"As a government service professional, you make crucial decisions every day that balance need with available resources. How should you approach these decisions, and how can you justify the decisions you make?In this informative and practical book, Professor Paul Maxim, Fire Chief and Professor Len Garis, Professor Emeritus Darryl Plecas and legal analyst Mona Davies explore the what, why and how of evidence-based decision making. The book strips evidence-based decision making down to the basics, providing government professionals with an effective tool to help them justify a particular approach or choice. Readers are guided through the process of finding and using the information needed to make evidence-based decisions, then positioning their decisions in a way that will convince others of their merit. Local government examples are sprinkled throughout the chapters, helping to link the concepts to the real world.At the heart of the book is the notion that gathering and using evidence is something all public service decision-makers can and should do; it's not just for scientists and academics."-- from publisher.