Policy research often takes place in the grey zone between academia and media. We asked public servants taking our Plus+ course on how to use evidence in policymaking where they go for accurate and up-to-date information to support their work.

Here’s what they said:

Sections:

  1. Statistics 🔢
  2. Policy news 📰
  3. Academia 🎓
  4. Health ⚕️
  5. Government innovation 🏛️
  6. Research companies 💼
  7. Cities 🌆
  8. Case law ⚖️

1. Statistics 🔢

A well-placed stat elevates an argument. Foraging for the right number is a daily ritual for many of you.

  • National and local statistical offices

The gold standard for rigorous socioeconomic data in a given country. Here’s a list of national statistics agencies around the world.

  • Open data portals

Such as the OECD Data Portal, GC Collab in Canada, or European open data portal initiatives. These “facilitate access to and reuse of public sector information.” They’re also a great way for governments to learn from each other.

UN Data tries to tie together the disparate databases from all corners of international governance. The World Bank is the benchmark for headline global economic figures. Their reports, whilst hardly light reading, provide a lot of scope for drilling into specific focus areas.

A search engine for finding very specific answers. It’s a pretty neat way of getting the best out of the options above.

2. Policy news 📰

It’s tough to toggle between a birds-eye view and a hyper-detailed focus. These are the sources public servants use to keep abreast of what’s going on in the world of policy.

  • Government websites

This will likely be a no-brainer for many of you. The breadth and focus of many government websites is amazing. Their blogs are also a good way to keep up with behind-the-reports learning. Gov.uk sets a high-standard for accessibility, relevance and scope.

  • UN Departments

If something exists, there’s probably a UN policy centre dedicated to researching it. They’re often not linked under the aegis of a large website, and so it is worth doing a bit of digging around their individual digital archives. A handpicked selection of examples:

Newsletters like Wonk Week (UK) and The Digest by GovLab summarise upcoming policy releases, political contexts and interesting research. They’re a great way of keeping your eye on the big picture.

3. Academia 🎓

Sometimes it’s necessary to roll up one’s sleeves and get elbow-deep in academic papers. Here’s where our respondents go to track down the right article:

4. Health ⚕️

Covering everything from health stats to international health policy news.

5. Government innovation 🏛️

Naturally, we’d suggest you check out Apolitical’s content on government innovation. Other suggestions include:

6. Research and advisory companies 💼

These were recommended for more heavy-lifting research work.

7. Cities 🌆

As a growing majority of people live in cities, keeping up-to-date with fresh ideas in urban policy will be increasingly vital for public servants.

8. Case law ⚖️

‘Lawtech for good’ (we’re waiting on a snappier name) is making it easier and easier to gain quick access to case law. Here are a few go-to resources recommended by our members:

9. Go on, say it

Fine, Google. Other search engines are available. Notable mentions for the privacy-respecting DuckDuckGo and the tree-enabling Ecosia.

Prompt: We want to grow this list. Let us know the handy places you go to for evidence to support policymaking.