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Policy Research Programme: use and dissemination of research

  • Last modified date:
    14 November 2008

How results from the programme are used and disseminated.

How research from the Programme is used

The Policy Research Programme is an applied programme and the results are disseminated and used in many ways.

Given the central purpose of the PRP, the outputs of its commissioned research are primarily used to provide the evidence base for a very wide range of policy activity, in DH and other government departments. Ultimately the goal is to contribute to excellence in policy-making by providing the evidence to enable improved outcomes for patients and the public. More specifically, findings from the research commissioned by the PRP may influence the policy-making process in the following ways:

  • by underpinning time-limited or ongoing policy review exercises, such as in the development of National Service Frameworks;
  • by informing the development of DH advice and guidelines on specific areas of policy or practice, including the production of training materials;
  • by providing the basis for the development of assessment measures to evaluate the quality and impact of services;
  • by feeding modelling work on future service or social scenarios, e.g. on long-term care costs;
  • by informing  the formulation of new policy, e.g. via White or Green Papers or National Care Strategies;
  • by influencing the setting or assessment of policy priorities.

Dissemination of research findings

Once the peer review process has been successfully completed, encouragement is given to researchers to make their work widely available to a range of audiences. Dissemination may thus take a number of different forms, including:

  • publication in book form and in academic journals and seminars;
  • publication in professional and service journals;
  • national and regional conferences aimed at service providers, professional bodies, and professional leaders;
  • distribution of executive summaries, and newsletters;
  • inclusion in bibliographic databases,  including  the NIHR Portfolio Database or the Social Care Research Register

Policy Research Programme: Overview Reports

Occasionally, for large research initiatives, involving a number of linked studies, a final overview report is published, summarising the findings of individual studies and drawing overall conclusions for policy and practice.

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