Think Tank Publishes 200-Page Report Concluding That More Research Is Needed

The Brookdale Institute for Policy Analysis has published a 200-page report titled 'Toward a Framework for Understanding Frameworks: A Preliminary Meta-Analysis of Analytical Approaches to Policy Evaluation' that concludes, after two years of research and $2.3 million in funding, that additional research is needed. 'Our findings are clear,' said lead researcher Dr. Perpetua Grant at a press conference Wednesday. 'After exhaustive review of the existing literature, comprehensive stakeholder interviews, and rigorous statistical modeling, we have determined with high confidence that we do not yet know enough to determine anything. We recommend a follow-up study.' The report, which features 847 footnotes, a sixty-page methodology section, and an appendix longer than the report itself, examines whether current policy evaluation frameworks are adequate for evaluating whether policy evaluation frameworks are adequate. 'It's a meta-question,' Dr. Grant explained. 'Before we can assess whether policies work, we need to assess whether our methods of assessing whether policies work actually work. And before we can do that, we need to assess our methods of assessment. It's assessments all the way down.' Critics have noted that the Brookdale Institute has published seventeen consecutive reports recommending further research, none of which have produced actionable conclusions. 'Each report is a stepping stone,' Dr. Grant countered. 'Admittedly, we haven't yet determined what the stones are stepping toward. That's slated for the next report.' The institute has submitted a grant proposal for $3.1 million to study whether its own reports have any measurable impact on policy. The proposal acknowledges that the answer is 'almost certainly no' but argues this itself warrants investigation.