Never mind the policymakers, a more nuanced understanding of the diverse roles in change processes is required

Funding bids, blogs, academic papers, and policy briefs are awash with references to the "policymaker" as the primary audience for research and evidence. But this term means very little when you consider the diversity of policy actors, practitioners, donors, and activists. James Georgalakis argues researchers need to acquire a more nuanced understanding of their audiences' diverse roles in change processes. Rather than becoming preoccupied with policymakers, focus might instead shift to building the capacity of knowledge intermediaries whose role it is to identify, assess, and repackage evidence for a range of audiences

To shape policy with evidence, we should celebrate both good practice and good theory

As the famous saying attributed to Kurt Lewin goes, “there is nothing as practical as a good theory”. In this post James Georgalakis makes the case that bridging the gap between theory and practice is not simply a matter of more refined communication, but of creating structures in which policy influencers and academics can productively learn from each other

It's not enough for research to be useful to policy actors, we must try to actually influence change

There is no doubt that good communications and framing research and evidence for your audience is important to influencing policy and having research impact. But shouldn't we be aiming higher than producing and packaging research that simply meets the demands of policy actors? Surely what we actually want to do is influence change, not reinforce social and political norms? James Georgalakis argues that research and researchers need to challenge dominant paradigms and expose inconvenient truths. Relationships, networks, and bodies of knowledge play a far more significant role in change processes than short-term communications campaigns on specific research reports

Activism or research communication? research organisations could be muzzled by UK charity anti-advocacy clause

Think tanks and research organisations should not ignore the row that has broken out over the recent announcement by the UK government to introduce an anti-advocacy clause into all charity grants. James Georgalakis argues that this move, if fully implemented could have serious consequences for research-based charities seeking to support evidence based policy making, despite the government’s focus on research uptake

Reducing Teenage Pregnancy in Sierra Leone

Research directly involving teenagers and their families in Sierra Leone to reduce teenage pregnancy has helped pave the way for a new community-friendly Child and Family Welfare Policy. The research by the Columbia Group for Children in Adversity and UNICEF Sierra Leone mobilised local people through child- and youth-led education initiatives and through closer connections with district health workers. Thanks to the project, condom use increased, teenage girls reported feeling more confident to say ‘no’ and boys showed more willingness to act responsibly. The findings directly influenced the Sierra Leone government’s development of a new policy on child protection.ESRC-DFI

Notes on Contributors

This is the notes on contributors for IDS Bulletin 50.1, 'Exploring Research–Policy Partnerships in International Development'.Department for International Development (DFID)Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC