Although initiatives to promote evidence in policy are not a recent invention, we have seen a rapid blossoming of activity in recent years. A study mapped the activities of 346 organisations running nearly 2,000 research-policy engagement initiatives – such as the UK's Department of Health Policy Research Units, the US Bipartisan Policy Centre's Evidence Project or the African Evidence Network – spanning 31 countries (Hopkins et al, 2021). Although the very oldest organisations identified in the study began over 500 years ago, the majority date from 1945 onwards with a more rapid expansion from 2010 onwards.

In this chapter we reflect on the acceleration in activity in the UK and the emergence of the What Works Network, a flagship initiative attracting attention around the world. We tell the story from the personal perspective of two ‘eyewitnesses’ who worked in organisations tasked with putting evidence use more firmly on the policy agenda: Jonathan Breckon as the director of the Alliance for Useful Evidence, and Annette Boaz as a fellow in the Centre for Evidence Based Policy and Practice, and founding editor of the journal Evidence & Policy.

What a difference leadership makes

Arguably, what transformed the fate of those working to promote evidence use in the UK was the 1997 general election. The new prime minister, Tony Blair, swept into office with a mantra of ‘what counts is what works’ (Labour Party, 1997, p 1). Government documents were awash with references to the role of evidence (Nutley et al, 2002, p 10).

In addition to political leadership, there was also leadership from within the heart of Whitehall. Two newly created posts were crucial: a Chief Social Scientist and a Chief Social Researcher.

The former government-wide post of Chief Social Scientist included the disciplines of statistics and economics, and sat with the wider group of Government Chief Scientific Advisers. Based in the Home Office, criminologist Professor Paul Wiles was the first – and last – to hold this post, between 1999 and 2010. Wiles was then the only social scientist who was a member of the influential group of Chief Scientific Advisers.