WHO Approach

Abstract

Abstract Despite considerable investments into the generation of research worldwide, research is frequently not used in practice or policy. A substantial body of evidence is showing that using research requires significant and planned change at individual, organizational and systems levels. To support and guide WHO Member States in the endeavor of strengthening evidence-informed policy-making, the WHO Regional Office for Europe launched the Evidence-informed Policy Network (EVIPNet) Europe at the end of 2012. It is a capacity building initiative that aims to create, train, guide and institutionalize innovative, multisectoral and multidisciplinary partnerships and teams at the country level. Assisted by EVIPNet Europe, these teams initiate and implement national research-to-policy processes, such as developing user-friendly evidence briefs for policy on high-priority policy issues targeted and tailored to policy-makers, holding policy dialogues, and creating linkages and exchange between the research and policy communities. In this presentation, an overview of EVIPNet Europe’s mandate, approaches, tools and activities will be given. Participants will gain an understanding of how knowledge brokering and integrated, interactive mechanisms can help to bridge the gap between research and policy and improve health outcomes.