SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Commun.
Sec. Science and Environmental Communication
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2025.1632305
Scientific Evidence and Public Policy: A Systematic Review of Barriers and Enablers for Evidence-Informed Decision-Making Authors
Provisionally accepted
- 1UNESCO Chair Scientific Education for Citizenship, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago de Chile, Chile
- 2Departamento de Trabajo Social, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile, Chile
- 3Universidad Autónoma de Chile. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Santiago de Chile, Chile
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This systematic review synthesizes empirical research on the integration of scientific evidence into public policy formulation across multiple governance contexts. Adopting PRISMA 2020 guidelines, it identifies 119 peer-reviewed studies that explore structural, institutional, and political dynamics affecting the use of scientific knowledge in policymaking. The analysis reveals persistent barriers, such as institutional fragmentation, limited access to actionable data, political resistance, and weak communication channels between researchers and policymakers. Conversely, enabling factors include the presence of dedicated advisory bodies, international cooperation, political leadership, and co-production mechanisms. The review underscores the need to institutionalize evidence use through formal frameworks, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge brokerage to foster transparent, inclusive, and knowledge-based governance.
Keywords: Evidence-informed policymaking, Scientific knowledge transfer, policy formulation, Institutional barriers, Knowledge brokerage, Public governance, Political will, International networks
Received: 21 May 2025; Accepted: 14 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Suazo, Saracostti and Chaple-Gil. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Alain-Manuel Chaple-Gil, Universidad Autónoma de Chile. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Santiago de Chile, Chile
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