Supporting policy through research funding: how UK funders can use Areas of Research Interest to bridge evidence gaps.

Background Supporting the use of research evidence in policy making is a perennial challenge. A key theme in the literature is the importance of the production and mobilisation of research that is relevant to policy needs. Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) are an example of a UK government lever designed to support the production of policy-relevant research. The often-overlooked role of research funders in this process forms the focus of this article.

Aims and objectives This article looks at the ways in which ARIs act as a mechanism for negotiation and interaction between government and research funders in order to mobilise existing research and to connect government research interests with the priorities of research funders.

Methods Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with academic researchers, research funders, government officials and knowledge mobilisers.

Findings and discussion ARIs provide a systematic and transparent set of policy research needs which can be used to support cross-government discussions to inform funding processes, both in terms of new research investments and mobilising existing funded research. While funders were committed to knowledge mobilisation, they can lack the skills and capacity required to implement it effectively. That is not to underestimate the volume of time and work required to support this process. While technical developments are likely to help, we argue that this will need to be complemented by a significant amount of relational work to understand and engage with the research needs of government officials and to support the interpretation and use of existing research.