Understanding policymakers' perspectives on evidence use as a mechanism for improving research-policy relationships

This special issue examines how relationships between research and policy in environmental and sustainability education (ESE) can be strengthened. Our contribution draws on three cases from outside the ESE space to analyse policymakers' perspectives on using evidence to inform decision-making, and to show that government-based policymakers develop 'policy narratives' which influence their evidence use. We also illustrate how government departmental systems and processes lead policymakers to develop 'evidence narratives' which help them make sense of what evidence to use and how to use it in the policy development process. At its core, such work involves negotiating three normative positions around evidence, concerning: fidelity to science, democratic representation, and cost-effective use of public money. In light of this, we suggest that where policy narratives and evidence narratives interact should be interpreted as a key site for empirically investigating evidence-informed policymaking activities. Developing a detailed awareness of what policymakers do on a daily basis, and discerning how organisational systems and processes influence particular demands for evidence and how it is used, will foster a better understanding of the relationships between research and policy.

Automated summary

The article examines policymakers' perspectives on using evidence to inform decision-making, highlighting the formation of 'policy narratives' and 'evidence narratives' by government-based policymakers. It suggests that interactions between policy narratives and evidence narratives should be seen as a key site for investigating evidence-informed policymaking activities, in order to better understand the relationships between research and policy.