6 1 / 2024 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS
“ Recourse to empirical results facilitates effective policymaking ”
Series “ Policy advice in the field of tension between science , politics and the media ” ( Part 6 )
Policy advice based on empirical evidence offers grounded and objective foundations for decision-making . This is essential if we are to strengthen the trust in political decision -making processes , especially in these times of increasing reservations about science and scientists . Making recourse to empirical evidence facilitates effective policymaking that contributes to effective solutions for complex societal problems .
BY MONIKA SCHNITZER ML *
Under the Leopoldina umbrella , the Initiative for Evidence-based Policymaking offers a platform for dialogue and networking between policymakers and science . Its goal is to facilitate an informed political discourse that translates into transparent and fact-based decision processes and overcomes institutional obstacles . It focuses on the instruments and processes of science transfer within the German political administration system and parliament . To learn from international experiences , two roundtable events took place which are documented in the “ Leopoldina Forum ” series .
An illustrative example for the application of evidence-based approaches is the Office for Impact Analysis ( OIA ) in Australia . There , the Justice Impact Assessment ( JIA ) is key , a process in which the expected benefits of a law change are weighed against the potential costs and negative effects . Scientific evidence plays a central role in JIA . The debate around a ban on e-cigarettes in Australia provides a practical example . The JIA delivered a decisive foundation that led to a compromise : While e-cigarettes were not banned , they have been prescription-only since 2021 .
In the United Kingdom , the Evaluation Task Force ( ETF ) was founded in
“ Transparency and objectivity are crucial for the credibility of an evidence-based approach and play an important role in addressing anti-scientific tendencies .”
Monika Schnitzer Chair of the German Council of Economic Experts
Image : German Council of Economic Experts
2020 , which is under the authority of the HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office . Its objective is to increase the efficiency of public spending by means of evaluations . It serves as a consulting and coordinating authority that supports various ministries in their evaluation tasks and ensures their quality . The ETF offers intergovernmental consultation teams and resources in order to support ministries with their evaluation plans . It also helps the government to assess the quality of evaluations . Furthermore , the Task Force runs an information platform that provides a guideline , training courses , and evaluation results . By 2025 , every new , major regulation programme should include an evaluation plan .
Independent , excellent research is the basic requirement for evidence-based policymaking . Such research requires objective status descriptions formulated using transparently collected data . Transparency and objectivity are crucial for the credibility of an evidence-based approach and play an important role in addressing anti-scientific tendencies .
A survey of economists conducted by the Verein für Socialpolitik ( Ger-
man Economic Society ) shows that , in an international comparison , access to research data in Germany is outdated . During the coronavirus pandemic it became clear that policies should often be based on international rather than solely domestic evidence . The German Council of Economic Experts addressed these grievances in its most recent annual expert report . In addition to increasing staff numbers and financial means , the statistical offices of the German federal states also regard output-focused approach and a deepening of the legal research commission of the Federal Statistical Office of Germany ( Destatis ) as necessary in order to improve the data base for evidence-based policies .
* Monika Schnitzer ML , economist and Chair of the German Council of Economic Experts , and Regina T . Riphahn ML , economist and Leopoldina Vice President , lead the Initiative for Evidence-based Policy making .
Leopoldina Forum “ Roundtables Evidence-based policymaking ”