Better utilization of research and evidence in development policy and practice can help save lives. What determines the uptake of some research findings and not others? What strategies can researchers adopt to have more influence on developmental policy? This briefing paper by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) provides an analytical and practical framework for understanding, improving and underlining the significance of developmental research to policy.
The relationship between research and policy is a dynamic one. There are four crucial factors that determine which research-based evidence gets adopted by policy-makers and practitioners: political context, evidence, links between policy and research communities and external influences.
The appreciation of when, how and why evidence informs policy requires a greater understanding of these inter-related factors.
- The existence of political contestation, institutional pressures and vested interests as well as the nature of power-relations in a country influence the policy process and the production of research. Research itself is an inherently political process.
- The credibility and communication of evidence, the quality of research, the provision of practical solutions and the packaging of new ideas and targeting are highly relevant to the adoption of research policies into policymaking.
- The existence of communities and networks shared both by researches and policymakers improve the important issues of legitimacy, trust and openness between research and policy.
- The external context of international politics and processes, general donor policies and specific research-funding instruments are key issues for research-policy interaction. Socio-economic and cultural influences are also relevant external factors.
Although researchers can control the credibility of their evidence and ensure they interact and communicate effectively with policymakers, they possess a limited capacity to influence the political context within which they work. To maximise their chances of policy influence, researches must make more informed, strategic choices, and:
- Get to know policy makers, seek commissions and line up research programmes with high-profile policy events. Researchers must also reserve resources to respond to unexpected policy windows and identify potential supporters and opponents.
- Develop programmes of high-quality work, including action-research and pilot projects demonstrating the benefits of new approaches. They should establish legitimacy, package new ideas in familiar terms and develop clear communications strategies.
- Familiarise themselves with other stakeholders and build coalitions with like-minded ones. Building new policy networks, setting up within pre-existing networks and the use of informal contacts are particularly relevant.
- Acquire extensive background information on important donors, their priorities and constraints, as well as identifying potential supporters and networks.
- Communication should be suited to donor priorities and language. Regular contact with key individuals and the seeking of commissions should become a standard procedure for researchers.
