ABSTRACT

This collection is focussed on the relationship between science and drought policy, so an important part of our discussion is inevitably covering the role of science as evidence for drought policy. This chapter is provided by way of reflection on the four that precede it in Section II and that specifically addressed the incorporation of science into drought policy. This discussion begins with a brief introduction to the public policy literature with its origins in the policy sciences and the goal of providing research-based advice to policy makers. This is followed by a summary of the evidencebased policy movement, its origins, and aspirations-including a critique of evidence-based policy making, in terms of what constitutes ‘evidence’ and also through discussion of the role that ‘evidence’ plays as one input into the policy process. The interaction between science, evidence, and policy is not linear but this does not mean there is not an important role for science in the development of policy. Good policy requires good evidence; however, that evidence is not always decisive in determining policy outcomes.