Issues in assessing the policy influence of research

This article presents a methodology for assessing the influence of research on public policy. The article will review the origins of the methodology, outline it in depth, and explore what happened in implementation. It will conclude with issues in the revision of the methodology. This study was implemented by the International Development Research Centre, Canada (IDRC), in order to learn more about how the research it supports influences public policy. Through a series of background studies and case studies, the Centre is building an understanding of how its work is used in policy formulation and will use that understanding to strengthen its capacity to support such work in the future. Most research into the use of research in policy has been carried out in the West (Neilson 2001). With one exception (Ukraine) all the studies in this evaluation are of projects in the Third World. The case study method was central to the implementation of this evaluation. The case studies, which were conducted using a common methodology, were carried out primarily by researchers from the country or region where the research was undertaken. Analysis has involved researchers, users of research, and the funding agency in order to obtain the richest possible set of perspectives on the successes, challenges, and failures of these initiatives. The case method was found to be appropriate when combined with a collective analysis involving the users together with the evaluators and the users of the original research (Weiss 2003). This paper highlights what were found to be key issues in conducting the evaluation and suggests modifications to the methodology for the future.