Project report
Mobilising evidence to enhance the effectiveness of child well-being policies
Stéphane Jacobzone, Silvia Picalarga ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This working paper looks at how evidence can be shared with the people who design and run child well-being policies. It argues that countries invest less in childhood than in old age, and that the long-term benefits of early investment are not fully understood by policymakers. Because responsibility for these policies is split across departments and levels of government, knowledge brokers have an important role in making evidence accessible, trustworthy and understandable. The paper identifies best practices for mobilising evidence, based on a stocktaking of 81 knowledge broker organisations across 24 countries and a qualitative survey of senior experts.
Key points
- Countries tend to invest much less in childhood than in old age.
- Effective child well-being policies can bring high long-term returns on early life investments.
- Responsibility for child well-being policies is often fragmented across government departments and levels of government.
- Knowledge brokers help make evidence accessible, trustworthy and understandable for policymakers.
- The paper draws on a stocktaking of 81 knowledge broker organisations in 24 countries and a qualitative survey of senior experts.
Limitations
Only the abstract is available, so the specific best practices and findings are not described. The work is about policy processes across many countries rather than a particular intervention for children, and it does not measure outcomes for children.
Abstract
Despite the fundamental importance of childhood, countries tend to invest much less in this area than in old age. Effective child well-being policies can bring high long-term returns on early life investments and public interventions. However, these benefits are not fully understood and thus do not always receive the necessary political attention in public policy making. Mobilising evidence to support effective policies for child well-being is crucial, especially as responsibilities for such policies tend to be fragmented across government departments and levels of government. Therefore, organisations such as knowledge brokers, which help ensure that evidence is shared with those responsible for designing and implementing public policies, have a critical role to play in improving the effectiveness of child well-being policies and practices. They can help make evidence accessible, trustworthy, and understandable, so that it has the greatest impact on policy. This working paper sheds light on the best practices identified for mobilising evidence to enhance the effectiveness of child well-being policies, based on a stocktaking of 81 knowledge broker organisations across 24 countries, complemented by a qualitative survey carried out among senior experts operating at national and international level.