Policy research
Policy research from The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI) translates evidence into bounded implications for the competent authorities that decide: ministries, regulators, local governments and public agencies. Each brief states the evidence it rests on, the options it sees, their trade-offs and the limits of what the evidence can support. Briefs inform; they do not recommend partisan positions or take decisions that belong to public institutions. This collection is part of the research library.
- 01InstitutionThe Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)
- 02Service levelR0: information and enquiries
- 03In briefThe short answer
- 04What a brief doesFrom evidence to options, with limits
- 05BoundariesWhat policy research will not do
- 06Evidence and implicationKeeping the two apart
- 07Key termsTerms used on this page
GCRI · Institution · service level R0
The short answer.
GCRI policy research translates evidence into bounded implications for the competent authorities that decide, such as ministries, regulators, local governments and public agencies. Each brief states the evidence it rests on, the options it sees, their trade-offs and the limits of the evidence, and keeps what the evidence shows apart from what the authors infer.
Draft to published version.
Fig.How a finding is reviewed before it is published. Design, not a record.
Jurisdictions in Asia.
The jurisdictions that hold authority over this question: countries, their first-level divisions and capitals, shown for Asia as an example geography for this subject.
From evidence to options, with limits.
A brief is short by design. Its supporting evidence is published and linked, so the reader can check what lies beneath it.
- 01
States the question
The decision or problem the brief addresses, and for whom.
- 02
Summarizes the evidence
What is known, with evidence labels and links to the underlying research.
- 03
Sets out options
Realistic options, including doing nothing, with their trade-offs.
- 04
Bounds the implications
What the evidence supports and what it does not.
What policy research will not do.
No decisions
Decisions stay with competent authorities. Analysis is not the decision.
No partisanship
No advocacy for parties, candidates or partisan positions.
No overreach
Implications go no further than the evidence. Uncertainty stays visible.
Keeping the two apart.
Every brief separates what the evidence shows from what the authors infer for policy. Evidence carries its labels and uncertainty; implications are written as conditional options, so that a reader who weighs values or constraints differently can reach a different choice from the same evidence. Dissenting expert views are noted where they exist.
Terms used on this page.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Policy brief | A short document that presents research findings and their implications for a policy question to the people who decide, with evidence, options and limits stated. |
| Competent authority | The body that a law or regulation designates to exercise a given power or duty, such as a supervisor, a civil protection agency or a ministry; only it can take the decisions the law assigns to it. |
| Honest broker | A science adviser who sets out the range of options and their evidence without advocating one, a role described in the science-policy literature. |
| Certainty of evidence | A rating, such as high, moderate, low or very low under GRADE, of confidence that an estimate is close to the true effect. |
Audiences and routes.
Governments and public institutions can start at governments and public institutions. Technical support for implementation is described under technical assistance. Institutional dialogue on policy is convened by The Global Risks Forum (GRF), which publishes governance papers.
GCRI does not regulate, certify, license or approve, and a brief creates no obligation for any authority.
Questions and answers.
Can a ministry request a brief?
Are briefs published?
How are briefs reviewed?
Does GCRI lobby?
Can civil society use policy briefs?
Around GCRI.
Start with an enquiry.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.