What Makes a Successful Policy Research Organization in Transition and Developing Countries?

Abstract

Identifying the attributes of policy research organizations (PROs) associated with their success in the policy process is a very important task. Having the answer could help guide the way PROs organize their policy research, staffing, and communications to be more effective. Similarly, supporters of PRO development in transitional and less developed countries could better structure their assistance programs to such organizations. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of factors associated with PROs in transition and developing countries being successful in the policy arena. The analysis employs a unique data set using responses from a survey of policy community participants in 19 countries on the effectiveness of 34 PROs. Five dimensions of success are analyzed. A principal finding is that it is possible to establish statistically significant relationships between indicators of PRO success, on the one hand, and the attributes of policy research organizations, the way the operate, and the environments in which they operate, on the other.