Establish credibility
To begin with, the most important advice for researchers who aim at impacting policies is to provide high-quality and credible research. To be taken into consideration by politicians, researchers need to establish trustworthiness and gain some social recognition. This requires strong methodology, rigorous metrics, and a great understanding of the politics of doing research. The impact of policy research depends on the credibility of the stakeholders involved in the process. Researchers and academic institutions need to build and nurture their relationships with policy actors. Credibility can be hard to get at first because it is a virtuous cycle. The more credible the research is, the more cited/used it is, and the more credible it gets. Policy research sometimes requires joining forces between researchers to increase visibility and maximise the outcomes of the research.
Seize the opportunity
Thirdly, policy research needs to be published when it is the most relevant. It needs to catch the interest of the people who are involved in the creation of new legislation. Evidence needs to be presented in a way that resonates with contemporary issues. Depending on the socio-political context (e.g. critical junctures, political regime, public mood, media narratives, etc.), some issues might become more urgent and/or receive more public attention than others. This phenomenon is called ‘windows of opportunity’. Policy research is more likely to influence policymakers when they are already motivated to solve a specific issue. Thus, policy research is highly impacted by wider contextual trends and requires a holistic understanding of society.
