Bill Melody: As Rohan has said, this is the last event of the day. The real question is does policy research do anything besides keep policy researchers busy. We recognize that policy research is also done for the wider community, including industry, NGOs, academics and others to inform and build support for evidence based policy.
We are constantly asked to show that research affects policy. However, you generally find that policy makers and regulators go through their own decision making process and tracing the affect of research is not easy. My observation is that the biggest contribution is not what was adopted but what was not adopted. It prevents some of the more harmful options that have been considered.
We’re extremely honored to have such a wide group, there is not time to introduce them, but we’re calling on a wide range of experience.
As way of introducing the discussion I am asking each participant to comment for five minutes or less on:
1. Is policy research useful in your work?
2. How could policy research be more useful in the future?
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