Bridging research and policy in international development: an analytical and practical framework

Better utilisation of research and evidence in development policy and practice can contribute in reducing poverty and improving the quality of life. This briefing paper provides a synthesis of the relation between research, policy and practice and makes recommendations for how research can better contribute to pro-poor policies and practices.

The paper starts by identifying three inter-related factors which affect the link between evidence and policy :

• the political context (civil and political freedom, institutional limits, pressures of policymakers, incentives of official…)
• the quality and credibility of the evidence (topical relevance, operational usefulness…) as well as the communication issues (sources and conveyors of evidence, interactive approach…)
• the links such as Media, networks and campaigning groups…
• external influences like international politics and donors policies

The paper also presents a case study on research-policy linkages as adopted by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in 1999 through the Poverty Reduction Strategic Papers PRSPs and traces the various factors that contributed to the success of the applied policy research.

Finally, the paper determines what researchers need to know and do in order to maximise their chances of policy influence and gives recommendations on how to do it. Recommendations for researchers include:

• to develop a detailed understanding of the policy making process and to communicate effectively with the policymakers and other stakeholders involved in the policy area
• to ensure the evidence is credible and practically useful
• to make more informed and strategic choices in order to overcome the problem of the limited resources