Policymakers make decisions every day that shape the lives of children, youth, and families, from education and mental health to family economic well-being. Yet even though high-quality research exists, it often does not reach decision-makers at the right time or in a form that is easy to use. This project seeks to bridge that gap by helping universities build lasting systems that connect researchers and policymakers. By making it easier for research evidence to inform public policy, this project has the potential to improve the effectiveness, equity, and long-term impact of policies that affect millions of children and families across the United States.

While many initiatives focus on helping individual researchers engage with policymakers, this is one of the first large-scale randomized controlled trials to test whether universities themselves can be changed in ways that systematically support research translation. This project examines how institutional structures, leadership practices, incentives, and support systems can create sustained pathways between researchers and policymakers. This shift from individual-level engagement to institution-wide infrastructure represents a significant innovation in the science of research impact.

Project Goals

1. Evaluate whether institutional supports improve researchers’ engagement with policymakers.
2. Increase policymakers’ access to timely, relevant research evidence related to children and families.
3. Determine whether institutional infrastructure can improve congressional use of research evidence.
4. Expand opportunities for policy engagement among scholars from historically underrepresented backgrounds. Develop evidence-based strategies that universities can use to strengthen the public impact of research.

Methods

The study will involve approximately 40 Carnegie R1 universities, including ten minority-serving institutions, 280 faculty researchers, and 90 U.S. congressional offices. Participating institutions and policymakers will be enrolled in a randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate how institutional supports influence research translation and evidence-informed policymaking. Universities and congressional offices will be randomly assigned to intervention or comparison conditions.

The study combines surveys, interviews, institutional document reviews, engagement tracking, and analysis of congressional communications and legislative outputs. Researchers will examine changes in institutional support for policy engagement, researcher participation and policymakers’ use of research evidence over time.

A national model for strengthening evidence-informed policymaking

This project is about more than improving communication between researchers and policymakers. We seek to transform how universities support public impact by creating sustainable systems that help research reach decision-makers when it is most needed.

If successful, knowledge gained from this project could provide a national model for strengthening evidence-informed policymaking, helping universities demonstrate the societal value of their research, and ensuring that scientific knowledge contributes more effectively to policies that improve the lives of children and families. By building infrastructure that lasts beyond any single grant or project, we aim to create long-term pathways for research to inform public decision-making at scale.