{"id":178,"date":"2019-03-25T11:19:58","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T11:19:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/cre\/?p=178"},"modified":"2019-03-25T11:19:58","modified_gmt":"2019-03-25T11:19:58","slug":"academia-policy-and-practice-how-can-we-ensure-our-research-findings-make-a-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/cre\/2019\/03\/25\/academia-policy-and-practice-how-can-we-ensure-our-research-findings-make-a-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Academia, policy and practice \u2013 How can we ensure our research findings make a difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adrienne Attorp and Beth Clark summarise what they learned about policy making from Professor David Freshwater during his recent visit to the CRE.<\/em><\/p>\n

This February, the Centre for Rural Economy (CRE) was lucky enough to receive a visit from\u00a0Professor David Freshwater<\/a>\u00a0of the University of Kentucky. While here, he spent an afternoon with CRE PhD students and early career researchers, and spoke to us about his work as a researcher and policy analyst in the field of rural and agricultural policy, which has included many years working as a consultant for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He also shared with us his thoughts and reflections on farming, including what he thinks are the biggest challenges facing the industry, and imparted some words of wisdom\u00a0<\/strong>to\u00a0those of us interested in working to influence policy. Some highlights:<\/p>\n

The Challenges facing Farmin<\/u>g<\/p>\n

According to Professor Freshwater, policy is the biggest threat to agriculture because it is in a constant state of flux. This observation could not be timelier for a UK-based audience given the imminent arrival of Brexit and the looming threat of a \u2018no deal\u2019 exit, or a last-minute announcement of tariffs. Brexit aside, given the short-term focus of politicians that accompanies short stints in power and party changes,\u00a0and the\u00a0lack of overall strategy, it is not surprising to find that this makes longer-term planning difficult for farmers.<\/p>\n

We also discussed the structure of farming and farm income, with farm support moving away from direct payments in a number of instances towards a more risk management-based approach. This reflects a need to change the approach to payments as a country and its economy\u00a0<\/strong>develop. Related to this, Professor Freshwater highlighted the need for diversification, citing off-farm income sources as a means of risk mitigation.\u00a0While\u00a0some would portray\u00a0this as a\u00a0negative narrative\u00a0as it suggests the farm\u00a0is not a profitable entity without a separate source of income, Professor Freshwater\u00a0offered a different perspective, arguing\u00a0that a portfolio of uncorrelated income sources can in fact provide more resilience\u00a0in an ever-changing climate. He\u00a0pointed out\u00a0that most households are multi-income, so why not farming households also?<\/p>\n

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How to Influence Policy Making<\/u><\/p>\n

Politics precedes policy (and audience matters!)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to change policy, you have to talk to politicians\u201d, Professor Freshwater told us. He also underscored that in order to influence policy effectively, researchers must \u201cbe immersed in the politics of [their] time\u201d. Why? Because it is essential to understand both the context in which policymakers are working and the agendas they have, in order that research can fit into this context and align with\u00a0current political values. This does not mean \u2018selling out\u2019, so to speak, it just means it is important to think about how\u00a0you frame\u00a0the problem and potential solutions, so as to make the most impact. Audience matters.<\/p>\n

In addition, Professor Freshwater highlighted that policy can struggle with the unique. Generalizable findings and recommendations are much more suited to political interests. Thus, it is important to\u00a0consider the\u00a0smallest number of variations a policy may have while still being effective. He also stressed the need to ensure that any policy suggestions are both cost and outcome effective.<\/p>\n

Further, similar to the pressures farmers contend with, the time constraints faced by policymakers make implementing long-term change difficult. With changes to political parties happening every four-to-five years or\u00a0<\/strong>less, planning\u00a0in two-year periods is\u00a0often\u00a0more feasible, with short-term recommendations more likely to be implemented.<\/p>\n

Tell a story<\/em><\/p>\n

Anecdotes and stories make policy impacts real, we learned. In\u00a0policymaking, this is where qualitative research comes into its own. These anecdotes and stories should form part of\u00a0your\u00a0<\/strong>overall narrative on a subject, but crucially,\u00a0we\u00a0must always back them up with statistics.\u00a0Furthermore, once\u00a0you have your narrative, stick to it. Never contradict yourself!<\/p>\n

Some final pearls of wisdom\u2026<\/u><\/p>\n

To be effective outside of academia there is a need to avoid the \u2018tunnel vision\u2019 that academics so often have, and to have an overview (even a not very in-depth one) of other disciplines. (This is evidently a strength of the CRE, given the diverse expertise of staff and students, not to mention the broad range of collaborators that we have and continue to work with.)<\/p>\n

And finally, Professor Freshwater made a plug for theory, emphasising that, by approaching research from a theoretical perspective,\u00a0researchers\u00a0can be deductive, as well as uniform in their approach to comparing and evaluating different policy alternatives. This subsequently provides rigour to their work.<\/p>\n

So, what are the\u00a0take-home\u00a0messages? Other than the need to ensure we keep an open mind and read more broadly, we came away with a number of key points for\u00a0<\/strong>preparing\u00a0a policy brief:<\/p>\n