EURIM
Value of Information Subgroup
The importance of information, the current state of play
Steven Van de Walle, Tony
Bovaird, University of Birmingham School of Public Policy, Making Better Use
of Information to Drive Improvement in Local Public Services: A Report for the
Audit Commission Institute of Local Government Studies, 22 June 2007
www.audit-commission.gov.uk/Products/NATIONAL-REPORT/
77C7B4DB-0C48-4038-A93F-DFE3E645A26E/INLOGOV_
Information_use_review.pdf
Explores how decision makers
use information when making decisions to drive improvement in local public
services. Includes a summary of key government policy initiatives in the UK
to stimulate the use of information in decision making; a review of the relevant
research literature on role of information in decision making theories,
psychological factors in the use of information etc; a presentation of a
number of international perspectives on the use of information in public-sector
decision making.
Evidence
suggests that research rarely directly influences policy but is more
often used to legitimise decisions already taken. Similarly performance
information is often not a direct influencer in part due to uncertainty, lack of
time / timeliness, and poor knowledge transfer between producers and users
etc. They note frequent complaints and requests for more information while
ignoring what is already available.
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