Researchers keen to see their findings impact on policy and practice are often told that better communication is the magic key to opening the door to the world of policy. The message is: if you can communicate your research well enough, policymakers will pay attention. While communication is no doubt important, the route from evidence to policy and practice is rarely this linear. Working as a knowledge broker involves stepping into the shoes of both researchers and policymake

Staff members from three parliaments (Ghana, Uganda and Zimbabwe) are participating in a Learning Exchange programme coordinated by the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), as part of the VakaYiko project. The aim is to strengthen the role of parliamentary information support units in evidence uptake by providing a space for peer exchange and support—both ‘learning together’ and ‘learning from each other’. Photo: Participants in the Parliament Learning Exchange (

[Editor’s note: This post was written by Simonida Kacarska, Research Coordinator at the European Policy Institute, Macedonia. It is the tenth article of a series of reflections to share what facilitators and participants learned through P&I’s online course Doing policy relevant research, ran for the first time in the first quarter of 2016.] Researching for a think tank/civil society organisation in the Balkans on issues of democratic governance I have found myself at various

[Editor’s note: This post is the eighth of a series produced by Andrea Ordóñez and Leandro Echt  from Politics & Ideas to share what we learned through the online course Doing policy relevant research, ran for the first time in the first quarter of 2016.] In our course on policy relevant research, you learn about methods that you may not be familiar with, and you are encouraged to think about policy problems differently. This may inspire you to innovate, but before you do, le

[Editor’s note: This post is the seventh of a series produced by Andrea Ordóñez and Leandro Echt  from Politics & Ideas to share what we learned through the online course Doing policy relevant research, ran for the first time in the first quarter of 2016. The course was supported by the Think Tank Fund and the Think Tank Initiative. This post was originally published at Aditi Bulletin] There is a persistent perception that there is a tension between rigorous research and rese

[Editor’s note: This post is the sixth of a series produced by Andrea Ordóñez and Leandro Echt  from Politics & Ideas to share what we learned through the online course Doing policy relevant research, ran for the first time in the first quarter of 2016. The course was supported by the Think Tank Fund and the Think Tank Initiative.] In our previous posts we have gone through different aspects of designing, validating and developing a research agenda were, as part of the strate

[Editor’s note: This post is the fifth of a series produced by Andrea Ordóñez and Leandro Echt  from Politics & Ideas to share what we learned through the online course Doing policy relevant research, ran for the first time in the first quarter of 2016. The course was supported by the Think Tank Fund and the Think Tank Initiative.] In our previous post we introduced the seven principles for policy relevant research identified in existing literature and through practice. In th

[Editor’s note: This post is the fourth of a series produced by Andrea Ordóñez and Leandro Echt  from Politics & Ideas to share what we learned through the online course Doing policy relevant research, ran for the first time in the first quarter of 2016. The course was supported by the Think Tank Fund and the Think Tank Initiative.] In our previous post we introduced the seven principles for policy relevant research identified in existing literature and through practice. The

[Editor’s note: This post is the third of a series produced by Andrea Ordóñez and Leandro Echt  from Politics & Ideas to share what we learned through the online course Doing policy relevant research, ran for the first time in the first quarter of 2016. The course was supported by the Think Tank Fund and the Think Tank Initiative.] Why should one discuss individual and institutional research agendas when talking about policy relevance? From my experience working at and with t

[Editor’s note: This post is part of a series focused on sharing findings from the conceptual framework developed under the study “Going beyond “Context matters”, conducted by P&I and INASP. The presented framework intends to be a lens to help policymakers, researchers, practitioners and donors better define windows of opportunity in different public institutions to focus efforts on promoting better interaction between knowledge and policy. In a recent post, we have presented

[Editor’s note: This post is the introduction to a series produced by Andrea Ordóñez and Leandro Echt  from Politics & Ideas to share what we learned through the online course Doing policy relevant research, ran for the first time in the first quarter of 2016. The course was supported by the Think Tank Fund and the Think Tank Initiative.] The first round of the Doing policy relevant research course has finished successfully, and it has been inspiring. Just over a year ago, I

[Editor’s note: This post was written by Maria Balarin, Senior Researcher at the Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE). She reflects on openness and what it means in the context of INASP’s work. This post was originally published at Research to Action blog.] According to existing categorisations, Bolivia, Paraguay and Perú, are among the smallest players in the South American region when it comes to social research production. In 2015 a comparative study of the social

[Editor’s note: This post was written by Julie Brittain, who has recently become the Executive Director of the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP). She reflects on openness and what it means in the context of INASP’s work. This post was originally published at INASP’s blog Practising Development.] I’m now two months into my new job as Executive Director of INASP and I’ve been thinking a lot about openness. It’s partly prompted by an e

[Editor’s note: This post was written by Julie Brittain, who has recently become the Executive Director of the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) after four years as Deputy Executive Director and Director of Programmes. She shares why INASP’s work contributes to global development. This post was originally published at INASP’s blog Practising Development.] As we begin a new year, the eyes of the international development community ar

In May 2015, as part of INASP’s strategy development process, we engaged an independent consultant to conduct a phone/skype survey of 39 stakeholders from 26 countries who represent different parts of the research and development system. In her previous blog post, Sue Corbett shared some of the positive messages that emerged from the survey about the progress of research in the south. In today’s blog she looks at the persistence of “old problems” and complex challenges. As di

In May 2015, as part of INASP’s strategy development process, we engaged an independent consultant, Teresa Hanley, to conduct a phone/Skype survey of 39 stakeholders from 26 countries who represent different parts of the research and development system. Survey respondents included researchers, research and programme managers, senior university personnel, librarians, journal editors, capacity builders and donors. They work in universities, government departments, NGOs, think t

[Editor’s note: This post is part of a series that looks into think tank funding models. It is based on a course that Politics & Ideas has delivered to a group of think tanks in Central Eastern Europe and Nepal] When think tank managers and members are worried about their funding models, it is frequently related to periods in which incoming funds are not that certain or are less than expected…concerns about being more proactive and creative increase. This sometimes leads to f

A change that is becoming a reality during the first years of the 21st Century is the mass use information and communication technology in transforming old processes and methods so as to leverage human knowledge. A recent course developed by Politics & Ideas is a clear example of that — it has trained over 20 public professional in the region through Internet-based technologies for the co-creation of knowledge so that they can improve their ability to use and promote the use

Several and different efforts are being conducted around the globe to promote the use of research in policy. P&I is permanently thinking about ways to contribute to a more fruitful interaction between knowledge and ideas emanating from it and policy. Yet, are we learning enough from those who are hardly working for this on the ground? At P&I we believe there is large and promising room to further systematize what policymakers are achieving (and challenges they are dealing wit

[Editor’s note: This post was written by Paul R. Kelly, PhD Researcher in Impact, Evaluation & Service Design, Lancaster University, UK. Email: paulrichardkelly@gmail.com.] Introduction Welcome attention is now being paid to how evaluations can better engage with and contribute to policy processes, beyond dissemination alone. One example of this trend is CIPPEC’s work on influencing public policy assessments (2015). To add to this kind of work, I would also like pose some qu