What works for "what works" centres

This report outlines findings from a desktop review of “what works” for evidence intermediaries and the barriers and enablers to implementing evidence in education.

The Centre for Evidence and Implementation (CEI) worked with the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) to answer two key questions:

• What have been the successes and failures of evidence institutions and intermediaries, particularly in education?
• What can and should AERO do differently?

The research reveals 7 commonly identified reasons why evidence centres may fail to deliver on objectives of research translation into policy and practice:

1. Limited, if any, attendance to effective and sustainable implementation
2. Lack of credibility with the field they are seeking to influence
3. Presence of rigour but lack of relevance in the evidence they share
4. Slow pace with which evidence is shared
5. Insufficient awareness of how frontline practitioners, including educators, understand and use evidence
6. Inappropriate skills and competencies in their workforces
7. Insufficient attention to and understanding of how to influence the policy process