The Politics of Evidence-Informed Policymaking: a case study of the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy

In the last several decades, increasing pressure to reduce child poverty through better public policies has resulted in the prioritization of “evidence-based” social policy reform agendas worldwide, as well as a proliferation of research on effective evidence-informed policymaking (EIPM). However, studies on evidence use in policymaking tend to focus on singular aspects of the policy process, using ambiguous definitions and concepts for EIPM. Through a case study on the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy (OPRS), this thesis contributes knowledge on the policy process, examining how policy actors understood and worked towards EIPM. Drawing from policy theory and EIPM literature, this qualitative study explores the research question: How was evidence used to inform the policymaking process for the OPRS? Along with three sub-questions that address distinct aspects of EIPM: 1) Who and what were the influential sources of evidence? 2) What were the enabling and constraining conditions for evidence use? 3) How did external policy advisors bring evidence to the policy table? Phase I addresses the first sub-question through a website scan of EIPM attributes and activities of poverty reduction organizations in Ontario (n=210) in comparison to the external advisors to the OPRS (n=54). Phase II addresses sub-questions 2 and 3 through interviews with elite policy advisors (n=19) serving in distinct stages of the policymaking process. Findings show that influential evidence producers were politically astute in utilizing evidence through framing and persuasion strategies, and invested in long-term alliances to leverage political opportunities. Results from the website scan show that OPRS advisors displayed higher levels of policy engagement work and activities (or, “push mechanisms”) than peripheral stakeholders. The interview data reveal that the EIPM opportunity for the OPRS was contingent upon a policy window that emerged out of the “perfect storm” of people, power, and political context. However, the role of evidence was pervasive in the critical and mutually influential interactions between structure and agency. Understanding the dynamic connections between these elements provides important insights for evidence producers and users alike in working towards effective evidence utilization for policymaking. Based on the findings, recommendations for policy engagement strategies are provided to research producers.

Department dc:contributor.department

Leadership, Higher and Adult Education

Year dc:date.issued

2017

Author dc:creator

• Sohn, Jacqueline

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bascia, Nina

• education policy
• evidence-based policymaking
• evidence-informed policymaking
• knowledge mobilization
• policy window

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1807/80941

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/80941