Strategy Survival Guide

Strategy Survival Guide Version 2.1
Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit
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Strategy Skills
> Building an Evidence Base
Learning from others - International comparisons
> in practice
International comparisons bring together information, data and analysis on approaches to tackling similar
policy areas in other countries and draw out relevant experience that may be applied in the UK. They can be
one of the only real ways of comparing effectiveness of different strategies aimed at the same or similar
problems (if in different institutional and cultural contexts). Benchmarking of different countries can also
provide pointers to how to improve UK performance across a wide range of issues – by pointing to countries
which are leading the field (identifying positive deviance from the norm).
Often conducted as a stand-alone piece of work, the output is usually a written report but could also be a
presentation or seminar. It can also feed into the overall project report.
The Process
1. Identify problem or challenge
In the early stages of analysis, it is often helpful to define the problem being considered fairly flexibly or
broadly and without couching it in institution-specific terms that might inhibit cross-national comparison. Once
potential comparator countries have been identified, it will be possible to focus on the particular issues where
international comparisons might be most instructive. The key questions to be addressed and the information
to be acquired from an international mapping exercise should be carefully defined. A pro forma can be a
helpful tool, particularly to guide web-based searches.
2. Identify comparator country/region
It is often useful to survey a wide variety of countries to see which might be the best 'fit’. The ideal
comparator is one where there is a similar policy environment i.e. where the issues faced are closely
comparable, and also where the two countries are similar in cultural and socio-economic respects. Of
course, two policy environments will never be identical, and it is a matter of judgement as to the extent to
which differences in ideological, resource and institutional factors at either the macro or micro level impact on
the ability to make worthwhile comparisons.
3. Gather relevant evidence
In gathering evidence to inform cross-border learning, it is advisable to consult as wide a range of relevant
sources as possible. From a distance, it can be difficult to map out the inter-relationships between different
stakeholders, and determine the significance of different elements of the institutional landscape. Gaining a
wide variety of perspectives on an issue helps to fill in essential contextual information and provide a more
rounded understanding.
In gathering relevant evidence, a key decision is whether to visit the country in question or to collect
information at a distance. If you are planning to conduct country visits, sufficient time and budget should be
allocated in the project management plan. For distance data gathering, the internet is of course the most
useful resource, in addition to telephone calls, correspondence and video conferencing.
Consider meeting, or corresponding with, the following: policy-makers/decision-makers; programme
sponsors, managers, staff and other stakeholders (where a specific government programme or policy is
being considered); target participants; evaluation and research/academic community, and representatives
from the media.
Other sources of information include international bodies (e.g. European Commission, OECD, UN, World
Bank, IMF) and Universities which have comparative research expertise in the area in question.
Strategy Survival Guide – Strategy Skills
Page 146