What counts as good evidence

Making better use of evidence is essential if public services are to deliver more for less. Central to this challenge is the need for a clearer understanding about standards of evidence that can be applied to the research informing social policy. This paper reviews the extent to which it is possible to reach a workable consensus on ways of identifying and labelling evidence. It does this by exploring the efforts made to date and the debates that have ensued. Throughout, the focus is on evidence that is underpinned by research, rather than other sources of evidence such as expert opinion or stakeholder views.Publisher PD

Knowledge mobilisation: creating, sharing and using knowledge

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New development : Turning around failing schools - lessons from Lahore

This article reviews the operation of two improvement partnerships in Pakistan, where third sector organisations adopted selected state schools. We reflect on the lessons arising from both schemes in the light of the Institute of Educational Sciences’ (IES) guidance on turning around schools. Although the operation of both partnership schemes is context specific, the findings should nevertheless be of interest to policy-makers in other countries. They also show how some aspects of the IES’s guidance may need to be adapted and augmented, especially in the context of developing countries.PostprintNon peer reviewe

Exploring and mapping the knowledge and practice terrain

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