Randomised trials

Medicine has long used randomised trials to test efficacy. That approach is now coming to government programs.

Andrew Leigh says the Australian Centre for Evaluation will improve the volume, quality and impact of evaluations across the APS.

Randomised trials are in your life, whether you like it or not. In most advanced countries, governments won’t pay for pharmaceuticals unless they’ve undergone a randomised evaluation. Increasingly, the world’s smartest aid agencies are looking for the same level of evidence before they allocate funds to a project.