Writing A Policy Brief to Maximise Impact

A powerpoint presentation offering important tips and lessons on how research results can be packaged into a high impact policy brief.

From Research to Policy Impact: Exploring Actionable Areas for Transformation

International agriculture and development research has played a significant role in reducing poverty and promoting sustainable practices of natural resources management in the developing world. However, as independent research evidence highlights, the policy uptake of research in developing countries, regardless of whether the research is nationally driven or internationally supported, is dismally low. This is partly because policy actors and researchers often come from very different political, institutional and epistemological positions, which makes it difficult for the two groups of actors to interact meaningfully and make full use of the research outputs in policy improvement. There is also a limit of what a research work can do in the highly politicised process of policy making. More recently, the context of policy making, and the way policies shape practices, are also rapidly changing, with profound implications on ‘research to policy’ strategies. This presentation identifies five areas that are crucial to catalyze successful research-policy interface in international development. It also shows how research into ‘research-policy interface’ could enhance research systems which have a policy impact goal.