Welcome to the RURU webpages
The Research Unit for Research Utilisation (RURU) is a cross-university research collaboration that investigates the use of social science research in public policy and service delivery settings. The core RURU team are based at the School of Management, University of St Andrews, but the unit benefits from collaboration with a team of research associates from across the UK.
RURU was established in 2001 through initial funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of its investment in evidence-based policy and practice. Since then, members of RURU have been involved in many projects aimed at understanding and improving research use. The lessons from these projects are captured in a wide range of academic and practitioner publications.
RURU’s most comprehensive
publication
is 'Using
Evidence'
(Nutley, Walter and Davies, 2007,
Policy
Press). This book draws together our understanding of how research
gets used and how this can be encouraged and improved. It builds upon
an earlier cross-sector review of evidence-based policy and practice in
public services: 'What Works?' (Davies, Nutley and Smith, 2000, Policy Press).
