Grace Hindmarch, Alex R. Dopp, Karen Chan Osilla, Lisa S. Meredith, Jennifer K. Manuel, Kirsten Becker, Lina Tarhuni, Michael Schoenbaum, Miriam Komaromy, Andrea Cassells and Katherine E. Watkins This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Mis-implementation of evidence-based behavioural health practices in primary care: lessons from randomised trials in Federally Qualified Health Centers’, part of the Special Issue: ‘Learning from Failures in Knowledge Exchange’. “This is disappointing, but I agree we’ve done the best we can.”  – CEO of a rural health care syste ..read more

Magnus Gulbrandsen and Silje Maria Tellmann This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Productive interactions without impact? An empirical investigation of researchers’ struggle to improve elderly’s oral health’, part of the Special Issue: ‘Learning from Failures in Knowledge Exchange’. Even if researchers do everything that is expected of them – collaborate with stakeholders, target important societal problems, engage in intensive science communication – societal impact may still not happen. What are the possible explanations? A recurring observation in studies of t ..read more

Louise Warwick-Booth, Ruth Cross and James Woodall This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Obstacles to co-producing evaluation knowledge: power, control and voluntary sector dynamics’, part of the Special Issue: ‘Learning from Failures in Knowledge Exchange’. Co-production has been increasingly discussed as a positive and useful approach in health and social care research, based on principles such as partnership working, reciprocation, power sharing and the appreciation of all expertise. We have used co-production values to inform our evaluation work for man ..read more

Special Issue Editors: Katherine Smith, Valerie Pattyn and Niklas Andersen Evidence & Policy is pleased to invite abstracts for papers that explicitly employ comparative analysis and/or that develop insights about evidence use in policy through comparison. Authors of selected abstracts will be invited to submit a full paper for consideration for inclusion in a special issue that is aiming to demonstrate the conceptual and empirical contribution that comparative research can offer scholarship on evidence and policy. The question of how to achieve more evidence-informed policymaking has bee ..read more

Stephen MacGregor This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Theorising a spectrum of reasons for failure in knowledge brokering: a developmental evaluation’, part of the Special Issue: ‘Learning from Failures in Knowledge Exchange’. Failure often gets a bad rap, especially in professional settings. It’s usually seen as a waste of time and resources, something to steer clear of. But failure is not just an unfortunate outcome; it can be a crucial learning opportunity. Particularly in higher education, the pressure is on for academics and universities to show the real ..read more

Peter van der Graaf, Ien van de Goor and Amanda Drake Purington This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Learning from failures in knowledge exchange and turning them into successes’, which introduces the Special Issue: ‘Learning from Failures in Knowledge Exchange’. We don’t like talking about failures, as it signals loss of time, resources and reputation, but failures present opportunities for learning in knowledge exchange. However, this requires a ‘failure culture’ in academia and policy, in which failures are no longer avoided but actively encouraged. To learn how ..read more

K. L. Akerlof, Maria Carmen Lemos, Emily T. Cloyd, Erin Heath, Selena Nelson, Julia Hathaway and Kristin M. F. Timm This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Science communication in Congress: for what use?’ A new model published in Evidence & Policy explains the factors that enable and constrain science communication in the U.S. Congress. We depict how the use of scientific information is most often called upon to support established positions, as opposed to formulating new policies, and that this changes the nature of the barriers to science communication. We studi ..read more

Hannah Durrant, Rosie Havers, James Downe and Steve Martin This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Improving evidence use: a systematic scoping review of local models of knowledge mobilisation’. Knowledge mobilisation (KM) describes a process for enabling the use of research evidence in policymaking and public service design and delivery. Approaches to KM have evolved over the last two decades – away from one-directional efforts to push research out to decision makers towards a kaleidoscope of research-policy-practice engagement across overlapping phases of knowledge p ..read more

Kiran Trehan This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Compatible bedfellows? Engaged scholarship entrepreneurship and policy impact’. In a rapidly evolving world, the role of entrepreneurship research and its impact on policy is more critical than ever. In this blog, I expand on my commentary on Johnson (2023) by exploring the intricate relationship between theory and its real-world application, shedding light on the uncertainty that has long surrounded entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) research. For years, the debate on how research can truly ..read more

Andrew Booth, Emma Hock and Alison Scope This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Examining research systems and models for local government: a systematic review’. Local government has been unfairly characterised as a black hole when it comes to getting evidence into practice. While it is true that work remains to be done to cultivate interest in research across local government, our recent review found plenty of evidence of academia, local officials and other partners collaborating to make a difference around the generation and use of locally-meaningful research.   ..read more