SUPPORT tool for organizing policy dialogues

Description

Policy dialogues are increasingly being used to consider research evidence along with the views, experiences and tacit knowledge of stakeholders on an identified priority issue. This SUPPORT tool provides a series of questions to organize policy dialogues to support evidence-informed policy making.

Policy dialogues recognize that stakeholders:

• provide contextual information such as values, beliefs and experiences that supplement available research evidence to provide a more comprehensive consideration of factors influencing an issue and potential options to address the issue; and
• can take action to address high priority issues, in addition to policy-makers.

Policy dialogues are informed by pre-circulated policy briefs to focus discussion among stakeholders. In addition to the questions, Table 3 provides an approach for formative evaluation of policy dialogues.

This tool can be used with a method for engaging citizens for decision making (see pg 54 on citizens' dialogues). Policy dialogues are one form of deliberative processes that engage citizens and stakeholders on issues to support policy making processes (to learn more about deliberative processes, see National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy's resources).

This SUPPORT tool (SUPporting POlicy relevant Reviews and Trials Project) is part of a series to support the use of research evidence in policy making.

Steps for Using Method/Tool

This SUPPORT tool provides a set of questions to organize and use policy dialogues to support evidence-informed policy making:

• Does the dialogue address a high priority issue?
• Does the dialogue provide opportunities to discuss the issue, potential options to address the problem and key implementation issues?
• Is the dialogue informed by a pre-circulated policy brief and by a discussion about the full range of factors that influence policy making processes?
• Does the dialogue ensure fair representation among stakeholders who may be involved in, or affected by, decisions related to the issue?
• Does the dialogue employ a facilitator who ensures safe deliberation through commonly agreed-upon rules (e.g., not attributing comments to individuals)? Does the dialogue aim to achieve consensus on the issue?
• Are outputs produced (e.g., summary of the policy dialogue) along with follow-up activities to support action and next steps?