Evidence-based policy in a mission-led government

Reported by Aubin Ramon, CSaP Policy Intern (Sept-Dec 2024)

Evidence-based policy in a mission-led government

CSaP's Continuing Policy Fellows came together for a roundtable discussion with Professor Jennifer Rubin, Chief Scientific Adviser and Director General, Science, Technology, Analysis and Research at the Home Office. With insights from the Safer Streets mission, Professor Rubin discussed the role of evidence and research in a mission-led government.

As Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) at the Home Office, Professor Rubin brings scientific knowledge throughout the department's entire portfolio. Areas such as biometrics, behavioral sciences, emerging technologies, and social geography can play a crucial part in shaping immigration and policing policies. In addition to providing evidence to policymakers, Professor Rubin also has an essential role in engaging with the public to foster trust through articulate scientific communication.

Over and above the individual portfolios of the departments, the UK Government is striving for greater interdepartmental collaboration via the Labour party's new mission-led approach. The Home Office is particularly occupied by the Safer Streets mission, which has two key objectives:

1. Reducing harm, particularly violence against women and crime at night.
2. Enhancing public confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.

Beyond the Home Office, the Safer Streets mission notably involves the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions, addressing night crime from the perspectives of emergency services and employment, respectively. Professor Rubin shared the excitement of civil servants to work together to tackle major societal issues, emphasising the importance of sharing data and evidence across departments.

With one CSA assigned to each mission, Professor Rubin was pleased to see that science is viewed as a major component for their successful delivery. Her team has already conducted a first literature review to lay out expert advisory groups and gather existing metrics. Such an initial assessment also helps to identify knowledge gaps, providing the government with an opportunity to commission research and invest in R&D: "evidence-based; if not, evidence-building".

Collaboration across departments drives the redefinition of the issues at stake, enabling the collection of more representative data. Yet, redefining crime violence against women can lead to an artificial increase in numbers, as more cases of violence are included. Such an increase can be negatively perceived by the population or even ministers if communication strategies are not adequately framed to address the new evidence.

Questions and discussion from Policy Fellows focussed on the holistic approach of missions and accountability for their successful delivery. The group discussed gaps in evidence in certain areas and the calculated risks involved in transferring knowledge from adjacent fields, ensuring ethical compromises are not made in the process. By contrast, the Clean Energy mission faces challenges not from a lack of evidence but from managing the abundance of it. The potential use of AI technologies to facilitate an evidence review to assist policy making was also debated, with benefits but also important limitations.