Policy analytical capacity and evidence-based policy-making: Lessons from Canada Michael Howlett Abstract: Evidence-based policy-making represents a contemporary effort to reform or re-structure policy processes in order to prioritize evidentiary or data-based deci- sion-making. Like earlier efforts in the ‘‘policy analysis movement,’’ its aim is to avoid or minimize policy failures caused by a mismatch between government expec- tations and actual, on-the-ground conditions through the provision of greater amounts of policy-relevant information. A significant factor affecting the ability of policy-makers to engage in evidence-based policy-making pertains to both govern- mental and non-governmental ‘‘policy analytical capacity.’’ That is, governments require a reasonably high level of policy analytical capacity to perform the tasks as- sociated with managing the policy process in order to implement evidence-based policy-making and avoid several of the most common sources of policy failures. Recent studies, however, suggest that, even in advanced countries such as Canada, the level of policy analytical capacity found in many governments and non-govern- mental actors is low, potentially contributing to both a failure of evidence-based policy-making as well as effectively dealing with many complex contemporary policy challenges. Sommaire: L’e ´laboration de politiques axe ´e sur des e ´le ´ments probants repre ´sente un effort contemporain de re ´forme ou de structuration des processus de politiques dans le but de donner la priorite ´a ` la prise de de ´cisions s’appuyant sur les preuves ou fonde ´e sur les donne ´es. Comme pour les efforts ante ´rieurs du ß mouvement d’analyse de politiques ý , le but est d’e ´viter ou de minimiser les e ´checs de politiques cause ´s par un de ´calage entre les attentes du gouvernement et les conditions re ´elles sur le terrain, gra ˆce a ` la disposition de plus amples informations pertinentes aux politiques. Un facteur important touchant a ` l’aptitude des e ´laborateurs de politiques a ` s’engager dans une e ´laboration de politiques axe ´e sur les e ´le ´ments probants est lie ´a ` la ß capacite ´ d’analyse de politiques ý aussi bien gouvernementale que non gouvernementale. C’est-a `-dire que les gouvernements exigent un niveau raisonnablement e ´leve ´ de capa- cite ´ d’analyse de politiques en vue d’exe ´cuter les ta ˆches associe ´es a ` la gestion du The author is Burnaby Mountain Professor, Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser Uni- versity. He would like to thank Brian Head and Tim Tenbensel and the participants of the International Research Society for Public Management meetings in Brisbane, Australia, in April 2008, for their comments and suggestions for this article. He also acknowledges the helpful comments made by the Journal’s four anonymous reviewers. CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION / ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE DU CANADA VOLUME 52, NO. 2 (JUNE/JUIN 2009), PP. 153–175 r The Institute of Public Administration of Canada/L’Institut d’administration publique du Canada 2009