Project Research and Impact Examining the Impact of the What Works Network The Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) has been awarded ESRC funding to continue examining and developing the impact of the What Works Network. This work builds on previous Centre projects such as on implementation and on impact. This new project focuses on the following research questions: What counts as impact and what are the […] Read more Research and Impact: Impact The role of KBOs April 4, 2023
Report Research and Impact What counts as evidence for policy? During the Covid-19 pandemic, the refrain of ‘following the science’ became commonplace. But what is meant by evidence can vary according to who is asked, the context, and other factors. We conducted research to analyse the perceptions of Welsh policy actors towards evidence. These perceptions matter because they will impact why evidence is used or […] Read more Research and Impact: The role of KBOs January 26, 2023
News Research and Impact The Wales Centre for Public Policy receives £9 million investment to support its on-going work in tackling major policy challenges We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded £9 million over the next five years to continue our work providing policy makers and public service leaders in Wales with authoritative independent evidence that helps improve policy making and delivery. We are funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, Welsh Government and Cardiff […] Read more Research and Impact: Impact Methods and approaches The role of KBOs November 29, 2022
Blog Post Research and Impact Understanding organisations that provide evidence for policy This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Knowledge brokering organisations: a new way of governing evidence’. New organisations have emerged in different countries to help inform policymaking. Different from think tanks and academic research centres, these Knowledge Brokering Organisations (KBOs) attempt to influence policy by mobilising evidence. Our research examines how […] Read more Research and Impact: The role of KBOs November 1, 2022
Blog Post Research and Impact What might implementation science and knowledge mobilisation mean for What Works Centres? Implementation science (IS) and knowledge mobilisation (KMb) are just two concepts in the plethora of ideas and terms developed over the last decades in narrowing the gap between knowledge being produced and knowledge being used in policy and practice. Other terms include knowledge brokering, knowledge transfer, co-production, dissemination science, and knowledge exchange. Most of them […] Read more Research and Impact: The role of KBOs December 8, 2020
News Research and Impact WCPP joins £2m International Public Policy Observatory The Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) is part of a major new initiative that will bring together researchers and policy makers to tackle the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic and accelerate the UK’s recovery. The International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO) is a collaboration between University College London, Cardiff University, Queen’s University Belfast, the University of […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs December 3, 2020
Blog Post Research and Impact Increasing the reach of the What Works network At Wales Centre for Public Policy we’re part of the UK’s What Works network. It’s a group of 13 (and counting) Centres aiming to improve the use of evidence in decision-making in various policy areas from education, to policing, to wellbeing. We think we’ve got a lot to share with the rest of the What […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs March 10, 2020
Blog Post Research and Impact Mobilising Meaningful Connections between Evidence and Practice At the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP), we are continually reflecting upon our role as a ‘knowledge brokerage organisation’ (KBO). We see ‘knowledge brokerage’ as the practice of connecting researchers and decision makers to help inform public policy and professional practice. Although knowledge brokerage has great potential, we also recognise the complexity inherent in […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs November 29, 2019
Blog Post Research and Impact What works in getting evidence used? One of the Early Intervention Foundation's (EIF) core functions is to see that evidence on early intervention is actually being used in policy, decision-making and practice. Jo Casebourne and Donna Molloy summarise some of the varied approaches we have taken to tackling this particular challenge, and our commitment to making ongoing improvements in how we […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs November 26, 2019
Blog Post Research and Impact Researching the Use of Evidence in Policy Making What does it mean to be a ‘knowledge broker’? What impact does knowledge brokerage have on government policymaking? Why might evidence use at the local level require different approaches, and how would this be implemented? Here at the Wales Centre for Public Policy we recognise that the relationship between evidence and policy is complex and […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs November 18, 2019