In the US, UK and Europe – especially following the Brexit vote and the Trump presidency – we have seen the policy space polarised with an increasing suspicion of the objectivity and importance of experts and advisors; and a particular distrust of governments that are supposed to act on behalf of those most disenfranchised by globalisation – whether at home or abroad. Facts, evidence and truth seem under attack.
So, where next for international development: What hope is there for evidence-based policies amid all the talk of post-truth politics, fake news and alternative facts? In particular:
- How should evaluators respond and stay relevant to those in power?
- How might evidence help citizens that are most left behind by globalisation, or most marginalised by politics?
In November 2017, The Centre for Development Impact, a partnership between Itad, IDS and UEA, convened a panel of global development experts to discuss these questions and ask what role evidence should play in this emerging reality.
The event was streamed live on Facebook and you can catch up here:
The role of evidence in a changing world
What hope is there for evidence-based policies amid all the talk of post-truth politics, fake news and alternative facts? In particular:
How should evaluators respond and stay relevant to those in power?
How might evidence help citizens that are most left behind by globalisation, or most marginalised by politics?
The Centre for Development Impact, a partnership between Itad, IDS and UEA, has convened a panel of global development experts to discuss these questions and ask what role evidence should play in this emerging reality.
Posted by Institute of Development Studies on Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Read the IDS blog ‘Is ‘post-truth’ simply about weakened accountability relationships?’ here.
About the speakers:
Michael Anderson is Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development and a member of the Board at the Institute of Development Studies. He was previously CEO of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and Director General at DFID. In 1999 he co-founded Bazian Ltd, a company specialising in evidence-based medicine, now part of the Economist Group.
Owen Barder is Vice President, Director of Center for Global Development Europe. He is also a Visiting Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics. He is a former civil servant, who worked at No.10, HM Treasury and the Department for International Development. He has also worked at in the South African Treasury on budget strategy; at Development Initiatives where he helped to establish the International Aid Transparency Initiative; and was a visiting scholar in economics at the University of California, Berkeley.
Claire Melamed is the Executive Director of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, headquartered in Washington, DC. She is based in London and was previously a Managing Director at the Overseas Development Institute, has worked for a number of international NGOs, the United Nations, and taught at the University of London and the Open University.
Chair:
Melissa Leach is the Director of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex. She founded and directed the ESRC STEPS (Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability) Centre from 2006 to 2014, with its pioneering pathways approach to innovation, sustainability and development issues.
Image © Royal Society of Victoria sign – Melbourne – MarchforScience.
