Public consultation is a difficult and multi-layered process, with no single approach working effectively for all situations (Doubleday & Wilsdon, 2013). Governments must implement clear goals and techniques when engaging in public consultation (OECD, 2001). Networking, using tools that are fit-for-purpose, and ensuring citizens are aware of their legal and ethical rights are elements needed […]
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The Communication of Research-Based Information in a Public Policy Context: Bridging the Divide
Research should be an essential component in the development and implementation of public policy. By informing decision makers of the potential costs and benefits of a particular action or inaction, research can contribute to sound decision making. However, the technical and scientific nature of research often may not obviously match the policy implications of decision […]
Information Pathways: Charting Evidence-Based Policy
Policies are everywhere, and although often unseen and unknown, form the framework for how citizens work, play, and live their lives. At the heart of every policy is information, forming the basis of knowledge and evidence-based decision-making. Acquiring the information to make the right policy decision is by no means a simple task. In our […]
Social Science Information and Local Knowledge in Public Policy Development: The Eight “Ps”
Decision and policy-making are multifaceted processes. Carol H. Weiss’s 1977 statement “policymaking process is a political process, with the basic aim of reconciling interests in order to negotiate consensus, not of implementing logic and truth” remains valid today (Weiss, 1977, p. 533). Awareness that policy making is a multifaceted process and one in which […]
Communication across Science-Policy Interfaces
Using research-based information to make informed decisions in policy-making is important in the creation of governmental policies. The use of evidence-based knowledge verifies and validates that appropriate decisions are made by policy makers. Within the science community, the use of scientific research in public policy is termed the science-policy interface. Van den Hove (2007) defines […]
Information for Public Policy with a Focus on Health and Environmental Policy
The relationships among research, decision-making, and policy development are often complex due to the multifaceted processes that involve varying institutions, people, and information. For both scientific and health research fields these issues are common. Specifically, knowledge and evidence utilization are not static concepts; rather they occur within dynamic settings encompassing a spectrum of types of […]
Information Use in Policy Formulation: Determining Impact
Determining the impact of research in policy-making contexts is a challenging task, a fact which recent literature highlights. This blog post surveys several publications that address this subject. We begin with Sandra Nutley, Isabel Walter, and Huw Davies, who draw attention to important issues regarding measurement of the impact of research. They point out, for […]
Iteration and Innovation: Using the Right Models for Improving the Use of Research in Policy and Practice
This post briefly describes several models for research-policy and research-practice relationships, and then explores how two models– the interactive model and the context, evidence, and links model– best capture the complexities inherent in the use of climate change research in policy and practice. This post argues that models that promote the understanding of context, the […]
Social Networks and News Media: Impact on Information and Policy Development
The recent rise of social media and the growing presence of news media in the realm of public policy and decision making have created a new dynamic: policy makers are now sitting alongside the general population. In this new era of policy making, scientists, policy makers, and the general population all collaborate on policy issues […]
Communication of Research Information: Barriers and Enablers
Evidence-based policy making depends on effective communication of scientific and social science research-based information. Several barriers that bear on the ability to effectively communicate information are identified in the literature. Similarly, several enablers are described that can create more effective communication. Ultimately, enablers and barriers are two sides of the same coin. Many of enablers […]