This document seeks to identify the need and value of research knowledge to guide policy decisions in developing countries. This being said, the authors claim that policymakers frequently consult with experts about different issues to assure they choose the best among potential policy options. Thereby, this reassures the importance of institutionalized and public mechanisms that produce or possess research and evidence during policymaking processes. In order to assess their claims, the authors develop a comparative analysis of 18 case studies on policy research institutions (PRIs), aiming to determine if they exert influence in policymaking, hence bridging the gap between research and policy.
The paper is organized as follows. After a brief introduction, section one delivers a thorough explanation of the investigation’s background, thus explaining the methodology introduced and the analytical framework used to study PRIs. Furthermore, chapter two presents the results of the comparative study into two sections: the endogenous and exogenous variables. Finally, section three provides some concluding arguments and recommendations on the issue.
To conclude, it can be established that:
the capacity of PRIs´ to influence policymaking efforts depends largely on some specific features of their organizational and institutional structures
there is not a set of clear-cut or dominant endogenous variables through which we can predict the incidence of PRIs during policymaking processes
some dominant variables may affect PRIs in different ways depending on the region they work, their field of research and the policymaking processes
based on the main findings of the comparative analysis it can be highlighted that there are many features that yet need to be analyzed in order to understand how these institutes have managed to exert influence on policies