of the wedge to opening up higher-profile policies to critical scrutiny. [1] not on my Kobo: fscking ebook version of it is DRMed so you can't get it from a Linux desktop to your kobo. Geek Fail jessmadge said, Nice clear paper Ben and I hope it is widely read. I remember the example in which doctors used to give loads of oxygen to premature babies until someone discovered this practice caused blindness. I have always thought it a pity there are not more people with a scientific education in politics and the civil service. The other problem is that politicians want a quick headline, with their eye on polls and the next election -- and proper research takes time. So it would be a huge change of mindset to start testing things properly before organising a grand roll-out with fanfare of trumpets. I've been chairing the governing body of a school in a deprived area for many years and we have suffered an onslaught of policy initiatives and changes of direction. Gove has now engaged warp drive. Instead of trials we have: "if it is old fashioned then it must be good" and "more new (old) things must be better". Username said, I had a look at the Behavioural Insights Team page on the Cabinet Office website, and the whole thing seems to be about promoting a particular kind of economic philosophy (libertarian paternalism to be specific). Are they actually serious about testing policies, or is this just their