Routes to Influence: Academics’ Methods of Influencing Practice in Public Affairs

The longstanding concern that scholarly research remains underused by public administration and policy practitioners continues to loom over both communities despite the growing scholarly literature examining this divide. However, much of this research is characterized by a heavy emphasis on the contexts of practitioners instead of the authors, overly general measurements of ‘use,’ and a significant scarcity of this issue within the field of public administration and policy. This dissertation seeks to contribute to the smaller, though no less important, collection of knowledge-use literature focusing on the context of the authors of formal research. Specifically, it examines how authors of public affairs research can effectively influence practice through a variety of academic career motivations. A novel theoretical framework is constructed which organizes public affairs academics by their motivations to influence practice directly, and their motivation to be productive research authors. This framework is tested by surveying public affairs research authors regarding specific published articles they have written. Empirical analysis via principal factor analysis is conducted to test each theoretical model’s ability to influence practice. The results suggest that multiple different types of public affairs researchers can influence practice, including those who do not seek directly to do so.