Defining 'evidence'

This week Prof Andrew Pullin, from the Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation in the School of Environment, Natural Resources & Geography, attended a Roundtable Meeting in the Houses of Parliament to discuss the definition of evidence in Parliament. The meeting was organised by the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology and involved 20 people, roughly half from the two houses and half from academia and NGO’s. The purpose of the meeting was to review the way Parliament uses the term evidence in its work and to move toward a more transparent and critical use of evidence sources. Prof Pullin commented that ‘it was a fascinating insight into the history of the use of evidence in Parliament could mark the first steps in a major change in working practices’. A summary of the meeting and its future work will be published in due course.

Publication date: 23 October 2015