Government will look at chief social scientist role while seeing What Works

Today, the government announced it would appoint a special adviser to look at the merits of such a post. The adviser will also chair the What Works Network (WWN) – six institutions which will assess and guide decision-making for £200bn of public spending.

WWN will consist of two existing centres of evidence – the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the Educational Endowment Foundation (EEF) – and four new independent quangos which will look at crime, ageing, economic growth and early intervention for children and young adults.

The centres aim to build on existing evidence-based policy making and will produce and disseminate research to inform local and national decision-makers.

Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “The What Works Network will bring a real step-change to our evidence-generating capabilities, and will further ensure government takes decisions at the spending round and future events on the basis of high quality research aimed at delivering the best outcomes for the public.”