Evidence-Based Policy

Economic austerity has provided the rationale for a transformation of social programs from unconditional entitlements to evidence-based policy (Edsall, 2012). This transition emphasizes accountability not only with respect to the cost of programs but outcomes as well. While cost–benefit analysis has been used in the past to evaluate specific initiatives, the next era of social policy institutionalizes evidence-based policy through new structures, such as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Social Impact Bonds (SIBs). This change has significant implications for social work insofar as most social programs have been predicated on common sense, good intentions, or practice wisdom, but rarely on empirical evidence. As evidence-based policy replaces unconditional entitlements, lawmakers will prefer program activities that are substantiated through field experiments, especially randomized controlled trials, which show lower cost while producing superior outcomes, over predecessors. Accordingly, social service employment opportunities will shift toward more effective programs and away from programs that have not demonstrated comparable efficacy.