Choosing policy-relevant research questions

Note: This post was link-posted from the Good Questions Review project by the Forum team, with the author's permission. The author may not see or respond to comments on this post. Summaries were auto-generated using GPT-4o. Any mistakes are our own.

How can social science better serve decision-makers? Paul Kellner’s post, Choosing policy-relevant research questions, surveys practical methods for closing the gap between research and policy.

Using examples from the UK government, the European Commission, and international collaborations, Kellner shows how early engagement with policymakers—via co-creation, workshops, and consensus-building—can make research more relevant and usable. These approaches build trust, support uptake, and align research with real-world needs.

This post is a useful starting point for anyone interested in research impact or evidence-based policy. It also previews future work on how timing and tool design shape whether research gets used.