Management of evidence-based policymaking as a pillar of the Botswana national human resource development strategy 2009-2022

Abstract

Introduction The main aim of the study was to explore the technical capacity of members of the 12 Sector Human Resource Development committees of the Human Resource Development Council in the management of evidence-based policymaking in the course of implementing the national and sector-specific Human Resource Development plans for all matters of national human resource development. The study set out to contribute to the urgency and growing importance of research evidence as the basis for making informed policy and practical decisions across the world. There is a significant research gap in understanding how members of the Human Resource Development committees, as policymakers in the context of this study, use research-based evidence in the course of developing Human Resource Development plans. There is limited understanding of the factors that may induce or constrain members of the committees to use research-based evidence in implementing the national and sector-specific Human Resource Development plans.

Methodology The study adopted an exploratory, sequential, inductive mixed methods approach in addition to the deductive use of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) knowledge-to-action framework. The target participants for the study were the members of the 12 Sector Human Resource Development committees of the Human Resource Development Council who were asked to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire elicited respondents’ perceptions about their capacity to adapt knowledge generated; identify inhibiting/ facilitating factors; assess and approve research evidence and sustainable use of research evidence. Qualitative data was collected through conducting interviews with the chairpersons of the committees. The scope of the in-depth interview questions covered respondents’ perceptions on the same key areas as in the questionnaire. This was to allow respondents to express their feelings during the in-depth discussions without any limitations.

Findings The insights based on the perceptions of chairpersons and members of the committees in this current study have revealed the areas for possible improvement in managing evidence-based policies in the context of Botswana. Issues that emerged with respect to the perceptions of respondents to adaptation of research evidence included packaging and presenting research evidence; lengthy reports and use of complex language; lack of understanding of the policymaking context by researchers, and inversely, policymakers not understanding the research process; lack of collaboration and engagement between researchers and policymakers; and lack of implementation plans. Issues that related to the perceptions of respondents on factors that may inhibit or facilitate the use of research evidence entailed positive attitude towards evidence-based policies; development of policy briefs; difficulty in accessing research articles, databases and journals; building policymakers’ ability to search for relevant research evidence; insufficient time to read and evaluate research articles; lack of organisational support; and authority and decision-making power. Concerning respondents’ perceptions on assessing and approving research evidence, issues raised covered skills in interpreting the research evidence; policymakers being generalists; lack of appraisal criteria and guidelines; and training on appraising research evidence being more theoretical than practical. As for the strategic interventions suggested to sustain evidence-based policies, respondents highlighted the need for skills development for both researchers and policymakers; participation of policymakers in the research process; and provision of incentive schemes. Conclusions In conclusion, the findings of the current study show that all the sub-constructs of adaptation of research evidence, factors inhibiting or facilitating the use of research evidence, and assessing and approving the quality of research evidence are significantly and positively related to research evidence informing policy and practice. Overall, the insights emerging from this current study provide conceptual tools to use research evidence to inform policy and practice. The study sought to complement and advance the literature on the field of evidence-based policy management, essentially contributing to the research-policy interface in Botswana context. Botswana, as an emerging economy, is still grappling with understanding the dynamics of evidence-based policy management. There is still a need to initiate, develop and sustain evidence-based policy management through strategic interventions. The insights gained from the current study can be used as a basis for future research.