Helping researchers to influence policy

Although the public spends billions each year on research on all policy issues, the impact of publicly funded research on policy is often very limited. Drawing from their own research and experience, the British Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has published a briefing paper on “Helping Researchers Become Policy Entrepreneurs”. The paper first describes the policy making progress which is often messy and complex and only seldom based on scientific evidence. Furthermore, the authors suggest an eight-steps plan that helps researchers to maximise their impact on policy making. In order to become a successful policy entrepreneur, a researcher need additional skills apart from their academic reputation. They need to be “political fixers” with an ability to be good storytellers and “engineers” of political processes.

Illustration: Overseas Development Institute, 2009