For a long time, researchers have shied away from policy makers and their politics.However, the changing global trends have necessitated the need for science-based policy decisions for effective solutions.This is not withstanding the fact that huge investments are made into research though the evidence is rarely used in policy making.In fact, policy makers would give utmost consideration to information sourced from their advisers and political patronage but are never obliged to look at scientific findings to make policies.The eventual outcome has been a widened gap between researchers and policy makers.

Early December 2018, two policy makers were caught on camera alluding that they would block access to pornographic sites in Kenya so as to reduce teenage pregnancies. This came after the media reported a high number of pregnant teenagers sitting for their national exams.It is surprising that the policy makers are not privy to the fact that there is no correlation between teenage pregnancies and online pornography.Also, 90% of the teenage pregnancies reported were in the rural areas with poor or no access to Internet. Evidently, policy makers can propose anything without thinking from the neck up in order to remain relevant. This is politics, and it is what scientists and industry experts need to embrace if they want their research to influence public policy.

Strategies for communicating research to policy makers

1. Use Simple Language

A few of the politicians find themselves in the technical committees out of interest. But most of them join committees out of requirement. I had once asked a parliamentarian which committees he was involved in. He answered: “I’m in the Agriculture committee, but I am being asked to take another one”. Meaning his second committee is not something he would join out of choice or expertise.

This then calls for researchers to break their findings down to issues that the legislators can relate to. Statistics jargon such as ‘p value’ and ‘n’, will not be useful here. Focus on the interpretation of the findings and give them social measurements.Take it into consideration that this is the same language that would be used to communicate with constituents.For instance, many people in the ground did not bother interpreting 40 billion Euro bond scandal, until the leader of the opposition gave it a social unit of measurement.

‘That amount can feed your children and your great grandchildren for their lifetime without having to work.”

This message sparked emotions and the citizenry was up talking about the Euro bond scandal in the villages.

2. Choose the Right Person for Action

Policy makers champion policy ideas, while the staffers do the tiny details. Many times, advocacy groups tend to forget the role of the staffers in policy making, yet they are the ones who develop the schedule of the policy makers. They do the technical work. Converting public issues into policies, and interpret some of the technical industry input to the policy makers. Policy makers always have packed schedule. Their phones ring with very many problems from their constituencies and from their parties, and hardly get to commit, even in formal parliamentary sittings, unless they have specific interests. A politician may excuse his/herself out of a meeting 5 times in a span of 30 minutes. For this reason, researchers need to make sure the staffers are able to put their ideas together.

Politically, it is also important to choose the right person to carry the message. This could be the one who has most influence, or the one who understands the technical aspects of what you are trying to communicate.

3. Timing

A staffer once told me, “if you haven’t taken advantage of this 3 years period after the elections, forget about advocating for new policies.” Policy makers are politicians. They have specific time frames during which they can make sober decisions on policy issues. The most effective policy opportunity window is after a disaster and when they are fresh in their offices. They genuinely reach out to stakeholders with the need to get a feel of what people want and what would effectively work for them. Policies they make are what will prove their work, so they will welcome ideas to have policies signed in their names. Closer to the elections, politicians are mostly polarized along their party ideologies and will always fight to oppose one another just for the sake of it. Even when they mean the same thing.

Timing also affects a politician’s ability to commit to policy issues. Mostly as the country approaches elections, politicians will be busy campaigning in their backyards. Campaigning takes so much of their time and energy. And remember they would do anything to get re-elected or re-appointed. Every time close to the elections, we see Cabinet Secretaries in a series of public campaigns with the president, or trying to pass controversial policies to seek attention when it matters most.

4. Speak to your audiences’ interest

The interest of the audience could stem from the mandates of their offices. For example, the Senate plays a representative as well a trustee role for the counties. It can only make national laws to the point that they affect the counties. Their votes also revolve around the functions of the counties they represent. So, a researcher should bring down his/her research findings to give a direct relationship to issues in the counties. Failure to do this may attract less interest to the issues presented. Not because they don’t want to, but because it doesn’t touch on the ‘why they are in office.’ For the cabinet secretary, the issues can be as broad as the president’s agenda: everyone is trying to link everything to the Big Four Agenda to get the policy makers attention. It can also be about the needs of the sectors that their ministries serve.

5. Strive for Clarity

Scientists have to take note that they are entering a new level of politics. A simple thing like 1+1=2 may bear a thousand and one different interpretations. During the last year’s general elections, the I.C.T community had a very hard time explaining to the public and to the policy makers the importance of technology in achieving high levels of accuracy during the elections. The geeks were mad, and the lawyers were totally confused.

Having done policy advocacy for some significant amount of time, I would say leadership patterns are changing. Policy makers are more open to ideas and they have continuously reached out to the public for feedback. Further, the constitution mandates that for any law to be formed, it must pass through public participation. This is an opportunity that everyone should seize.