How do policymakers respond to research studies? At what point in the research process should researchers engage with policymakers in order to maximize evidence utilisation?

To offer insights into these questions, this session delves into the groundbreaking and emerging quantitative literature on the relationship between research and policymaking, specifically through the lens of impact evaluation studies in middle- and low-income countries.

The first part of the session focuses on how policymakers respond to impact evaluations and how this information might, in turn, influence their programmatic decisions. The second part investigates the effect of involving policymakers at the design stage of research projects on evidence utilisation and examines the electoral cycle’s role in creating opportunities for these research partnerships to emerge.