Cultivating researcher-policymaker partnerships: A randomized controlled trial of a model for training public psychologists.

Abstract

Key to bringing psychological science to bear on public policy is developing scholars’ engagement and rapport with policymakers. Scholars benefit from support navigating the policy arena in ways that strengthen their independent policy engagement. This study presents findings from a randomized controlled trial of the Research-to-Policy Collaboration (RPC) model, which develops and trains a rapid response network of researchers to respond to legislative requests for scientific evidence. Researchers were surveyed on their concerns about how policymakers support or use scientific research, how they engaged with policymakers, and perceived benefits to their research. Researchers randomized to the RPC reported fewer concerns about policymakers’ support and use of research, greater involvement in supporting policymakers’ understanding of problems (i.e., conceptual use), and more responses to external prompts for their involvement. Subgroup analyses examined how experiences differed for those identifying as Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color (BIPOC). At baseline, BIPOC-identifying researchers perceived greater costs of policy engagement and reported less involvement in supporting conceptual or instrumental uses of research than White-identifying researchers. Subsequent to the RPC, BIPOC-identifying researchers in the intervention group were reportedly less concerned about federal support of science, more engaged in supporting conceptual uses of research, and perceived greater benefits of policy engagement for their research than BIPOC-identifying researchers in the control group. These differences were not observed among White-identifying researchers. Findings are discussed in light of disparities experienced by marginalized scholars, the ways in which resources and supports may counteract these challenges, and possible strategies to strengthen public psychology overall.

Advocacy: The seventh foundational principle and core competency of rehabilitation psychology.

“…Rehabilitation psychology must emphasize the role of advocacy as the shared responsibility of our field rather than the endeavor of only an interested few. Crowley et al (2021) explored strategies to facilitate the use of scientific evidence in policy by involving researchers in political processes to advocate for resources for science and practice and argue that collaborative work directly with policymakers provides opportunity to legislative support decision making using scientific evidence. Crowley et al (2021) break down collaborative advocacy into seven steps.…”

“…Crowley et al (2021) explored strategies to facilitate the use of scientific evidence in policy by involving researchers in political processes to advocate for resources for science and practice and argue that collaborative work directly with policymakers provides opportunity to legislative support decision making using scientific evidence. Crowley et al (2021) break down collaborative advocacy into seven steps. The first step is initial outreach to legislative staff to inquire about policymakers' overarching policy goals for the legislative session, followed by identifying researchers who have expertise relevant to policymakers' goals and are willing to contribute to research translation efforts.…”

We still cannot breathe: Applying intersectional ecological model to COVID-19 survivorship.

“…Furthermore, the spirit of interconnectedness emphasizes the necessary and critical importance of including Black disabled individuals in positions of power to affect structural change. This includes, although it is not limited to, the inclusion of Black disabled individuals in the development and execution of research and the dissemination of knowledge (Crowley et al, 2021). Aligned with this intention, we echo the recommendations proposed by Bhattarai et al (2020), whose authors include women of color with disabilities, for rehabilitation psychologists to promote equity at the population level, including the involvement of stakeholders.…”

Public psychology: Introduction to the special issue.

“…To some extent, all the articles in the special issue attend to issues of how best to communicate with diverse publics and how knowledge can be created and shared more equitably. Crowley and colleagues (Crowley et al, 2021) best capture these goals with their description of findings from a randomized controlled trial of the Research-to-Policy Collaboration (RPC) model, which prepares researchers to respond to legislative requests for scientific evidence, and to develop working relationships with legislative staff. Over 300 social science researchers and 48 congressional offices participated in this trial, which involved assessing policymaker's needs, identifying and training researchers with relevant expertise, and engaging legislative staff and researchers in meetings and collaborations.…”

“…The special issue is a modest attempt to contribute meaningfully toward an architecture of public psychology: an aspirational and explicitly idealistic project that envisions psychology otherwise. We invite the reader to consider the myriad entry points into public psychology available to them, in light of the needs and strengths of the communities they serve, from researcher-policymaker partnerships (Crowleyet al, 2021) to civil disobedience (Flynn et al, 2021).…”