Table 2 Effectiveness and lessons learned

Start early

• Engage policymakers when planning research [34, 41]

• Be strategic about research and audience [29, 40]

• Take initiative to contact policymakers [44]

Drum up support

• Involve a broad pool of experts [35]

• Cultivate broad coalition of supporters [47]

• Policymakers may appear not to value research [28]

Use research evidence 'champions' or 'brokers'

• Research use 'champions' engage with community stakeholders and policymakers [45]

• Intermediary organizations connect “research supply” to “research demand” [53]

• External brokers play a role both in connecting policymakers to research and in conceptualizing and developing policy [39, 43]

• Intermediary individuals or organizations may select or spin research to make their point [45, 52, 53]

• Policymakers may have a list of preferred evidence brokers [53]

• Basing policy on evidence requires identified 'best evidence', which may reflect bias and favoritism [29]

Context matters

• Integrate research evidence into broader sociopolitical context [45]

• Research must be locally, contextually relevant [54, 55, 57]

• Specify which government office(s) are responsible [47]

• Federally imposed policies (e.g., education) often override local expertise around context and population [29]

• Ideology, whether personal or regional, may create a barrier between researchers and policymakers [27, 41, 44, 50, 54,55,56]

Make research products timely, relevant, and accessible

• Tailor design of products to meet diverse end user needs [27, 34]

• Present research in commonly-used formats (e.g., briefs, talking points, videos) [48]

• Research must be timely and geared to policymakers' concerns [27, 38, 42, 44, 52]

• Use clear, careful language [27]

• Formalize the organizational / individual process of translating research to policy [32]

• Complexity of research [56]

• Disconnect between the goals and language of policymakers and researchers [41, 52, 56]

• Concerns about data/research evidence quality [29, 41, 42]

Know the players and the process

• Familiarize yourself with policymaking process [27, 31]

• Show respect for policymakers' knowledge/experiences [27]

• Learn about / build relationships with the target policymaking audience [27, 30]

• Expand contact and working relationships with end users [34]

• Lack of familiarity with effective dissemination strategies [31]

• Lack of financial and institutional support for dissemination [31]

Miscellaneous

• Approach policy work as an educator rather than as an advocate [27]