Phronetic expertise in evidence use: a new perspective on how research can aid educational policy development

<italic>The notion of evidence-informed policy making and the arguments in its favour are well established. At the same time, however, regular evidence use is yet to become a routine way of life for educational policy makers, particularly within the UK. This paper engages with the notion of expertise in evidence use, and with Flyvbjerg's idea of phronesis. It also details how the phronetic approach can be adopted by policy makers and the potential implications for the policy development process. Given the issues that abound with current attempts to embed and enact evidence-informed policy making, the phronetic approach presents an alternative and viable way of both perceiving how evidence is currently used and also establishing enhanced levels of evidence use. In particular, the paper spotlights a need for current thought in this area to move away from rational and linear perspectives to encourage policy makers continuously to incorporate the most recent evidence into their thinking, and to make well-rounded decisions. The mechanisms required to facilitate phronetic expertise are examined as are the cultural issues that need to be addressed.</italic>