Barak Ariel and Hagit Sabo-Brants
This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Building bridges in place of barriers between school practitioners and researchers: on the role of embedded intermediaries in promoting evidence-based policy’.
The Israeli education system provides insights into the importance of intermediaries in evidence-based policymaking. Effective intermediaries can bridge the gap between research and practice by fostering collaboration and facilitating knowledge transfer between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. The ideal intermediary should have the respect of both researchers and practitioners and a comprehensive understanding of both worlds. Practitioners should be involved in selecting and implementing intermediaries to meet their needs. Applying intermediaries in policymaking can result in more efficient and effective policies that benefit researchers and practitioners.
To ensure efficient and effective policy making in education, it is vital to base decisions on evidence. Despite the advancements in research, many education practices still rely on intuition and experience rather than empirical evidence. Research-practice partnership initiatives can assist in bridging the gap between education research and practice, and the use of intermediaries is essential for the successful implementation of such initiatives.
Our study, recently published in Evidence & Policy, examines the role of intermediaries in evidence-based policymaking by examining the Israeli education system. Effective mediation can foster cooperation between the parties and facilitate the application of research-based knowledge in policy making. As research draws attention to the role of intermediaries when discussing the various means by which meaningful cooperation can be formed, academics, embedded practitioners, and mediators can play an essential role in facilitating the transfer of knowledge between researchers and practitioners.
Based on a series of interviews with practitioners in the Israeli education system, we find that to successfully coordinate between them, they must have knowledge of relevant scientific research and in-depth familiarity with the world of practice. Practitioners in the field of education described the ideal intermediary as someone who has earned the respect of both researchers and practitioners and possesses a comprehensive understanding of both the scientific research community and the world of practice. When they are trusted, then intermediaries can actively assist practitioners in understanding and effectively applying the research, as well as help in producing new evidence. Based on the views of schoolmasters and other executives throughout local schools, intermediaries can enable researchers to better comprehend the context and needs of practitioners as well — suggesting that intermediaries are important for both practitioners and researchers.
According to the findings of the study, the selection of an intermediary should be context- and practitioner-specific. To ensure that their needs are met, practitioners should be involved in the selection and implementation of intermediaries, rather than accept whomever researchers choose for the relevant project. Practitioners want to have a voice in this process, which is understandable if the intermediary will be embedded in their practice.
In conclusion, intermediaries are required to promote evidence-based education policymaking. Effective mediation encourages collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners and enables the use of knowledge derived from research. The ideal intermediary is someone who has earned the respect of both researchers and practitioners and has a comprehensive understanding of both the scientific research community and the world of practice. By involving practitioners in the selection and implementation of intermediaries, policymakers can enhance the implementation of evidence-based policies, resulting in more efficient and effective policies that are beneficial to researchers and practitioners.
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Barak Ariel is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Professor of Experimental Criminology at University of Cambridge. His research interests lie in the area of policing, victimology, technology in law enforcement, organised crime and cybercrime. He is the immediate past chair of the Division of Experimental Criminology of the American Society of Criminology. ba285@cam.ac.uk
Hagit Sabo-Brants is a Lecturer at the Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research interests lie in violence prevention, school violence, research-practice partnership, and school violence in organizational context. Hagit.brants@mail.huji.ac.il
Read the original research in Evidence & Policy:
Sabo-Brants, H. and Ariel, B. (2023). Building bridges in place of barriers between school practitioners and researchers: on the role of embedded intermediaries in promoting evidence-based policy. Evidence & Policy, DOI: 10.1332/174426421X16793289365262.
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