Table 1.

Results of situational assessment and strategies to address gaps

Key findings in assessment	Countr(ies)y where finding applies	Interventions to address gap
Researchers pursue their own interests	Bangladesh	Increase opportunities for researchers and policy makers to meet and share ideas
Poor communication skills of researchers and research outputs not relevant	Bangladesh	Change methods of communication—use of multimedia communications
Lack of centralized site for accessing information	Bangladesh, Gambia, Nigeria	Build infrastructural support for policy makers to access information; established shared hosted website for ease of research output access
Few opportunities for researchers and policy makers to meet	Bangladesh, Nigeria	Establish regular meetings between researchers and policy makers
Low level of political will to use evidence in policy making	Nigeria	Workshops with policy makers to emphasize need for evidence-informed policy making
Poor capacity to interpret and use data	Bangladesh, India (x2)	Training programmes for policy makers and policy influencers