Storytelling and evidence-based policy: lessons from the grey literature

Abstract

A number of authors interested in how to translate evidence into policy identify the importance of policy narrative and argue that advocates of scientific evidence need to tell good stories to grab the attention and appeal to the emotions of policymakers. Yet, this general call for better narratives is incomplete without concrete examples and evidence of their effectiveness. This article shows how these processes are described in the "grey" literature-defined as literature which is produced by all levels of government, academics, business and industry, but which is not controlled by commercial publishers. This literature is often missed by scientists but more important to activists and advocates within social movements and the non-profit sector who frequently engage with or seek to influence policymakers. The article outlines some of the ways in which an understanding of policymaker psychology and factors such as group dynamics and political context are reflected in the grey literature, and the implications of this for understanding the role of storytelling in political advocacy. It highlights practical advice about storytelling that emerges from the literature, and presents four case studies illustrating aspects of storytelling in action. It concludes by identifying the implications for scientists and other advocates of "evidence informed policymaking", practitioners and policymakers.

Knowledge management for policy impact: the case of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre

“…We communicate by telling stories, and the stories scientists tell about their objectivity are no exception (Davidson, 2017;Jones and Crow, 2017). Further, fact/ values distinctions have been overtaken by an era of 'post-normal science' in which we accept that scientific knowledge of urgent and complex problems is limited and ineffective if not combined with judgement and values (Funtowicz and Ravetz, 2003).…”

“…Some go further than a focus on succinct and visually appealing messages, to identify the role of 'storytelling' as a potent device (see skill 8, and Davidson, 2017;Jones and Crow, 2017).…”

“…Literature search and review: Identifying articles through multiple search methods: manual searching of key journals and online media; electronic searching of databases including the use of free-text, index terms and named author; reference scanning; citation tracking; and snowballing (restricted to English language). This search included peer reviewed journal articles and the 'grey literature' more likely to be produced or read by practitioners and policymakers (Davidson, 2017). 2.…”

Transforming evidence for policy and practice: creating space for new conversations

“…Similarly, drawing on psychological theories of behaviour change, commentators have argued for greater use of emotion, narrative and story-telling by researchers in an attempt to influence decision-making (Cairney, 2016b;Davidson, 2017;Jones and Crow, 2017). Are these effective at persuading people and if so how do they work?…”

Storylines for practice: a visual storytelling approach to strengthen the science-practice interface

“…The first key principle of storytelling is related to the intended audience and goals (Davidson 2017). In general, three types of audiences can be identified: (i) a science-informed audience who reads or actively seeks out for research or technical findings; (ii) a science-interested audience who is willing to invest some time in learning about research findings; and (iii) a residual not interested and not necessarily well-informed audience (Stewart and Nield 2013).…”