Research and analysis is at the heart of good policymaking at Defra. It provides evidence for decision-making (ensuring Defra’s polices are based on a sound, comprehensive understanding of current evidence), helps us find new policy solutions and helps us identify and tackle future issues.

This section highlights the main areas we cover, as well as the work we do to ensure we use high quality evidence in the right way.

• We use the term “evidence” to encompass material from a variety of disciplines – science research, statistics, economics, social research or operational research, and geographical information
• We use a variety of quality assurance processes
• We fund research through competitions

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