However, and frequently so, this does not happen. The reason for this is that the policy making process is much more complex than this. The policy process may go through the sequential stages from agenda setting through decision-making to implementation and evaluation. Some stages may be protracted yet sometimes several stages happen concurrently. 

Moreover, there are many actors involved and all of them are trying to engage with others. Some of these actors might be more legitimate while others may have more power or influence.  

 

And THEN…………….. there is the researcher who has the evidence and the interest to influence policy. 

 

 

 

 

Firstly, one needs to be “the story teller” because practitioners, bureaucrats and policy-makers often articulate and make sense of complex realities through simple stories. Though sometimes profoundly misleading there is no doubt that narratives are incredibly powerful. 

 

The researcher should be a “Networker” because the policy-making usually occurs in communities of people who know each other and interact. If you want to influence policy makers, you need to join their networks. Is the researcher “inside the tent or outside the tent”. If one is “inside the tent”, their voice is heard and they will have an influence. If they are outside, they will not.

 

Since one big challenge of effective use of evidence based policy is the actual implementation of the policy, the researcher must be an “Engineer” or a “Connector” in order to bridge the gap between what the policy says and what actually happens on the ground. It is therefore critical for researchers to work with both senior level policy-makers and the 'street-level bureaucrats'. 

 

 

A researcher needs to be a “Fixer”. Since policy making is essentially a political process one needs to know how to operate in a political environment - when to make your pitch, to whom and how.

 

Finally, failing to cultivate all these skills, a researcher at least needs to be a “strategic outsourcer” and identify someone or some institution with the above skills and engage them to influence the policy process. This many include for instance established think tanks with a similar interest in the policy issue.

 

1. Clay, E.J. and B.B. Schaffer, eds. (1984) Room for Maneuver: An Exploration of Public Policy in Agricultural and Rural Development. London: Heineman Educational Books.

2. “Bridging Research and Policy in International Development: An Analytical and Practical Framework. RAPID Briefing Paper 1, October 2004”. http://www.odi.org.uk/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opi...