Bridging research and policy: practical tips for writing policy briefs

An effective policy brief bridges the gap between research findings and policymaking, ensuring that evidence is presented succinctly and in a way that is accessible and usable for policymakers and relevant stakeholders. However, many researchers find it hard to communicate the findings of their studies to relevant policymakers, whilst policymakers note that evidence relevant to their needs is not easily accessible and is often not presented in an accessible format. Producing policy briefs is one of the approaches which academics can use to get their research noticed by policymakers. This paper is based on the authors’ research into health, health promotion, and health systems in Nepal. In order to get their findings known to relevant people, such as politicians and policymakers, many of these studies were summarised into policy briefs. This practical paper outlines some of the trials and tribulations of producing policy briefs, based on real-world research. It offers several recommendations in Box 4 to help improve the writing and dissemination of policy briefs.