The transformative turn in research and innovation (R&I) policy calls for new approaches to monitoring and evaluation, yet most evaluands are still rooted in previous policy paradigms. For evaluators tasked with conducting ex-post evaluations, this situation creates multiple challenges that have received little attention to date. In this…

Background: Although research-to-policy (R2P) fellowships are increasingly used to facilitate mobility, promote knowledge-exchange, and support evidence-based policy making, the evaluation of these initiatives in terms of (multi-level) impacts and broader 'ecosystem effects' remains under-researched. Aims and objectives: The aim of this article is…

The monitoring and evaluation of R&I policies relies on quantitative and qualitative methods with important methodological shortcomings. Quantitative assessments rely on standardized indicators that do not capture context-specific challenges, while qualitative approaches lack comparability. Both approaches are complementary but not always…

The technological innovation of wind power is crucial to energy security and energy structure transformation. The Chinese government has been committed to improving the innovation of the wind power industry for decades. Although academic researchers and wind power policymakers have been widely concerned about the absolute score of innovation…

This article analyses how the future has been discussed in Swedish higher education and research policy, providing an overview of public inquiries during the period 1970-2020. Expanding on the conceptual framework of German historian Reinhart Koselleck, the article approaches discourses on the future through the analytical lens of sociology of…

Background: Fuse was established in 2008 as one of five public health research centres of excellence in the UK funded by the UK Clinical Research Centres collaboration. The centre works across five universities in the North East of England. This is an innovative collaboration and enables the pooling of research expertise. A prime focus of the…

This paper develops a novel approach called Outcome Trajectory Evaluation (OTE) in response to the long-causal-chain problem confronting the evaluation of research for development (R4D) projects. OTE strives to tackle four issues resulting from the common practice of evaluating R4D projects based on theory of change developed at the start. The…

Background: A number of ways to conduct research are designed to maximise the likelihood that evidence from research is quickly transferred into practice. This includes action research and partnership research between researchers and policy makers. Such approaches focus research effort on questions of highest relevance to practice and policy so as…

Last year, the William T. Grant Foundation took stock of its initiative to support research on reducing inequality in youth outcomes. The aim was to understand, in part, the pathways through which grantees' research findings may be reaching audiences including researchers, journalists, policymakers, and practitioners. Five years into the reducing…

Scientific collaboration between Northern and Southern researchers and development programs for research capacity-building have received new attention of practitioners and scholars during the last decades. This essay review takes four recent publications on North-South research cooperation and development politics as a starting point to ask for…

Science can provide empirically-informed strategies and resources to inform and improve policy and practice, though all too often science, policy, and practice operate independently from one another. Research mediators play a critical role by attempting to connect these different worlds. This practice paper presents lessons learned and…

Background: Although there is now an extensive international body of research and evidence about care and carers it is fragmented and disparate. Without synthesis, organisation and accessibility it cannot effectively inform and improve policy and practice with carers. Key points for discussion: This paper makes the case for an accessible…

The complexity of getting research into policy and practice, or "GRIPP," is amplified in school mental health due to its position at the intersection of two distinct fields, education and mental health. GRIPP is hindered by several obstacles, including mutual distrust of researchers and practitioners/policymakers, their differing…

Researchers are increasingly being asked to demonstrate the impact of their research on policy. Unfortunately, evidence on what works is scarce because it is rarely reported and evaluated. This paper describes a programme of facilitated engagement between knowledge producers and users on topics of joint research and policy interest, and validates…

While it is frequently argued that assessment sits at the heart of the learning process, in practice assessment often remains narrowly focused on qualifications and reporting achievements, driven by institutional and societal aspirations and tensions such as accountability and economic well being. Yet, the need for assessment to account for the…