Whose job is it to build demand for evidence in the humanitarian system?

What is demand?

Lately, I’ve been discussing with academics our Research Impact Framework, which sets out key strategies and enablers for research to influence humanitarian policy and practice.  

One of the enablers is demand – meaning that academics will have more impact with research if their evidence meets a demand from humanitarian stakeholders.

The other day I was asked this question:

"But what if there’s no demand for the evidence from humanitarians, even though the topic is important? Whose job is it to create that demand? Mine?"

It’s a good question that prompted some reflection and reading. Here are my thoughts:

Demand for evidence from decision-makers emerges from four key elements

1. Recognition of a problem affecting people, economy, society
2. Political will (political imperative, motivation, authority) to address the problem (and allocate resources)
3. Understanding that questions need answering to address the problem + that evidence can help
4. Opportunity to articulate the above in some kind of exchange with evidence producers (formal or informal)

In the humanitarian sector not all of these four elements are always present

To create a consistent demand for evidence that addresses the most important humanitarian problems, these four elements of demand are critical.  

But there are barriers at every step.

So what can researchers do?

Researchers can support the cultivation of demand in several ways:

But it’s clear that researchers alone will not be able to address the more significant cultural, capacity and resource issues that limit demand for evidence in the humanitarian sector.  

Additional resources, leadership, and organisational approaches will be needed. This means that humanitarian organisations, donors and the humanitarian ‘system’ in its formal sense may need to do more to help cultivate demand for evidence. And more importantly, they need to focus on engagement and uptake of research to respond to crises more effectively.  

Enabling change in cultures, structures, and organisations takes a long time and requires specific expertise. As the table above demonstrates, there are opportunities for researchers to play a key role in improving the lives of people affected by humanitarian crises, but this requires motivation, flexibility, and a long-term approach - it isn't going to be easy. For this, reason, creating a demand culture in the humanitarian system will need to include humanitarian actors and academic experts who are closest to the problem and to the decision-makers who need to act, especially those from the countries and regions affected by crisis. Our role as international researchers (and research funders) must be to support them with the tools, complementary knowledge and expertise, and resources that they need to stay the distance.

Explore our work on research uptake and impact through our collection of Research Impact Case Studies and our Research Impact Framework.