Social Science Space

The Great Mask Debate is limping towards closure. While there is no single conclusive piece of evidence, the best research […]

The evidence-based policymaking movement has grown substantially over the past 25 years in the United States. Government officials, researchers, and […]

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have historically been regarded as the gold standard for evaluating medical interventions. Evidence-based medicine (EBM) developed […]

In a memo released this month by the White House, updates on the National Science and Technology Council’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Subcommittee of the Committee on Science of the National Science and Technology Council were released, including a plan to advance evidence-based policymaking by next year.

The White House announced last week that the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s National Science and Technology Council will re-commission the Social and Behavioral Sciences Subcommittee of the Committee on Science.

In December, the Consortium of Social Science Associations, an umbrella organization that has served as a united voice in Washington, […]

“In a world facing many complex, formidable problems,” Kenneth Prewitt asks, “how can the social sciences become a decisive force […]

Most institutions see the market as the only legitimate form of organization, but different visions towards public policy, some involving artificial intelligence, have been the subject of consideration from academics and politicians alike. Under what circumstances, and to what extent, could artificial intelligence replace the market as the end-all guiding force in crafting reasonable public policy? Brexit may play a leading role in the transition.

Creators and participants in the Evidence Synthesis Hackathon ask what’s the solution to coping with the increasing volume of evidence needed to build effective, solid policy? They argue that technology is the key. With accessible software tools and workflows, machines can be left to do the laborious work so that people can focus on planning, thinking and doing.

In what’s been billed as “the first step in a longer process of ensuring the government is fully invested in using science to improve the effectiveness of its operations,” on January 14 President Trump signed the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018.

“The question we must therefore ask is: are we all really working to the best available picture of what is going on in the world?” So asks a new report that summarizes the themes discussed in June’s first-ever Evidence Week.

Africa has a real challenge when it comes to using academic research and evidence to design policies. “The problem is twofold,” says author Ruth Stewart, “policymakers sometimes don’t call on available research, while for their part academics don’t know how to engage with policymakers.” But this isn’t stopping the continent from taking strides in the right direction.