A Comparative Study of Evidence-Based Policy Making on History and Introduction Process in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan

Evidence-based policy making (EBPM), which aims to reflect scientifically proven evidence to the policy-making process, has been introduced to the public administration of Japan in the past few years. This comparative study among the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan shows features of EBPM movement in each country and finds a possible risk in Japanese cases through an in-depth analysis. To eliminate this risk, it is important to fertilize the ecosystem of evidence activities. It is recommended that the Japanese government attempt to not only conduct randomized control trials straight away in the government but also introduce a wider range of evidence-based methodologies by taking advantage of boundary organizations with skilled researchers for generating evidence, including products of synthesis such as systematic review, toolkit, and decision-making guidance. It is also a realistic option to have national research institutes to promote evidence synthesis.