Furthermore, national policy documents have been recently prepared, highlighting a series of obstacles hindering progress towards EFA goals achievement, demonstrating the need for evidence-based policy formulation and better informed decision-making.

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The evidence-based policy movement has its detractors, however.

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The role of government research agencies across the world is to provide their governments with evidence-based information to inform policy on issues of public interest such as food safety, climate change and healthcare.

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Gender-disaggregated data, as well as regional research can help us direct evidence-based initiatives for changes in policy.

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We also believe that good public policy must be evidence-based.

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Major-General Antonio Taguba, the man charged with investigating the abuses, told the Senate that he had found no evidence that the abuse was based on orders from high-ranking officers or involved a deliberate policy of softening up prisoners.

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"Teachers are already suffering from pay freezes, job losses and increases in pension contributions - they now face pay cuts due to a policy based on ideology not evidence, " said National Union of Teachers' leader Christine Blower.

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