Explaining how social science can improve government efficiency via government policy, Penn State’s Taylor Scott, research assistant professor with the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, and Max Crowley, assistant professor in human development and family studies, co-authored this month’s “Why Social Science?” blog post for the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA).
Scott and Crowley, who are also assistant director and director of the Research-to-Policy Collaboration, explain that there is no direct, linear pathway from knowledge production to its use for public benefit. However, an emerging body of research aims to respond to this challenge by understanding policymakers’ research use.
This research has guided Scott and Crowley’s work in developing the Research-to-Policy Collaboration (RPC), an initiative whose goal is to build capacity for facilitating researcher-policymaker partnerships around current policy issues—reflecting best practices regarding how research is used. To read more, view the article in its entirety here.
Their work is being supported by the William T. Grant Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, National Institute of Child and Human Development, and Michael and Susan Dell Foundation as well as Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute and Center for Healthy Children.