Consultancy Research

Action-based research refers to the production of research which has ‘explanatory’, ‘descriptive’ and ‘prescriptive’ objectives. By implication it should be both evidence-based and applied in character. This practice-based focus of the Institute's research means that since its inception the Institute has been called on by practitioners to apply its expertise to their problems through ‘contract research’ and ‘consultancies’.

Such action-based research delivers direct real value and adds to the Institute's knowledge of governance in practice.  Hence it is at the core of the Institute’s mission, as demonstrated by the examples of such work in the Institute's history, and the Institute's continues to offersuch services.

From 2010 the Institute is explicitly seeking to develop the public value of this aspect of its research work.  This means that the Institute will engage in external, contracted work where

• the project's objectives fall within one of the Institute's identified Research Programs (also meaning that we have the expertise) and
• there is a research dividend in terms of access to publishable data (in at least the medium term).