Organizational Barriers to the Utilization of Research

Abstract

We would like to express our appreciation to Michael Kane, John Egermeier, Bob Herriott, Sheila Rosenblum, Bob Dentler, Jack Fowler, Tom Mangione, and to several anonymousASQ reviewers of an earlier draft of this paper. Research findings frequently do not seem to have a discernible influence on administrative practice. We propose that a key reason is that research is often conducted in a policy vacuum. Policy vacuums occur in the absence of: an organized constituency of policy makers, identifiable policy issues and research questions, consistent policies and clear policy options, coordination among the independent agencies responsible for a policy area, and an ongoing, operational program that can make use of the findings. Examples of each feature are drawn from two demonstration programs operating in the National Institute of Education. Numerous organizational properties are identified that inhibited the utility of the research connected with the programs.0