Communicating Research to Policymakers: Researchers' Experiences

(August 2014) Policymakers and advocates agree that using evidence to inform decisions is essential for good policymaking and program design, given that limited resources require decisionmakers to allocate budgets effectively. Recognizing these issues, funders have invested resources in communicating research findings to inform and empower decisionmakers. But despite
these investments, many researchers continue to encounter challenges in sharing their research
findings with policymakers.

This brief highlights the experiences of four research teams who communicated findings from studies supported under the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Population and Poverty Research Initiative (PopPov). Each research endeavor was unique in its strategic approach, subject matter, policy environment, and outcome. In addition, different PopPov partners funded the grants for
each research study. The United Kingdom’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded a study of emergency obstetric care in Burkina Faso; and a study of unintended fertility in Karonga, Malawi. The Population Reference Bureau (PRB) awarded research grants for a study of teenage pregnancy and education outcomes in Cape Town, South Africa; and a study of household family planning decisionmaking in Lusaka, Zambia. ESRC required that research teams develop and implement a communication plan, and report on its results, while PRB made no specific research dissemination requirement.

Marlene Lee is program director, Academic Research and Relations, at PRB. Kate Belohlav is a research associate in International Programs at PRB.

February 5, 2020

Interactive

resource

Research Identifies New Strategies to Reduce Undercount of Young Children in U.S. 2020 Census

PRB identifies factors predicting where children under age 5 are more likely to be missed in the 2020 Census and develops a new undercount risk measure for young children.

September 23, 2010

Past Presentation

resource

PRB Discuss Online: A Call to Action: Increasing Global Investments in Youth

(2010) With almost half of the world's population under age 25, investments in young people are vital to improve economic and social outcomes and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

February 14, 2008

Training Tool

resource

PRB Discuss Online: Finding Ways to Improve Child Health

(2008) Each year, nearly 10 million children die, mostly from preventable and treatable causes. Millions of children in low-income countries suffer from long-term illnesses, malnutrition, and injuries that limit their life options.

June 30, 2003

Training Tool

resource

Health Sector Reform: How It Affects Reproductive Health

(June 2003) Many less developed countries are reforming their health systems in an effort to achieve public health goals more affordably and effectively.

June 30, 2003

Article

resource

Report. Health Sector Reform: How It Affects Reproductive Health

This report also in French and Spanish. (June 2003) Many less developed countries are reforming their health systems in an effort to achieve public health goals more affordably and effectively.

May 15, 2003

Training Tool

resource

Small Successes, Big Ideas — Jamaica's Adolescent Reproductive Health Focus

(2003) The successes are real, but they're small compared to the task: reaching the half-million adolescents who form some 20 percent of this island's 2.5 million population and enabling them to adopt healthier sexual lifestyles.