Research and Policy in Development: Does Evidence Matter?

This publication shares information and discussions that came out of a lunch-time meeting series organised by the Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) programme of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) that provided an opportunity for researchers, policy makers and intermediaries in the UK to discuss how and why evidence informs policy. This online and PDF publication provides summaries and full transcripts from each meeting, where speakers talked about the influence of political and institutional context, what sort of evidence they want and need, how research institutes can manage and use their knowledge more effectively, how non-governmental organisation (NGO) campaigns and think tanks achieve policy influence, and what makes a good policy entrepreneur.

According to the document, it is proposed that "better utilization of research and evidence in development policy and practice can have a dramatic impact. For example, household disease surveys in rural Tanzania informed health service reforms which contributed to a 28% reduction in infant mortality in two years. On the other hand, the HIV/AIDS crisis has deepened in some countries as governments fail to implement effective prevention and mitigation programmes despite clear evidence how to prevent it spreading. Although evidence clearly matters, there is no systematic understanding of when, how and why evidence informs policy. "

The meeting series included the following topics:

• Does evidence matter? - Why is evidence important in policy making? What sort of evidence? How to get it? Is the current emphasis on evidence-based policy in government resulting in better policies?
• The political context - Are policy makers “evidence aware”? What sort of evidence gets to them? What other factors influence their decision-making? What room for manoeuvre do they have?
• The role of research - What does the Department for International Development (DFID) want from research? Does it get it? How could research have more impact on policy? How can you measure research impact? What is its relative importance in recent development policy shifts?
• NGO campaigns - What role do they play in policy processes? Are they evidence based? Are they really effective? How? How do they communicate? How to build coalitions?
• Think-tanks - What role do they play in policy processes? Are they a force for good? Can they be independent? What’s the ideal balance between research and communication? How important is reputation?
• Putting knowledge into practice - Do organisations learn? What incentives do people need to learn? How to convert information into knowledge? How to manage knowledge in international networks? Who buys knowledge? The power of networks.
• Policy entrepreneurship - What makes an effective policy entrepreneur? Is it art or science? Spotting policy windows.
• International policies - What’s unique about international and trans-national policy processes? The balance between local and international voice and capacity. How can research contribute?