Science Summit at United Nations General Assembly 77 (UNGA77)

In this session, we will document lessons, opportunities and challenges for better connecting research to policy and practice. How can scientific knowledge be more valuable and accessible to policymakers and stakeholders? The focus will be on knowledge brokering services for promoting sustainable development worldwide.

We will explore the benefits of interweaving knowledge brokering with the entire research process rather than planning such activities only at the end of a research programme. Such an iterative approach based on regular policy dialogues will likely enhance the quality of research and the relevance of its outcomes. However, for this model to work, a proactive and reflective attitude is required from researchers and policymakers alike. Can their expectations be met?

Jargon analyses out of relevant context, but also the sheer volume of academic publications and reports can overwhelm and disengage the potential users of evidence. Integrated knowledge brokering can help facilitate better use of research findings. Conversely, such brokerage can inspire researchers for more meaningful, or better, science (‘engaged excellence’, IDS). At a programme level, knowledge brokering can contribute to more coherent, integrated and triangulated knowledge through literature reviews and synthesis studies. Through scaling, research findings can be made relevant to other regions or sectors. All this is particularly relevant to better understanding the coherence between SDGs.

In previous research programmes focusing on SDGs, the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) have learned about the positive role of knowledge brokers in enhancing the relevance and impact of research findings. However, knowledge brokering is often planned at the end of a research programme, when the results are in. In such planning, there is typically little leeway for meaningful dialogue between researchers and policymakers.

Therefore, in their joint SDG Interactions and Policy Interventions in Developing Countries research programme, NWO and MFA have recently piloted an ongoing and iterative Knowledge Brokering, Scaling and Synthesis (KBS) project which started ahead of three thematic research projects and which will run throughout the five-year programme.

The premise of this approach is that researchers and policy-makers will continuously interact as research takes place. A prominent success factor is of course the willingness of both researchers and policymakers to embrace a learning attitude and to intensively engage with each other. Are both up for this challenge? What lessons or challenges can be drawn from other programmes or interventions around the world?

This is an open and interactive session, in which sharing of experiences, stories of change, best practices and failures will be encouraged. To inspire the discussion, findings from several research programmes (including on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and the aforementioned SDG interactions) will be presented from the perspective of policy-makers, researchers, evaluators and knowledge brokers from around the globe. The outcomes of the session will be used to further develop NWO guidelines on knowledge brokering in global research.