Search Research Database
Document Record

Summary:

Policy briefs are often recommended as a key tool for communicating research findings to policy actors. However, there has been little systematic research in the development field about the communication needs of developing country policy-makers and how such research can be used to inform policy brief content and design. This background note draws on recent research by RAPID and SciDev.Net on the research communication environment involving researchers, policy-makers and development practitioners from the North and South in science, technology and innovation. It begins with an overview of the theoretical literature on bridging research and policy, with a focus on insights from scholars interested in the science–policy interface. We then highlight the barriers to, and opportunities for, strengthening communication between researchers, knowledge brokers and policy-makers working in international development, and the key requisites of policy briefs to meet the challenges of this landscape.