Bringing Research Findings To The Policy Table Has No Clear Pathway
and Many Challenges, Say Investigators
An academic and
government research team examining the interface between researchers
and policy makers note that “…the peer reviewed public health
literature has devoted little attention to understanding and improving
the ways in which researchers get their work into policy pathways.” To
address this shortcoming, the team, led by the University of
Washington’s
Jennifer Otten
undertook a series of interviews with public health nutrition and
obesity researchers known for being highly involved in communicating
research to policy makers. The team, reporting in Preventing Chronic
Disease on April 30 found a wide variation in communication practices
and even mixed beliefs about whether and when researchers should
engage with policy makers. This split ideology is one that has
permeated the epidemiology community for many years.
Facilitators
Among the factors that facilitated a productive
exchange between researchers and policy makers were requirements to
engage laid down by funders, recognition of the researcher's policy
work by academic institutions, personal desires to make a difference
on the part of researchers, and training and mentorship. Some of
these factors are illustrated by quotes from the interviewees who said
“ a foundation pushed me to do it [learn how to communicate with
policy makers] and another who said “I learned how to do it out of
impatience. I was tired of doing research and not having it go
anywhere or lead to anything.”
Barriers To Making A
Difference
According to the report, interviewees consistently
noted that the academic culture does not highly value participation in
policy making. This is reflected in promotion processes that count
publications and grants much more heavily than policy related work.
Even researchers themselves are not of one mind about the value of
engaging with policy. Some do not understand the potential value;
others think it should be done only by a subset of researchers skilled
or interested in policy matters. Still others believe that doing good
science is more important than figuring out what policy makers need.
Other barriers included lack of training in policy
related matters, the difficulty of measuring the actual benefits of
participating in policy related work because of multiple inputs, and
insufficient time to engage meaningfully.
Suggestions
Despite these challenges, participants made suggestions
to improve the situation, including more training, using
intermediaries between researchers and policy makers who are more
familiar with the ins and outs of policy making, and cultivating
relationships between researchers and policy makers over time.
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