Table 1 Key domains and associated examples of organisational capacity and systems to support research use in policy development identified from review of literature
Domain | Concrete examples of each domain from the literature | References |
|---|---|---|
i. Documented processes to develop policy that encourage or mandate the use of research | • Organisations recognising the value and importance of evidence-informed health policymaking (for example, in the missions, vision, values, and strategic plans of the organisation) and not being resistant to change • Accessible and efficient systems, structures and processes to support and encourage research use in policy or program development – for example, templates that encourage staff to integrate research into policymaking • Incentives within the organisation to use research such as formal acknowledgement of staff by leaders or reward programs • Administrative support available for the development and implementation of research-based decisions • Recognising skills in applying research to decision-making processes in recruitment, retention, promotion, performance review, and appraisal processes within the organisation | |
ii. Tools and programs to assist leaders of the organisation to actively support the use of research in policy and program development | • Training workshops and programs or professional development opportunities to build leadership capacity to support use of research in policy and program development • Organisational leadership and champions of research within the organisation, with a clear vision for research use in policymaking • Incorporation of research use capacity and research skills into position descriptions, retention mechanisms, performance reviews, performance management mechanisms, and appraisals for senior policymakers • Organisational leaders disseminate research through their internal communications (e.g., newsletters, bulletins, updates, tweets, etc.) or other structured mechanisms • Tools and systems to help organisational leaders to disseminate research through their internal communications (e.g., mailing lists, tailored-targeted messages, research monitoring services, specialist staff including knowledge brokers) | |
iii. Availability of programs to provide staff with training in using evidence from research in policy and in maintaining these skills | • Training workshops and programs for staff to improve research skills • Professional development opportunities to build research skills, or opportunities to undertake university courses • Provision of education in research • Training provided by the in-house library staff • Possessing technical capacity within the organisation to train staff to access and apply research findings to policy • Incorporating participation in training programs and development of research skills into staff performance management mechanisms, retention, and/or promotion | |
iv. Availability of supports and tools to help staff access and apply research findings | • Multifaceted access to journals, data registries, or scientific literature through subscriptions, networks, databases, intranet sites, links to research websites, and physical libraries – an infrastructure available to support staff access and use of research in policy • Availability of reference management software (e.g., EndNote) to help identify relevant research findings • Sophisticated infrastructure/systems for storing, organising, and retrieving relevant research and other resources, so they can be accessed by all staff within the organisation • Provision of an intranet site with clear links to websites that provide one-stop shopping for relevant research • Access to librarians, research experts, knowledge brokers, and clear points to gain assistance in acquiring, assessing, adapting, and applying research to policy • Knowledge intelligence services (such as electronic mailing lists, monitoring services) or staff (e.g., knowledge brokers) that scan the literature and distribute and/or communicate this throughout the organisation (e.g., through bulletins, emails, tailored targeted messages, summaries, or full articles) and other structured mechanisms to disseminate research • Availability of staff with recognised research expertise, central guidance, as well as technical, and academic support for using research | |
v. Presence of systems/methods to generate new research evidence to inform the organisation’s work | • Organisation participates in the production of primary research, reviews, and research-derived products • Clearly defined processes, systems or units to conduct and/or commission priority research projects to inform the development of policy (e.g., a rapid response unit) either internal or external to the organisation • Clearly defined research and development strategies • Availability of technical capacity (e.g., expertise) within the organisation to undertake and generate policy-relevant research internally • Systems, processes, mechanisms, resources (e.g., funding), and supports to establish interactions with and/or partnerships with external researchers to conduct projects to inform the development of policy | [8, 16, 19, 22, 24–28, 47, 51, 52, 64, 65, 70–73] |
vi. Clear methods to ensure adequate, evidence-informed evaluations of the organisations’ policies and programs | • Embedding a culture of evaluation within the organisation • Clearly defined processes and systems to conduct and/or commission evaluations of policies and programs • Availability of or access to internal or external units that conduct evaluations (e.g., service evaluation groups) and clearly defined processes for commissioning evaluations • Availability of systems and standard processes or clear frameworks to support policy evaluation, as well as sufficient resources and funding to conduct high quality evaluations • Availability of mechanisms, supports, and tools that help policymakers incorporate the findings of evaluations into policies • The processes or tools that support or inform policy evaluation encourage and/or expect staff to use research. | [13, 26, 27, 69, 74] |
vii. Mechanisms that help strengthen staff relationships with researchers | • Systems, processes, mechanisms, and supports to establish interactions with and/or partnerships with researchers to assist in the integration of research into policy such as: o Access to a database of researchers or other efficient ways to identify and locate researchers to obtain advice and commission projects o Formal (and contractual) partnerships with researchers to collaborate on research projects to inform policy o Consistent, formal interactions with researchers through journal clubs, roundtables, workshops, or focus groups to gain research knowledge and/or improve research skills o Adjunct appointments of staff with (other) research organisations or universities, or other regional, provincial, or national networks o Formally inviting researchers to provide expertise or advice as a policy advisor in a committee (e.g., advisory committee, advisory panel, or working group) o Informal connections to researchers or research organisations (e.g., through phone, email correspondence, one-off meetings or presentations) o Opportunities to attend one-off forums (e.g., conferences, symposia, seminars) to hear about relevant and up-to-date findings from researchers | [1, 5, 8, 11, 16, 19, 25, 27, 28, 48, 50–52, 63–65, 67, 68, 72, 73, 75–89] |
viii. Analysis | • Systems in place that strategically analyse and assess the ways that research evidence is used, and how it can best be used to inform policy decisions o Auditing and feedback systems within the organisation to assess how research evidence is currently being used by staff o Knowledge Managers that strategically analyse how research evidence is being used by the organisation to make decisions and devise strategies to improve research use in decision making o Knowledge Transfer Partnerships that organise deliberative dialogues between agencies, users, and policymakers based on evidence briefs, to formulate the best ways to incorporate these evidence briefs into policy. | [48, 78, 90, 91] |