{"id":3297,"date":"2016-08-09T11:53:05","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T16:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/\/"},"modified":"2016-08-15T14:57:45","modified_gmt":"2016-08-15T19:57:45","slug":"what-are-the-principles-of-policy-relevant-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/what-are-the-principles-of-policy-relevant-research\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the principles of policy relevant research?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we stated\u00a0in the first post of this series<\/a>, our approach\u00a0is based on the premise that researchers and research institutions that do good research for policymaking have a set of unique skills that distinguish them from those that do purely academic work. They have specific and deliberate ways of linking with the world of policymaking.<\/p>\n

While there are no clear-cut recipes that will work for all those who want to conduct policy relevant research, we have gathered a set of principles identified in the existing literature and through practice, which will help researchers develop both the right mind-set and the practical skills for their work, and create an enabling environment for relevant research to flourish.<\/p>\n

Principles for policy relevant research<\/h2>\n

Here are outlined the seven principles:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Embedded in policy context <\/b>\u2013 <\/b>Instead of focusing on\u00a0rules and standards for the policy relevant research, we should\u00a0explore the methodological options available in relation to the context. This means that we are not inclined to think that one particular type of research is better, but what is important is to understand the choices we make given the context where we work in.<\/li>\n
  2. Internally and externally validated <\/b>\u2013<\/b>Relevant research needs to be meaningful within and outside the organisation. Acquiring the perspective of others will strengthen both the\u00a0research agenda as well as each research projects. This approach\u00a0will propose different levels of engagement feasible for this validation and that may work depending on the\u00a0\u00a0context and the characteristics of each\u00a0think tank.<\/li>\n
  3. Responds to policy questions and objectives<\/b>\u2013 <\/b>Many times, it is believed that \u201cresearch for policy\u201d must be instrumental, that the key is having a slot for\u00a0\u201cpolicy recommendations\u201d at the end of the report. But the reality is that policy problems are diverse and the expected contribution of research in each can be different. This approach\u00a0puts forward a way of looking at policy problems and identifying each\u00a0think tank\u00b4s potential contributions.<\/li>\n
  4. Fit for purpose and timely <\/b>\u2013 <\/b>Once think tanks and researchers\u00a0have identified the type of policy problems they face and the questions their\u00a0research may\u00a0answer, then they\u00a0may\u00a0start defining the most appropriate methods.<\/li>\n
  5. Crafted with an analytical and policy perspective <\/b>\u2013 <\/b>Policy relevant research goes beyond the obvious and beyond a narrative description of the situation.<\/li>\n
  6. Open to change and innovation: as it interacts with policy spaces and policymakers <\/b>\u2013 Innovating in research is critical for a think tank to maintain its relevance in the policy process. However, it is important to balance both the capacity to create new things, and to take advantage of the existing capacities of your think tank.<\/li>\n
  7. Realistic about institutional capacity and funding opportunities<\/b> \u2013 Finally, but not least important, a relevant research agenda is realistic.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In order to support researchers and research organisations\u2019 efforts in conducting policy relevant research, our series\u00a0unpacks and distills these principles at two levels: at a strategic, conceptual level, and at a practical and personal level. Carrying out these seven principles is both a personal and institutional commitment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As we stated\u00a0in the first post of this series, our approach\u00a0is based on the premise that researchers and research institutions that do good research for policymaking have a set of unique skills that distinguish them from those that do purely academic work. They have specific and deliberate ways of linking with the world of policymaking. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[977,978,979,393],"class_list":["post-3297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-academic-research","tag-policy-relevant-research","tag-policy-research","tag-research-agenda","article-types-opinion","people-leandro-echt","series-peer-reviews-for-think-tanks","series-research-communication-capacity","series-the-cgd-model-to-think-tanks","theme-research"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3297\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}