Democratic societies make decisions and policy based on many inputs, including fiscal considerations, societal values, prevailing public views, and the ideals and vision of the government of the day. But democratic governments want to make good decisions and at the base of such decision making should be the use of high quality information and evidence, both in developing new policies and in evaluating current policies. Decisions made in the absence of such informed background material are, by definition, less likely to be effective or efficient and can entrench policies which may be of little value. Thus governments can become constrained by earlier policy decisions that are not easily reversible because there may be a popular or political perception that they are effective when in fact they are not.
While information and evidence do not themselves make policy, good information and evidence provide an important base for a rational assessment of options weighed up against those other criteria that politicians and their supporting policy advisors should consider. At the same time, it must also be acknowledged that many decisions that governments have to make are developed in an environment of limited available information or where the use of science is unable to resolve competing policy options.
It is hoped that this paper will stimulate Chief Executives of agencies and ministries to reflect on their responsibilities to identify what research and information is needed, how it may be obtained, how it should be interpreted and how it can be incorporated into policy advice and formation. Researchers, like all others, have their own beliefs and values; however, science has processes to minimise the ability of these human factors to bias the conclusions reached. Additionally, where possible, protocols should be developed to separate information- gathering and interpretation from actual policy formation, thereby ensuring the integrity of scientific advice proffered.