Introducing “Evidence” into Board Decision-Making

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to report on the results of a workshop that introduced evidence-based decision-making techniques to Board members of regional health authorities in Alberta.

Results and conclusions: The workshop demonstrated that it is possible to design a process for the incorporation of evidence in administrative decision-making. The participants demonstrated that they were able to apply scientific evidence in administrative decision making and that the decisions taken were reasonably consistent. Also, in the absence of evidence, values took precedence in the decision-making process and the decisions taken were less consistent.