Increasing capacity for knowledge translation: understanding how some researchers engage policy makers

Abstract

The potential for research to influence policy, and for researchers to influence policy actors, is significant. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of health services researchers engaging in (or not able to engage in) policy-relevant research. Semistructured telephone interviews were completed with 23 experienced researchers.The results paint a complex and dynamic picture of the policy environment and the relationship between government officials and academic researchers. Elements of this complexity included diverse understandings of the nature of policy and how research relates to policy; dealing with multiple stakeholders in the policy-making process; and identifying strategies to manage the different cultures of government and academia.

Research utilisation and knowledge mobilisation in the commissioning and joint planning of public health interventions to reduce alcohol-related harms: a qualitative case design using a cocreation approach

“…Kothari et al 75 suggest that the importance of the end-user's underpinning value base is key to determining utilisation. Within the context of multidisciplinary working, as is typical within public health, the differing value bases of differing stakeholders may wrestle for credence in relation to a specific issue.…”

“…Recent literature has emphasised the importance of interactions between researchers and practitioners 75,79 and there has, increasingly, been a move towards collaborative approaches to knowledge translation and research utilisation. It has been argued that the use of a more participatory approach enables a more nuanced understanding of context, a shared enactment of facilitation and transformative leadership.…”

“…In our study (and our data which is based solely on one commissioning site), research utilisation was made more difficult to achieve across the purchaser-provider split because it reduced the opportunities for interaction on which evidence flow largely depends. 17,19,21,30,[50][51][52]55,69,74,75,77,[81][82][83][84][85][86][90][91][92] The non-engagement of all stakeholders removed the opportunity to 'achieve stability by consensual adjustment of competing perspectives'. 221 However, in practice there are different models of commissioning 225,227 and the same may not hold true for all of them.…”

Connecting research and policy: how linkages support the use of research evidence in social policymaking

“…A large number of research studies have been undertaken -predominantly applying survey and interview methodologies with either research producers or policymakers (public servants and/or elected officials), and some with larger sample sizes than others -to identify what appears to predict research use by policymakers (for example, Huberman, 1990;Landry et al, 2001a;Kothari et al, 2009;Bogenschneider & Corbett, 2010;Cherney & McGee, 2011;Haynes et al 2011a and2011b). Few of the studies reviewed seem to have explored the processes around identified characteristics or issues -instead presenting them more as "factors" that act as "barriers" or "facilitators" to research utilisation.…”

“…For example, academic researchers interviewed by Kothari et al, (2009) indicated that the nature of working with government, which is typically characterised by short funding cycles, a crisis orientation towards policy work, and frequent turnover in staff, is inherently at odds with investing the time required to build mutual trust and understanding, and the kinds of communication that support quality relationship-building.…”