This study aimed to learn from key stakeholders, including researchers, involved in Australian novice driver road safety policy debates how they perceived the role of media advocacy by researchers within the policy process. It emerged that media advocacy by researchers is seen by many road safety stakeholders as being a major policy agenda-setting force. It is also generally perceived by stakeholders as having the potential to help disseminate research widely throughout the community so as to stimulate more evidence-informed policy debates. Finally, stakeholders perceive several structural factors as limiting the level to which researchers are involved in the media domain including their lack of both expertise in advocacy techniques and awareness of existing political constraints facing policymakers. By making perceptions of the role of researcher advocacy more transparent, this study hopes to focus the attention of the Australian road safety community on this important but largely overlooked neglected issue. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E217612.
Abstract