The parson bird chatters, the parrot gabbles, the wood pigeon coos

01/09/2017

Last week, a graduate analyst I mentor asked why I’m so against evidence-based policy.

I was a little surprised.

I’m not against evidence. What I try to do, consistently, is make sure my advice doesn’t naively wish away the emotion, uncertainty, complexity, contest, power imbalances, and plurality that shape public policy.

For me, evidence-informed policy matters for two reasons.

First, it enables innovation and creativity. In the absence of absolute long-term certainty, evidence-informed policy creates enough headroom for the professions (the teachers, nurses, clinicians, social workers, police, soldiers, sailors, aviators, engineers, and scientists) to take the next step.

Second, it helps politicians cut through the noise and offer the electorate a persuasive narrative.

But evidence and professional judgement are not public policy choices. They are not alternatives. They are interlinked and inseparable, not unlike the distinct calls each bird makes in the ngahere.

E koekoe te kōkō, e ketekete te kākā, e kūkū te kererū.

It takes all sorts to make a world.

And, variety is the spice of life as my Irish Catholica nana used to say.

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