Gender, Race, and U.S. Politics: Aligning Research and Practice

Session Submission Type: Café

Session Description

For over fifty years, the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University has been a leading source of scholarly research and current data about women’s political participation in the United States. Working at the intersection of research and political practice, CAWP has both promoted and executed research-informed practice and practice-informed research in the service of its mission to promote greater knowledge and understanding about the role of women in American politics, enhance women's influence in public life, and expand the diversity of women in politics and government.

In this café, members of CAWP’s senior leadership will moderate discussions central to aligning research and practice in the study of gender, race, and U.S. politics. More specifically, we invite scholars engaged in this work to bring questions, concerns, experiences, advice, and ideas about how to best: (1) engage political practitioners in research; (2) identify actionable research questions; and (3) translate research into strategic interventions. The café format allows information-sharing, networking, and engaged discussion both within and across each of these topics, moderated by experts who have significant experience with both academic and practitioner communities.

Issues and questions to be addressed within each topic cluster are listed below. While the moderators’ emphasis and experience will center on applied research in gender, race, and U.S. politics, participants are welcome to bring questions, examples, or suggestions from other research areas. Each moderated conversation will begin with framing by the moderator and proceed with facilitated dialogue among all participants.

Engaging Practitioners in Research (moderator: Debbie Walsh, CAWP Director): This discussion will address best practices and ideas for engaging political practitioners in research project development, execution, and translation. How do you establish relationships with practitioners, including public officials, organizational leaders, and donors? What are effective ways to make the case to practitioners for research-informed practice? What do you need to know and consider to create positive and lasting relationships with practitioners to partner and/or participate in your research?

Identifying Actionable Research Questions (moderator: Paru Shah, Professor of Political Science and CAWP Senior Scholar): This discussion will address best practices and tips for both identifying and developing research projects that have the greatest potential to shape practical strategy and interventions. Apart from existing literature, where do you go to find information on research needs and gaps that are especially acute for political practitioners? How do you craft research questions and projects that are informed by the needs and demands of those engaged in political practice?

Translating Research into Strategic Interventions (moderator: Kelly Dittmar, Associate Professor of Political Science and CAWP Director of Research): This discussion will address best practices, examples, and recommendations for how to translate research findings for practitioner and public audiences so that they can guide strategic interventions. What formats and styles of communication will best engage and inform political practitioners about your research? What should you consider in the research process to make translation and application most likely? Why is research translation important for both researchers and practitioners?

Sub Unit

• Division 31: Women , Gender and Politics Research

Chair

• Kelly Dittmar Rutgers University-Camden

Presenters

• Paru Shah Rutgers University

• Deborah L Walsh Rutgers University