Unsubstantiated decision-making or why research has no impact on policies

Pavlo Fedoriv

analyst and project manager of the analytical center Cedos

Every year, civil society organizations and research institutions in Ukraine strengthen their capacity not only to cover various topics but also the depth of their understanding. It seems that more and more thorough research is appearing in various spheres of public life.

But despite declarative statements about "technocratic governments" and the importance of "ideas, not ideologies," these studies and the recommendations based on them are not yet the basis for political decisions. Why does this happen and why do politicians not base their decisions on research data and results?

The simple answer is that those whom researchers provide recommendations to don't know about them, don't want to, or cannot implement them. But is it really that simple?

Over the last few years, we, at the Cedos think tank, have been working on housing policy, conducting the most comprehensive study to date, analyzing legislation, available State Statistics data, our own polls, government housing programs, and international experience, and creating a massive online housing course about housing policy, monitored decisions in this area, engaged in stakeholder consultations and advocacy. From this experience, we'll try to identify several different problems that may arise at different stages of research projects and the policy cycle.