Publications

Institutions depend on multiple forms of evidence to support complex decisions. Research across medicine, engineering, public policy, intelligence analysis, systems science, organisational studies and related disciplines has produced sophisticated approaches to generating, evaluating and applying evidence within particular contexts. Institutional practice similarly demonstrates that important decisions rarely depend on a single source of information, instead requiring the interpretation of technical analysis, operational experience, professional judgement, organisational knowledge and contextual understanding.

This publication examines research drawn from fourteen complementary disciplines together with anonymised observations from professional practice to explore the relationship between evidence and institutional judgement. The analysis suggests that evidence integration extends beyond discipline-specific analytical methods and exhibits the characteristics of an institutional capability. Recognising evidence integration this way offers a coherent perspective on existing disciplinary contributions and opens opportunities for further work on organisational judgement, interdisciplinary decision making and the development of evidence-informed institutions.