NITI Ayog: a shift towards Evidence-informed policy making

Evidence-informed policymaking is an approach that aims to integrate the best available scientific evidence into the design of public policies. Central and state governments make hundreds of policy decisions, small and big, every day that have an impact on millions of lives. Many of the policy questions have been rigorously researched, and controlled trials are conducted in order to assess the impact, leading to valuable insights into which policies work, which don’t and why. But not all of this research finds its way into government policies. This is often because we lack a unifying mechanism within government that can synthesise a diverse array of scientific evidence, from India and other developing countries, and provide coherent recommendations for policymakers. This is also why a centrally located government think tank like the NITI Aayog, which can command the necessary resources and attention, is well placed to play this role.

NITI Ayog and Evidence based policy making

NITI Aayog is mandated to work towards furthering cooperative federalism. It can also promote evidence based policy making by ensuring that a policy innovation from any state, regardless of the party in power, gets due attention and becomes a template for other states as long as it is backed by rigorous scientific evidence. In policy areas where evidence is scarce, the NITI Aayog can actively promote collaborations between policymakers and researchers by funding and rigorously testing policy innovations at the pilot stage, before recommending them for scale. This comes from a realisation that despite decades of effort in designing and implementing anti-poverty programmes, there is little consensus on the most effective strategies for improving the lives of the poor. Reflecting this thought, the World Development Report 2015, the flagship report of the World Bank, focuses on mind, society and behaviour and makes a strong case for the application of behavioural science in development.

Challenges

To achieve this in practice will require the NITI Aayog to overcome two key challenges:

• accessing high-quality researchers in multiple disciplines who can partner with policymakers, and
• creating a willingness among policymakers to learn from evidence instead of relying solely on intuitions or ideologies.

Learning from Tamil Nadu

In fact, the state of Tamil Nadu has already taken a step in this direction. In 2014, the government of Tamil Nadu entered into a partnership with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) to institutionalize the use of evidence in policymaking by rigorously evaluating innovative programmes before they are scaled up, strengthening monitoring systems and enhancing the officials’ capacity to generate and use data. In perhaps a first for any state government in India, the Tamil Nadu government also set up an Innovation Fund, with an annual allocation of Rs. 150 crore, through which any government agency can access resources for pilot innovation programmes through a competitive process.