Public administration in the cross‐hairs of evidence‐based policy and authentic engagement: School closures in Ontario

Background: The importance of using evidence to inform the policymaking process has been well established in the literature and practice. In Western countries evidence-based policy (EBP) is already accepted and implemented in many policy areas, including disability policy. In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) the interest in EBP (evidence-based policy) is new and limited, hampered in many aspects by the regional specificity of the public administration and welfare services reform.Aims and objectives: The present article aims to explore the development of evidence-based disability employment policy in Romania, in a specific area of work integration: sheltered workshops.Methods: The article draws on the findings of extensive research on sheltered workshops that included multiple research methods, such as public policy analysis, social documents analysis, and secondary data analysis of quantitative and qualitative data.Findings: A number of issues concerning the implementation of evidence-based disability policy in Romania have been identified. Some of these issues are related to the administrative and policy capacity of the government. Others are linked to the limitation of the advocacy capacity of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) active in the disability area, or to the weak presence of the academic/research community in the disability policy forum.Discussion and conclusions: There is a limited knowledge of how evidence-based disability policy is developed in CEE countries. This article will emphasise the role of the sheltered workshops in shaping the policy solutions in the area of work integration for persons with disabilities. The article will contribute to better understanding of the disability policy reform, looking closely at how the evidence is built and used within the disability policy process. Key messages <ul><li>The paper explores pathways of evidence use to support decisions on disability policy in Romania.</li> <li>The disability reform in Romania is influenced by Welfare State and Public Administration reform, EU integration process, EU Disability Action Plans (DAPs) and the signing of the UN Convention of Persons with Disabilities.</li> <li>The social economy framework has influenced the employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. The sheltered workshops have become an important actor in promoting work integration for people with disability. Also the sheltered workshops have an important role in modernising evidence-based disability employment policy</li> <li>The lack of statistical data and relevant knowledge about what works, and the impact on the integration of people with disabilities, is impeding the development of both disability rights and disability services, and has determined the adoption of policy decisions that have profoundly affected work integration in this area.</li></ul>

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Evidence-Based Policy-Making: The Elusive Search for Rational Public Administration

Australian Journal of Public Administration ◽

10.1111/j.1467-8500.2011.00728.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 70 (3) ◽

pp. 236-245 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Adrian Kay

Keyword(s):

Public Administration ◽

Policy Making ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Evidence Based Policy

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The Case for Evidence-Based Policy: Beyond Ideology, Politics, and Guesswork

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e719412011-001 ◽

2008 ◽

Keyword(s):

Evidence Based ◽

Evidence Based Policy

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Crisis knowledge management: Reconfiguring the behavioural science community for rapid responding in the Covid-19 crisis

10.31234/osf.io/hsxdk ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ulrike Hahn ◽

David Lagnado ◽

Stephan Lewandowsky ◽

Nick Chater

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Management ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Behavioural Science ◽

High Stakes ◽

Evidence Based Policy ◽

Science Community ◽

Minimal Damage ◽

Support Evidence

The present crisis demands an all-out response if it is to be mastered with minimal damage. This means we, as the behavioural science community, need to think about how we can adapt to best support evidence-based policy in a rapidly changing, high-stakes environment. This piece is an attempt to initiate this process. The ‘recommendations’ made are first stabs that will hopefully be critiqued, debated and improved.

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