Improving policymakers' access to research evidence: development of a framework

Although health policy should be informed by research evidence, this is often not the case. One reason is that up-to-date, high quality and relevant syntheses of research evidence have traditionally been difficult for policymakers to access. The "living evidence synthesis" approach has recently been developed to overcome this challenge. Living evidence syntheses provide decision-makers with rigorously produced, always up-to-date research evidence in formats that are tailored for the decision-maker when they need it. However, we do not clearly understand how it helps policymakers to access research. This project will involve reanalysing data from interviews with policymakers to generate a Framework of Research Access for them. The framework will help researchers, knowledge brokers, and others plan and share research outcomes with policymakers.