Communicating Population and Health Research to Policymakers

Population and health studies, demographic surveys, censuses, and other research findings can play a key role in guiding policy and resource-allocation decisions. Yet every year, millions of dollars are spent to produce research results that fail to reach policymakers and, consequently, are not used to shape policies and programs.

This research-to-policy gap can arise for a number of reasons. Sometimes, due to their unfamiliarity with the needs of policymakers, researchers do not ask the right questions. Consequently, their research does not address the most important issues or provide the information that policymakers would find most useful. In other cases, researchers may fail to see the policy relevance of their own work. As a result, they do not make the extra effort to communicate their research findings in nontechnical language or to shape messages specifically for policy audiences. Likewise, policymakers may be too busy, uninterested, or not aware of what information exists. Thus, they fail to practice data-based decisionmaking and often reach hasty conclusions.

We have been conducting workshops since 1996 to help bridge this gap between researchers and policymakers. Sessions are designed to help participants identify the policy implications of survey data and research studies, understand how research can influence the policy process, and communicate research findings in simple and compelling formats to policy audiences.

Workshop Goal

The goal of the workshop is to increase the use of research findings for the improvement of policies and programs. Specifically, participants:

• Explore the factors that promote policy change: agenda setting, coalition building, and policy learning.
• Review barriers and solutions to the effective use of research.
• Identify the policy implications of their research.
• Create a policy-level communication strategy.
• Develop skills for communicating with policymakers and working with the media.

Each participant has several opportunities to make oral presentations as well as written summaries in appropriate formats for policy audiences. Participants also learn how to use computer-graphics software to enhance their oral and written presentation skills.

Who Should Attend?

The workshop is designed primarily for researchers in fields related to population and reproductive health. Program managers and others responsible for formulating and implementing population and health programs will also benefit if they have a strong background in research and data analysis. Preferably, participants should have previous computer experience.

Each participant is asked to bring research results or survey data that can be used to address a policy problem. Ideally, participants should address issues relevant to their own programs. To make effective use of the training, participants should have access to computer facilities at their home institutions.

Sessions

The workshop consists of a combination of plenary and small working-group sessions, emphasizing a hands-on, participatory approach. Sessions cover six areas, each with a corresponding output:

• Exploring the research-to-policy gap. Participants examine the different environments of researchers and policymakers, barriers and solutions to the use of research, and the factors that promote policy change. Interactive exercises use case studies illustrating the design of policy-relevant research and participatory approaches to the research process.
• Developing strategies for the communication of research results. What are the key communication or advocacy objectives? Who are the primary and secondary audiences? What are the most important messages for these audiences? What are the most appropriate channels for delivering the messages? And finally, what are the audiences expected to do with the information they receive? Each participant develops a comprehensive communication strategy that answers these questions. Discussions also cover how to identify key communication constraints and opportunities, carry out an action plan, manage controversy, and evaluate performance.
• Communicating research results through the media. A comprehensive policy-communication strategy requires an understanding of how to work effectively with the media. Participants design a media strategy to communicate their research results to policymakers through newspapers, radio, and television. Skill-building exercises include drafting a press release, practicing interview techniques, and learning how to build good relationships with journalists.
• Preparing policy memoranda and briefings. Policy audiences are the individuals and groups who have the power to enact laws, make regulations, set policies, or to influence these processes. Although powerful or influential groups are often difficult to reach, presentation techniques designed for such audiences can enhance communication efforts significantly. During the training, participants draft a policy memorandum and prepare a briefing for a high-level government official based on a case study. In a role-play exercise, participants conduct policy briefings based on their memoranda.
• Making oral presentations using computer graphics. Because visual techniques are critical for conveying messages to any audience, the workshop provides hands-on training in computer-graphics presentations using Windows-based PowerPoint. Each participant prepares a 10- to 15-minute oral presentation, supported by computer graphics, that communicates research findings to a selected policy audience. Presentations are videotaped and critiqued. These sessions introduce a step-by-step approach to organizing effective policy presentations and provide design tips for presenting text, graphs, charts, and diagrams.
• Conveying information in brief written formats. Research results and policy messages need to be presented in ways that policymakers can absorb quickly. One useful format is the short, well-written, and well-designed policy brief. Participants learn how to prepare a two-page policy brief based on their research results to complement their oral policy presentations.

Partners

Communicating Population and Health Research to Policymakers workshops have been held in collaboration with:

• Centro Centroamericano de Población (CCP), Universidad de Costa Rica
• Institute of Public Health, University of Makerere, Kampala, Uganda
• Institute for Population and Social Research, Bangkok, Thailand.

Contact: Rhonda Smith, 202-483-1100.