How can research and initial teacher education institutions become active drivers of evidence-informed policy and practice? Drawing on data from the OECD’s 2023 Survey of Knowledge Mobilisation and international research, this paper offers considerations and examples on how to strengthen the role of research and initial teacher education institutions in knowledge mobilisation.

Research institutions (RIs) and initial teacher education institutions (ITEs) report to be among the most active organisations in facilitating the use of research in education. However, in many OECD systems, their potential to support a more thoughtful and systematic use of research evidence in education policy and practice is still not entirely fulfilled. This paper is the first in a series analysing the role and activities of different types of educational organisations in reinforcing research-practice-policy links.

Findings

1. Mandates matter: institutions with a formal mandate for knowledge mobilisation are significantly more active in supporting research use than those without.
2. Research-informed teacher education: most ITE institutions report that graduating teacher candidates lack sufficient skills to engage with research, highlighting a need to embed research engagement skills development more systematically in ITE curricula.
3. Collaborative research and research dissemination: RIs often lack dedicated training, incentives and structures to help researchers produce and communicate policy- and practice-relevant research.
4. Interdisciplinary collaboration between ITEs and RIs: stronger partnerships between research and ITE institutions, especially within higher education institutions, are needed to improve the flow of pedagogical and subject-specific research into teacher education and classroom practice.
5. System-level levers: governments can play a vital role in creating the right framework conditions for research and ITE institutions to operate in.