The role of intermediaries in getting evidence into policy and practice: some useful lessons from examining consultancy–client relationships

Abstract

The evidence-based policy and practice movement increasingly recognises the potential role of intermediaries. Unfortunately, there is little systematic attempt at defining who intermediaries may be, what they can potentially do and how they do what they do. There has also been bias in the relevant literature, with the private sector conspicuously missing. This article acknowledges the growing importance of consultancies in the knowledge industry and examines consultancy–client relationships in order to derive useful lessons for the evidencebased movement. Five consultancy approaches are identified, relating to potential intermediary roles as cross-pollinators, matchmakers, translators and processors, multiple dissemination routes, and articulators of user perspectives.