Ian Greener & Bent Greve 
Evidence and Evaluation in Social Policy 

By examining the role of evidence in social policymaking and the extent of its influence, Evidence and Evaluation in Social Policy delves deeply into one of the central questions of the field for the last 20 years.

* Chronicles the trend towards evidence-based policy over the last decade

* Assesses the ways in which scarce resources can best be used for the best care, particularly in times of austerity

* Describes methodological innovation, the ways in which researchers and politicians are working together effectively, and suggestions for future improvement

* Covers topics such as the role of randomized controlled trials in shaping public policy; the pitfalls of evidence-based policy as a prescriptive ideal; the challenges of measuring public support for policy interventions; and the benefits of engaging local government decision-makers with evaluation research

Table of Content

List of Contributors vii

Introduction: Evidence and Evaluation in Social Policy
1

Ian Greener and Bent Greve

1 Trials and Tribulations: The ‘Use’ (and
‘Misuse’) of Evidence in Public Policy 5

Christopher Deeming

2 Understanding the Influence of Evidence in Public Health
Policy: What Can We Learn from the ‘Tobacco Wars’?
29

K. E. Smith

3 Caught in the Same Frame? The Language of Evidence-based
Policy in Debates about the Australian Government
‘Intervention’ into Northern Territory Aboriginal
Communities 47

Emma Partridge

4 A Systematic Review of Comparative Studies of Attitudes to
Social Policy 63

Trude Sundberg and Peter Taylor-Gooby

5 Public Opinion and Policy-making 81

Ray Pawson and Geoff Wong

6 Obstacles to Evidence-based Policy-making in the EU
Enlargement Countries: The Case of Skills Policies 97

Will Bartlett

7 Understanding Employment Barriers for Lone Parents in Great
Britain: Research Gaps and Missed Opportunities 115

Tina Haux

8 Putting the Research Boot on the Policymakers’ Foot:
Can Participatory Approaches Change the Relationship between
Policymakers and Evaluation? 129

Liz Richardson

Index 147

About the author

Bent Greve is Professor in Social Science with an
emphasis on Welfare State Analysis at Roskilde University, Denmark.
He is Regional and Special Issues Editor of Social Policy &
Administration and has published extensively on social and
labor market policy, social security, tax expenditures, public
sector expenditures, and financing of the welfare state. He is the
author of Happiness (2011) and the editor of The
Routledge Handbook of the Welfare State (2013) and Happiness
and Social Policy in Europe (2010).

Ian Greener is Professor in the School of Applied Social
Sciences at Durham University, UK, as well as being Director of the
ESRC North-East Doctoral Training Centre there. His research
interests include the use of evidence in policy, healthcare
reorganization, and the means by which policymaking can become more
evidence-driven. He is the author of three books on research
methods, public management, and healthcare, including Designing
Social Research: A Guide for the Bewildered (2011). He is
also the author of over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, mostly
concerned with health policy.