Synthesis Report on Assessing the Impact of Policy-Oriented Social Science Research

This report from a conference on the impact of research, notes that the key factors determining the impact of research are: quality and perception as an honest broker; timeliness and responsiveness; long-term in-depth collaboration; receptive policy environment; primary and secondary empirical data and simple analysis; trade-offs between immediate and sustainable impacts; choice of partners; consensus for change among stakeholders; cross-country experience. One participant [at their conference] made the point that research is often used to confirm, rather than challenge, received wisdom while another claimed that the element of surprise increases the value of research. Another explained that when engaged in negotiation with policy-makers, it can be imperative to answer questions with research findings within hours or even minutes. Strengthening the research and policy capacity of developing country institutions was seen as a priority. A small consortium on Policy-Oriented Social Science Research, led by the International Food Policy Institute, was decided upon.