A randomized, controlled trial finds that Congressional offices in the 116th US Congress that received targeted support reported increased value of scientific evidence for understanding legislative issues. Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and opioid epidemic have underscored the need for the use of scientific evidence in policymaking. Max Crowley and colleagues attempted to test the effectiveness of an approach designed to facilitate the use of research evidence by legislators. The authors randomized 96 US Congressional offices and 226 researchers to participate in either a Research-to-Policy Collaboration approach or to a control group, and followed both groups for 6 months. The focus was limited to child and family legislative activity and included both Republicans and Democrats. Legislative staff received needs assessments to identify policymakers' goals, priorities, and need for scientific evidence. Experts in the scientific community provided rapid responses with policy briefs and briefings. The control group received publicly available, research-based resources. During the study period, the authors report, intervention group offices introduced around 23% more bills that used research evidence language and reported 7% greater value of using research evidence, compared with controls. According to the authors, formal engagement built on timely and trusted collaborations can strengthen research use even in a divided Congress.
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Article #20-12955: "Lawmakers' use of scientific evidence can be improved," by D. Max Crowley et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Max Crowley, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; email: < dmc397@psu.edu >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences