Ten Suggestions to Enhance Policy Impact of Sustainability Knowledge | SEI

Findings from the Stockholm Environment Institute report, "Getting to Policy Impact: Lessons from 20 Years of Bridging Science and Policy with Sustainability Knowledge" (pdf):

Based on the SEI case studies presented in this report, and the collective lessons learned from them, we have extracted what we consider to be generalisable suggestions that will be useful in many other organizational contexts. However, the list is not meant to be prescriptive, knowledge supply actors should feel free to use or adapt factors if their individual circumstance makes the factor impossible to implement:

1 Recognise differences in timing between research and policy making. While early engagement with end users or end user-defined research can ensure effective policy impact in the short term, an effective policy impact over the long term may also require a body of research and action to be defined by the knowledge provider independently, and built up over a longer period of time.

2 Acknowledge the realities of the political and policy-making context. Proper use of steering groups and technical working groups can be used to anchor the knowledge acquisition in a broader institutional setting and also clarify the needs and expectations of the information users and providers and helps knowledge providers to understand the norms and context of the knowledge users.

3 Maintain the balance of collaborative and independent research. In order to ensure that emerging sustainability problems are being subject to research, and that the credibility of the knowledge providing institution is upheld, it is imperative to pursue parallel tracks of more co-produced or collaboratively defined research and of independently defined research.

4 Make use of strong champions (i.e. search out where knowledge is wanted). Knowledge can make the greatest contribution where it is demanded. It is critical to work with actors on the demand side that have a capacity to engage with new knowledge as well as to take ownership and responsibility for the decision making processes. It is important to seek out opportunities to provide knowledge where there is cognitive capacity as well as agency, and where new approaches can result in direct as well as indirect learning.

5 Facilitate joint learning processes. Involving the demand side in the knowledgegeneration process profoundly enhanced the learning impact. Such processes are also more likely to foster ownership and action based on new knowledge co-created. In other words, the implementation and institutionalization of sustainability knowledge is far more likely to succeed.

6 Facilitate trust building and continuity among partners. Long-lasting professional relationships, close integration of staff working relationships, and acceptance of the research role as an independent third party can all help build trusting relationships to help deal successfully with contentious policy issues.

7 Consider implications of other policy spheres. The timing of nonenvironmental policy concerns, as well as political and other cultural and social factors, will inevitably be critically important to the ultimate decision making process. The extent to which the sustainability knowledge takes these into account will influence the ultimate impact.

8 Acknowledge the progressive nature of policy impact. Not all impacts are evident at once. Knowledge interpretation, enlightenment and organizational learning is a slow and gradual process often extending over several years. Also, the level of ‘intervention’ in terms of knowledge provision may be far removed from the actual decision level and point, sometimes with a time span of several years.

9 Deploy user friendly analyses, models and scenarios. Interpretation and use of knowledge relies on the ability of demand-side actors to trust and understand what lies underneath the results presented. Complex pieces of analysis often limit the possibility to use the knowledge in policy making processes. More general research findings should be translated into something that is directly relevant for and applicable to the particular policy geographical scale, level of precision, existing institutions and level of process (e.g. whether it is strategic, implementation or evaluation).

10 Speak the right language. Sustainability knowledge cannot bring about enlightenment if it is not fully understood. Speaking the right language and making concepts and ideas interpretable is critical – as is the importance of iterative communication. It is important to clarify in which formats the sustainability knowledge will be most effective in instilling new knowledge and in influencing policy. A baseline tip is to provide short, concise, and clear summaries, but the information within them should be backed up by full reports.