Building research strategies in child welfare: A research and evaluation framework for policy and practice

While sound public policy development is built on rigorous research, research tends to occur in an ad hoc way, with little strategic attention being paid to identifying research information needs as they interact across a system of policy interest. The development of research strategies that address integrated information needs can help to ensure that the best possible advantage is gained from current and future research. This paper discusses the collaborative development of a research strategy that responds to the information needs of the statutory care system in New Zealand. The strategy addresses the contextual, operational, evaluative and developmental needs of the child welfare statutory care system. The paper discusses the way in which the research strategy was developed, broadly describes the menu of projects that emerged, and considers the implications of the strategy for social policy and practice development