Read about the journey FFG embarked upon in the search for evidence through our two-blogs series! This is the second blog of the series where FFG shares about their learning experience.
This blog highlights how we have identified a series of topics and questions that policymakers are especially interested in, but where experimental evidence is scarce or nonexistent and the available research is not solid enough to make recommendations about programme design. These open questions encompass exciting and often underexplored research agendas well positioned to both expand the frontier of knowledge and produce policy-relevant research.
This blog investigates what prevents policymakers from using evidence derived from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to inform their decisions.
As part of an IGL project, supported by the Kauffman Foundation, we aim to create a series of evidence summaries that make it easier for policymakers and business support providers to access and act on the most rigorous evidence to support entrepreneurs and businesses. This blog explores our findings so far, as well as launching an open call for inputs from any organisation in the business support ecosystem to contribute to shaping this project.
It’s not always easy to find reliable and robust experimental research which we can use to learn what works in different contexts. Therefore, to encourage evidence-based policymaking, we have updated our database and include over 150 Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) in the field of innovation, entrepreneurship and growth.
The problem with the external validity of impact evaluations has not gone away. Quite the opposite, policymakers in many different sectors have access to an increasing amount of evidence of “what works in a particular context” and policymakers are often left to believe that policy design can be based on evidence of what worked in other contexts.
Researchers from Bocconi University outline the first steps of their randomised controlled trial into the effects of a scientific approach on entrepreneurial experimentation, funded by the IGL Grants Programme.
Ahead of our #IGL16 conference on 24-26 May, Geoff Mulgan and Albert Bravo-Biosca explore the growing movement of experimental innovation policy.
