evidence-Informed' Policy Making?," one of the crucial missing ingredients in our understanding is "how policy bureaucrats actually make decisions informed by available evidence." Two things I can at once confirm about the process of knowledge mediation. Brian Head has helpfully set clear directions for a future research agenda. I agree that priority should be placed on identifying those instances in which evidence-informed public policy has proved most effective and why. In that way, both the potential benefits and limitations of the approach can be better understood. We need more evidence on the value of evidence.