There has been a significant growth in the number of evidence intermediaries or knowledge brokering organisations sitting between research and government and seeking to bridge the perceived ‘gap’ between evidence and policy. Their proliferation has been fuelled by the key assumption of the evidence-informed policymaking (EIPM) movement: that more evidence will lead to better policy. The Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) can be considered a knowledge brokering organisation. Our research seeks to understand how and why these bodies have emerged in different polities and political traditions, what they do, the strategies they employ to inform policy and what impact they have; including the effect that bodies like these and the wider EIPM movement has on accountability and democracy. The findings will inform how WCPP works and organises itself, fill a gap in knowledge around knowledge brokering organisations, and contribute to our understanding of the role of evidence in policy.
The research will contribute a qualitative review of the literature on knowledge brokering and knowledge brokering organisation and an in-depth, critical comparison of organisations in other parts of the world (for example, in Canada, South Africa and other countries) doing work similar to WCPP.
You can read our paper “Does knowledge brokering facilitate evidence-based policy? A review of existing knowledge and an agenda for future research“, published in Policy and Politics (December 2019) by clicking here.
You can read our blog “Knowledge brokering for policy: What do we know?” published in Policy and Politics (January 2020) by clicking here.
Papers:
Series of papers on the theme of what KBOs are, what they do and their role in evidence-based policymaking (EBPM). 3x academic papers published.
Do KBOs facilitate EBPM? A critical review (2020) Does knowledge brokering facilitate evidence-based policy? A review of existing knowledge and an agenda for future research in: Policy & Politics Volume 48 Issue 2 (2020) (bristoluniversitypressdigital.com)
This research reviews the literature to examine what knowledge brokering is and whether it works.
We investigated how similar organisations brokering evidence, which we call ‘knowledge brokering organisations’, emerged in different countries.
Academic journal article published in Evidence and Policy: https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/evp/19/1/article-p22.xml
Blog published in Evidence and Policy: https://evidenceandpolicyblog.co.uk/2022/10/12/understanding-organisations-that-provide-evidence-for-policy/
We also examined the emergence and work of a specific type of KBO: the UK What Works Centres (WWCs). These WWCs have emerged over the last decade or so (more in the case of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)). We examined the varied work that they do in brokering evidence, the relationships they build and nurture with decision-makers, and how they establish their credibility [here, add link to the project page on WWC Impact project].
Academic journal article published in Science and Public Policy: https://academic.oup.com/spp/article/50/6/950/7204580
The role of WCPP in providing external policy advice in Wales (2023) Externalising policy advice within subnational governments in: Policy & Politics Volume 51 Issue 4 (2023) (bristoluniversitypressdigital.com)
This paper applied the concept of policy advisory systems (PAS) to analyse the development and dynamics of policy advice in Wales.
Blogs and other content:
Blog for Policy & Politics: Knowledge brokering for policy: What do we know? – Policy & Politics Journal Blog (policyandpoliticsblog.com)
Blog for LSE Impact on role of KBOs (as distinct from boundary organisations and policy entrepreneurs): Knowledge brokering organisations - what are they and what do they do? | Impact of Social Sciences (lse.ac.uk)
WCPP blog: Understanding organisations that provide evidence for policy | WCPP
Science for Policy Podcast on the role of KBOs: Eleanor MacKillop & James Downe on knowledge brokering organisations - YouTube
Blog for LSE Impact: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2023/08/15/knowledge-brokering-organisations-what-are-they-and-what-do-they-do/ "