Show Me the Evidence

Scholars of public policy often complain that government decides what to do on political grounds rather than "on the merits." In Show Me the Evidence, however, Haskins and Margolis describe the Obama administration's remarkable initiatives in "evidence-based policymaking." In these cases, programs have been funded based on hard evidence about "what works." The authors tell the story masterfully, based on exhaustive research. Their conclusions are cautious but hopeful: making policy on the merits has not yet triumphed, but it is advancing.—Larry Mead, Professor of Politics and Public Policy, New York University Throughout our history, social policy has been made largely by anecdote, selfinterest, and ideology. In Show Me the Evidence, Ron Haskins and Greg Margolis tell the little-known story of the Obama administration's systematic attempt, in the midst of a deeply partisan political culture, to use evidence to drive government policy and budgets. Using the tools of investigative reporting to peer into the inner workings of government and with a historian's eye for turning points, they reveal the strategies and tactics key actors used to turn the quest for evidence-based policymaking into reality. Will the revolution they describe leave a legacy? The authors identify the challenges ahead, and drawing on personal experience in Congress, they offer a blueprint to each of the key players—government, philanthropy, and nonprofit organizations—for navigating the evidence-based movement's uncertain future. The stakes are high and the failure to do what works has produced cynicism among taxpayers about the ability of government to make a difference, but Haskins and Margolis show us the evidence that it doesn't have to be that way.—Gordon Berlin, President, MDRC