ABSTRACT
Introduction We live in an age awash with evidence; in public policy, management
and professional practice there are ever more facts available to decisionmakers. Yet neither do decision-makers appear more confi dent in their choices nor do the intended benefi ciaries of these decisions appear better served.1 It has long been recognized that facts need to be organized, weighed against each other for validity and reliability, and structured to create an evidence-base. During the modern age this has been accomplished through the sequestration and professionalization of knowledge creation and the expansion of organizational life. The former has created a cadre of “experts” (Stilgoe, Irwin and Jones, 2006), academies and research organizations who trade in the quality of the evidence they generate within rules that they claim responsibility for policing. The latter has created an increasing number of organizations whose reach now extends into areas of life which in the past were informal and structured through traditions and social mores rather than organizational forms.
