Policy-relevant Research Research Articles

How not to bridge the gap in international relations

Abstract Over the past decade or more, an increasing number of US initiatives and institutions has taken on the challenge of promoting policy-relevant research and bridging the academia–policy divide. Much of the emphasis of such programmes has been on how scholars can better engage the policy community and the broader public. Less attention has been paid to the pitfalls to avoid when seeking to bridge the gap. In this article, we argue that the more that scholars are engaged in producing and disseminating policy-relevant research, the more essential it is to consider how they can build a set of bridging standards to accompany their ideas. We identify four key dimensions of how scholars engage in policy and public debates and discuss how paying careful attention to these four ‘I's—Influence, Interlocutors, Integrity and Inclusion—can mitigate the most egregious instances of falling prey to a cult of relevance in bridging the gap. We then explore these factors in a discussion of two case-studies that highlight challenges that arise for those scholars who seek to contribute to policy and public debates: the applications of theories to US foreign policy surrounding the so-called democratic peace; and the efforts of international relations scholars to contribute to peace-building in post-conflict states.

Out of the boxes, out of the silos: The need of interdisciplinary collaboration to reduce poor-quality medical products in the supply chain.

In this paper, we argue that understanding and addressing the problem of poor-quality medical products requires a more interdisciplinary approach than has been evident to date. While prospective studies based on rigorous standardized methodologies are the gold standard for measuring the prevalence of poor-quality medical products and understanding their distribution nationally and internationally, they should be complemented by social science research to unpack the complex set of social, economic, and governance factors that underlie these patterns. In the following sections, we discuss specific examples of prospective quality surveys and of social science studies, highlighting the value of cross-sector partnerships in driving high-quality, policy-relevant research in this area.

A new data linkage infrastructure.

Our overall objectives are to make data linkage a more feasible and frequently used approach by easing the burden on data controllers posed by data assembly for complex linkage projects. By moving towards data linkage as a more expected and standard approach, policy relevant research into a variety of outcomes can be conducted.
 The approach to this has been to create a new secure data linkage infrastructure, and to formulate research projects which will use the linked research data delivered by the infrastructure. A suite of information governance documents have also been developed for the data to be held in the secure infrastructure. Holding the data in a de-identified format on behalf of the data controller in a dedicated area for linkage projects means that the data controller only needs to be involved in the approvals process for the project, and a team of experts who operate the infrastructure can assemble the data.
 The results have been that there are several datasets pertaining to Education in Scotland being held within the infrastructure, with more in the pipeline. The data is held in such a way that there are no personal identifiers present in the same location as the variables which are typically of research interest; the stored data is split into three parts and shared across two partner organisations. This separation of functions approach assures data controllers and the public that the data poses extremely minimal privacy risk while in storage, but can be assembled into products which are very useful for approved research in the public interest.
 In conclusion, the new methodology for data linkage developed by this approach is hoped to save time, money and lives. A dedicated secure environment for data linkage will ensure the security and privacy of stored data while providing capacity for complex, rich research data to be brought together.

Digital Storytelling Through the European Commission’s Africa Knowledge Platform to Bridge the Science-Policy Interface for Raw Materials

The international science-policy interface increasingly needs knowledge brokers to convey technical evidence to non-specialists in an engaging way. The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has a long track-record of scientific knowledge on Africa’s developmental context, but this knowledge is often fragmented and difficult to access, limiting its uptake by policymakers and other stakeholders. To overcome this, the JRC developed the Africa Knowledge Platform ( https://africa-knowledge-platform.ec.europa.eu/ ), a web-based entry-point to knowledge that evolves constantly to best support the European Union’s objective of deepening its partnership with Africa. This highly visual and easy-to-use platform brings together datasets, narratives, interactive tools, and partnerships across more than 60 disciplines and policy priorities. Here, we introduce the Africa Knowledge Platform, focusing specifically on using digital storytelling to communicate policy-relevant research on Africa’s raw materials. We present two geographically explicit narratives on (1) critical raw materials for low carbon and digital technologies and (2) monitoring gold mining in remote parts of central Africa using satellite technology. Each narrative uses interactive data and accessible language to communicate relevant research from the JRC and other sources within the context of policies including the EU-Africa Strategy, the European Green Deal and its Circular Economy Action Plan, the African Union’s Mining Vision and international development agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals. Ultimately, we reflect on how the Africa Knowledge Platform can bridge the gap between scientists and policymakers, emphasising the opportunities and caveats for knowledge brokerage across complex science-policy contexts.

Positioning Research for Impact: Lessons From a Funder During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the value of robust, policy-relevant research to inform decision-making and heightened the need for evidence-informed responses to address worsening inequalities. While international development research has the potential to contribute to a more equitable world, research funders grapple with how to ensure that their support best enables researchers to respond to evolving evidence demands and influence policy and practice. This article reflects on lessons emerging from one of the International Development Research Centre’s (IDRC) rapid-response initiatives and highlights the ongoing experiences of our research partners in influencing policy to address the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic. We conclude that flexibility of funding, promoting Southern leadership and embedded partnerships, and ongoing support for amplification of research results help to ensure that research is positioned for impact amid constantly evolving priorities. This has implications for research funding practices and underlines the importance of addressing inequities in access to research funding.

A policy content analysis for evaluating urban adaptation justice in İstanbul

Climate change is disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities, increasing existing risks and leading to further global inequalities. Drawing on the concept of urban adaptation justice, we evaluated the inclusion of vulnerable communities in the climate change adaptation planning process of İstanbul, a European coastal megacity with considerable vulnerability to climate change. For this, a policy content analysis structured around four criteria: (i) participation, (ii) capacity enhancement, (iii) governance, and (iv) justice integration into spatial planning, was carried out and supplemented by local expert consultations. Our findings indicate that while the objective of incorporating some aspects of justice in adaptation planning was recognized, there was a distinct lack of specific actions or evaluation tools. The expert consultations largely confirmed these findings, which were then connected to the socio-historical and political context of İstanbul and the wider Turkish region. Key conclusions include the failure of current adaptation policies to adequately consider vulnerabilities arising from a combination of urban marginalization interacting with neoliberal authoritarianism. We identify the need for understanding and integrating equitable climate change adaptation as a key dimension of urban decision-making for future policy-relevant research and practice.

A database of US state policies to mitigate COVID-19 and its economic consequences

BackgroundSince COVID-19 first appeared in the United States (US) in January 2020, US states have pursued a wide range of policies to mitigate the spread of the virus and its economic ramifications. Without unified federal guidance, states have been the front lines of the policy response.Main textWe created the COVID-19 US State Policy (CUSP) database (https://statepolicies.com/) to document the dates and components of economic relief and public health measures issued at the state level in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Documented interventions included school and business closures, face mask mandates, directives on vaccine eligibility, eviction moratoria, and expanded unemployment insurance benefits. By providing continually updated information, CUSP was designed to inform rapid-response, policy-relevant research in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been widely used to investigate the impact of state policies on population health and health equity. This paper introduces the CUSP database and highlights how it is already informing the COVID-19 pandemic response in the US.ConclusionCUSP is the most comprehensive publicly available policy database of health, social, and economic policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. CUSP documents widespread variation in state policy decisions and implementation dates across the US and serves as a freely available and valuable resource to policymakers and researchers.

Fairness of educational opportunities and income distribution: gender-sensitive analysis in a European comparative perspective

PurposeThe focus of this article is on gender justice with respect to opportunities (educational) and outcome (earnings). The main research question is whether educational opportunities are positively converted into fairness of income, and for whom and where this is the case. The importance of this study lies in the understanding that the subjective feeling of justice is a significant measure of quality of life, of the individual's subjective feeling of happiness and of the fulfilment of the goals people have reason to value.Design/methodology/approachThe study takes a micro-macro approach, combining macro-level data taken from official statistics and micro-data from the 2018 European Social Survey for 25 European countries; the authors also apply multilevel modelling to the data analysis.FindingsAt individual level the authors found gender differences in the associations between education and fairness of educational opportunities. With regard to the scope of fairness, the authors emphasise that fairness of educational opportunities and net pay in European countries is less likely to be felt by someone who has a lower educational level. Higher educational expenditures are positively correlated with fairness of educational opportunities but not with fairness of net pay.Originality/valueThis article contributes to theoretical, empirical and policy-relevant gender justice research on the link between inequalities and justice perceptions. The authors have expanded the theoretical understanding of the concept of gender justice by taking into account the role of a specific gender norm on fairness perceptions. The norm, when asked about in a gender-neutral way, is not associated with fairness of pay, but when posed as a question specifically to women, has a negative relationship with perceptions of fair pay. The empirical contribution consists in the evaluation of individual and country mechanisms from a gender justice perspective. The policy contribution consists in questioning the belief that longer paid maternity leave is beneficial for women. In countries with long paid leave available to mothers, women reported even lower levels of fairness of net pay than men.

(Applied) geography, policy, & time: whither health and medical geography?

ABSTRACT In this provocation, we discuss the potential for health/medical geography to contribute to a policy-relevant geographical research agenda that remains attentive to social theory debates. We illustrate the importance of time as a social determinant of health, through the case study of racial/ethnic inequities in spatial access to acute hospitals in the U.S. South region amid rural hospital closures, conversions, and mergers, which have decreased the supply of hospitals since 1990. In sum, racial disparities in spatial access were most pronounced for travel distances/times to the nearest alternative hospital, underscoring the importance of both temporal and spatial equity.

Funding Policy Research under ‘Distasteful Regimes’: The Ford Foundation and the Social Sciences in Brazil, 1964–71

AbstractThe Ford Foundation's involvement with the social sciences in Brazil coincided with the early years of the military regime that ruled the country between 1964 and 1985. The paper studies how changed political circumstances in the United States and abroad induced the Foundation to gradually abandon the technocratic approach that had governed its overseas programme since the 1950s, thus introducing a critical shift in its policies toward the developing world. A grant proposal to the University of Brasília, which had been subject to repeated military interventions since 1964, highlighted the ethical dilemmas raised by the goal of fostering policy-relevant research in an authoritarian political context. Relying on a pragmatic decision-making framework that converted ethical and ideological considerations into cost–benefit exercises, the Foundation finally moved away from the maxims of modernisation theory to embrace new strategic priorities like human rights, democracy and intellectual pluralism.

Acknowledgments

Previous articleNext article FreeAcknowledgmentsRobert A. MoffittRobert A. MoffittJohns Hopkins University and NBER, United States of America Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreThis issue of the NBER’s Tax Policy and the Economy journal series contains revised versions of papers presented at a virtual conference on September 23, 2021. The papers continue the journal’s tradition of bringing high-quality, policy-relevant research by NBER researchers to an audience of economists in government and in policy positions in Washington and to economists around the country with interests in policy-oriented economic research. The papers in this issue are wide-ranging and diverse, from whether tax policy should be rethought in a time of low interest rates to how to score capital gains reforms to the design of a child allowance in the United States, to whether corporate tax cuts increase inequality and whether federal support to schools in the COVID-19 recession was well targeted.I would like to thank Rob Shannon of the NBER for his usual expertise and organizational acumen in overseeing the logistical details, invitations, and operational aspects of the conference and to Jim Poterba for his continued assistance with the organization of the meeting. I would also like to thank Helena Fitz-Patrick for assistance in many other aspects of the conference, especially the shepherding of the papers toward final publication. And I would like to acknowledge the continued financial support of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. Finally, let me express my thanks to the authors themselves for the hard work they devoted to producing high-quality papers living up to the Tax Policy and the Economy standard. Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Tax Policy and the Economy Volume 362022 Sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/718954 Views: 250 © 2022 National Bureau of Economic Research. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Distinguishing personal use of drugs from drug supply: Approaches and challenges.

The ability to fairly and justly distinguish between drug possession for personal use and drug possession for supply is a central feature of drug laws across the globe. Whether such distinctions pertain to decriminalisation of simple possession, or to the penalties associated with drug offences, such differentiation remains a core problem for policymakers. In this commentary, taking 91 different jurisdictions into consideration, we identify five different approaches to distinguishing personal use from supply: four of these involved quantification of an amount of drug (whether in weight or number of doses). The other approach relied on case-by-case judgement. Drawing upon survey data of drug use from nine countries, we provide an example of how the quantity bears little resemblance to drug use patterns, and does not take heterogeneity of drug use into account. While the non-quantified approach can lead to discriminatory and racialised policing, all of the quantification approaches also pose problems, largely concerned with arbitrary amounts. There appears to be no perfect way to differentiate possession for personal use from intentions to supply. This commentary opens up a number of important policy-relevant research questions given this central feature of drug policy design.

A Linked Data Mosaic for Policy-Relevant Research on Science and Innovation: Value, Transparency, Rigor, and Community.

This article presents a new framework for realizing the value of linked data understood as a strategic asset and increasingly necessary form of infrastructure for policy-making and research in many domains. We outline a framework, the 'data mosaic' approach, which combines socio-organizational and technical aspects. After demonstrating the value of linked data, we highlight key concepts and dangers for community-developed data infrastructures. We concretize the framework in the context of work on science and innovation generally. Next we consider how a new partnership to link federal survey data, university data, and a range of public and proprietary data represents a concrete step toward building and sustaining a valuable data mosaic. We discuss technical issues surrounding linked data but emphasize that linking data involves addressing the varied concerns of wide-ranging data holders, including privacy, confidentiality, and security, as well as ensuring that all parties receive value from participating. The core of successful data mosaic projects, we contend, is as much institutional and organizational as it is technical. As such, sustained efforts to fully engage and develop diverse, innovative communities are essential.

Climate Change Implications for the Public Finances and Fiscal Policy: An Agenda for Future Research and Filling the Gaps in Scholarly Work

Abstract Climate change will pose a major challenge for humanity in future decades. Central to the policy debate are its implications for the public finances and the conduct of fiscal policy more generally. This editorial outlines the budgetary effects, the regulatory and standard-setting challenges, internal governmental organisational changes, and the resource reallocation implications of policies to control climate change and their efficient implementation. The scope for further work – both theoretical and empirical – to bridge existing gaps in the related economics literature is then discussed. Finally, the editorial outlines research questions and first steps on an agenda for policy-relevant research.

What can evolutionary economic geography learn from global value chain and global production network research on developing and emerging economies?

ABSTRACT Although evolutionary economic geography (EEG) and global production network (GPN) and global value chain (GVC) research into regional industrial restructuring and development have developed in parallel and with little mutual engagement, they provide important complementary insights. This article concentrates on what the EEG approach can learn from the GVC/GPN approach by focusing on extra-regional linkages, institutional contexts and firm heterogeneity. Analysing the role of these factors not only overcomes some weaknesses of the EEG approach but also plays an especially important role in understanding regional industrial dynamics in developing and emerging economies and in the conduct of policy-relevant research.

Commentary on Weinberger et al.: Tobacco and cannabis policies as drivers of nicotine and cannabis co-use - research and measurement implications to move the field forward.

Commentary on Weinberger et al.: Tobacco and cannabis policies as drivers of nicotine and cannabis co-use - research and measurement implications to move the field forward.

Priority Setting for Collaborative Health Systems Research in India: A Method and the Way Forward

A comprehensive and collaborative knowledge translation and decision-making approach can help reduce the longstanding barriers to using research in policy and practice. Regular interaction between researchers and decision-makers increases the likelihood of using research knowledge. This interaction continuing over the entire research cycle is critical for developing research directions and potential use of the research outputs that benefit the health system. The India Health Systems Collaborative and ACCESS Health International have conducted a rigorous exercise to arrive at the priority research topics. A consensus-based method customised to the existing need was created, adapting from the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method for research priority setting. In this method, conducting literature reviews, key informant interviews and survey-based stakeholder consultations are critical steps for identifying policy-relevant research topics that demand utmost attention in the Indian setting. This article documents the processes followed to develop a preliminary list of core research priorities requiring urgent attention to facilitate policy development. Additionally, the article is about the essential and immediate next steps and the critical actions taken to undertake collaborative research on the identified research topics. The special issue of the Journal for Health Management dedicated to strengthening the Indian health system sets the foundation for promoting collaborative research, its dissemination for broader use by researchers and ensuing policy dialogues.

Dissemination of Early Intervention Program for Preschool Children on the Autism Spectrum into Community Settings: An Evaluation.

We aimed to address a policy-relevant research area with high priority, namely disseminating early intervention for children on the autism spectrum into mainstream community settings. The study cohort comprised 47 children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) receiving the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) intervention: 23 children attending an Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre (ASELCC) and 24 children attending a mainstream preschool setting. Group comparisons revealed that the overall response to intervention was in the majority of cases not significantly different between settings. One difference was found in that children in the mainstream preschool setting showed a significant reduction in externalising behaviours compared to the children attending the autism-specific preschool. Intervention duration was found to influence outcomes with a one-month increase in duration found to improve expressive language skills. While the results need to be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size, these findings suggest that early intervention can be successfully delivered in both autism-specific and mainstream settings. However, those families needing additional parent support may be better served by a specialised service.

Political Fragility and the Timing of Conflict Mediation

In recent years, much of the public discourse regarding conflict in the Middle East has pondered the possibility of military intervention, but far less attention has been paid to the optimal mechanisms for conflict mediation. There remains considerable confusion in the study of conflict resolution about how to locate the right time, or ‘ripe moment’ for this type of third-party involvement. This is a crucial area of policy relevant research. When attempting to model ripeness, most of the literature has relied on expected utility models of decision-making and found that crucial but nebulous factors that are important in the MENA region, such as conflicting parties’ psychology, religious and political beliefs, as well as grievances compounded over time, cannot easily be incorporated into the framework. This paper offers a plausibility probe to highlight the potential of an augmented approach. Using Poliheuristic (PH) Theory that reflects the non-compensatory nature of political risk, it creates a litmus test for third-party mediation based not on what conflicting parties aim to achieve, but what outcomes and processes they must avoid. The result is a relatively simple identification of ‘bad’ timing, as well as theory-informed mechanisms designed to help practitioners generate better conditions for mediation. This probe contributes to our understanding of the relationship between political fragility and conflict in the MENA region by indicating how political fragility might be conceptualized as a process that can be mapped and perhaps interrupted.

Closing the loop: From system-based data to evidence-influenced policy and practice.

For more than 30 years, the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy has been conducting research and evaluation to provide timely and critical evidence to answer real-world policy questions. Our experienced team of research scientists, analysts and other staff work extensively with policy-makers at the macro, meso and micro levels of government to support evidence-informed policy and program development in an effort to ensure that policy initiatives provide the greatest benefit possible to individuals and society as a whole. Using the widely recognized whole-population Manitoba Population Research Data Repository, which comprises approximately 100 different datasets from multiple sectors, we employ sophisticated and state-of-the-art research methods and data science technologies, and then translate the results into meaningful insights or recommendations for policy-makers.Our long and productive history of working with policy-makers has taught us much about making our research relevant to policy-makers. In this article, we outline some examples of how research evidence has been used to influence policy in Manitoba, and the key lessons we have learned about what makes relationships between researchers and policy-makers work. In essence, policy-makers have supported the growth of the Repository over the last 30 years, because researchers have “closed the loop” by sharing valuable and policy-relevant research results with them. This ability to inform policies, programs and service delivery with scientific evidence continues to benefit individuals, communities and our society as a whole.