What is the classic research process for policymaking?

The research process for policymaking involves the following steps:

1. Government agencies identify a problem or issue that requires attention, often based on a new law, input from interest groups, expert opinion or public feedback.
2. Policy researchers conduct a research study that will address the identified problem or issue, including selecting appropriate research methods, defining research questions and hypotheses and identifying the relevant population and sample.
3. Policy researchers collect data using the selected research methods, which may include surveys, interviews, observations, focus groups, experiments or secondary data sources.
4. Policy analysts evaluate the collected data using appropriate statistical and qualitative methods to identify patterns, trends and relationships relevant to the policy issue.
5. The policy team uses the research results to make policy recommendations grounded in evidence, feasible and aligned with the policy goals.

A More Practical Approach to Policy Research

Most teams aren’t conducting academic studies with their research. Instead they’re searching, comparing, and validating regulations across various agencies and jurisdictions. That’s why we find a modern research workflow to look something like this:

• Search by keyword, code citation, or agency
• Identify similar policies in other cities or states
• Track versions to see what changed and when
• Flag repealed or conflicting rules
• Set alerts for future policy updates

This process supports clarity and speed, something we find local and state government teams desperately need. According to recent industry analysis, policy teams using digital research tools report 60-70% time savings compared to manual methods, allowing them to focus more time on analysis and stakeholder engagement rather than information gathering.

Core Elements of Policy Research

Policy research is more than just gathering information — it’s a structured approach to understanding and shaping government action. The key aspects include:

Issue Identification: Pinpointing the challenge or legislative mandate that the policy must address.

Contextual Analysis: Exploring how similar policies have worked in other jurisdictions and under different conditions.

Legal Alignment: Ensuring proposed policies are consistent with federal, state, or local statutes and do not conflict with existing laws.

Stakeholder Impact: Assessing who will be affected, how, and what implementation or compliance might require from various parties.

Outcome Evaluation: Identifying measurable goals and criteria to determine whether a policy achieves its intended impact over time.

Together, these aspects help government teams move from gut instincts to evidence-backed action. They provide the structure needed to navigate political, legal, and operational complexity with clarity.

The Critical Nature of Policy Process in Public Administration

Policy management runs on strict timelines. Yet, state officers struggle to move policies along the rulemaking cycle and to the right stakeholders.

If these bills are passed into law, affected government agencies need to create policies for the regulation and enforcement of these laws. In designing these policies, agencies rely on traditional regulatory research methods such as contacting neighboring agencies or parsing other government websites, which are often clunky and difficult to navigate.

Given the time-sensitive nature of the policymaking process, these traditional methods are not only arduous but also less effective. The current regulatory landscape presents additional challenges, with growing regulatory divergence and fragmentation adding complexity to establishing a clear path from strategy and operations to effective risk and compliance.

Why Policy Researchers Should Streamline Regulatory Research

As a policy researcher, you have these reasons to streamline the research process in formulating and adopting policies:

Increased transparency and accountability. By enhancing research, policymakers can better account for their time and review resources quickly. For example, with a better system of locating policy research materials, teams can present detailed reports of productive activities to decision-makers, align stakeholders and increase public trust.

Improved efficiency by saving time and better allocating resources. Research is only a part of the policymaking process, which also includes drafting, analysis, implementation and enforcement. By improving your research approach, your team can make better use of limited time.

Enhanced cross-jurisdictional awareness. Modern research tools enable teams to quickly identify similar policies across multiple states and localities, preventing agencies from “reinventing the wheel” and helping them learn from both successful implementations and failed attempts.

Better version control and compliance tracking. Digital platforms provide automated alerts when regulations change, helping teams avoid the costly mistake of building policies on outdated or repealed statutory authority.

Trying to track down documents in a file room isn’t scalable. Read about the benefits of a paperless government in conducting research.

Overcoming Common Research Challenges

Policy research teams today face several critical challenges that require modern solutions:

The Research Bottleneck Problem: Many teams report that manual research methods create significant delays in the rulemaking process, with some policy directors noting their teams spend 40% of their time just trying to locate relevant precedents. This leaves insufficient time for critical analysis and stakeholder engagement.

Cross-State Comparison Difficulties: Teams often struggle to compare similar policies across jurisdictions, missing critical insights because they can’t easily access comprehensive comparative data. This “flying blind” approach leads to suboptimal policy development.

Version Control Nightmares: Tracking policy changes over time remains a persistent challenge, with teams struggling to maintain accurate records of when regulations were updated, amended, or repealed. This creates compliance risks and wastes time on outdated research.

Security and Compliance Concerns: While there’s growing interest in AI tools for research, many government professionals express concerns about security, compliance, and whether AI solutions are truly designed for government-specific needs.

How Esper Compares

In forums and conversations with customers, policy teams often ask how Esper compares to other platforms. Here’s a quick look at how some of the top solutions stack up:

Esper vs Competitors: Regulatory Research Comparison

How AI Fits into Regulatory Research

AI is a tricky topic in government circles. On the one hand, there are so many compliance and security barriers to jump. On the other, outdated manual processes take so much time for employees that may already feel burnt out.

That’s why you need AI-powered smart tools like Esper that are built for government agencies. We see lots of teams beginning to adopt tools like smart search to save time and increase accuracy. Recent analysis shows that AI adoption in government regulatory research is accelerating, though it’s important that governance frameworks keep pace with implementation.

Here are just a few ways you can use AI tools (like Esper) to support your teams:

• Extract relevant clauses from long PDFs
• Highlight conflicts across jurisdictions
• Auto-summarize multi-agency regulation trends
• Provide automated alerts for policy changes
• Generate comparative analysis reports

Creating a Data-Fueled Policy Research Process

To simplify the process of gathering and analyzing relevant data, start by:

1. Prioritizing policy goals and identifying relevant data.
2. Establishing a data collection and analysis process.
3. Using data to evaluate policy impact.
4. Informing policy recommendations and revisions with data-backed resources.

Policymaking software can help teams carry out these steps in less time than a manual approach will take while maintaining the quality of work. Rather than replacing government workers, policy management platforms like Esper aim to streamline source materials and make the research process more efficient.

With Esper, policy analysts can effortlessly conduct research and comparisons of policies alongside any regulations or laws, guaranteeing the most current policies are in place.

Implementation Strategy: From Manual to Digital

Making the transition from manual to digital research requires a thoughtful approach:

Phase 1: Assessment and Planning (Weeks 1-2)

• Audit current research processes and identify pain points
• Inventory existing resources and tools
• Define success metrics and ROI expectations

Phase 2: Pilot Implementation (Weeks 3-6)

• Start with a small team or specific research area
• Provide targeted training on new tools and processes
• Document lessons learned and best practices

Phase 3: Full Rollout (Weeks 7-12)

• Expand to additional teams and research areas
• Establish standardized workflows and quality controls
• Create ongoing training and support programs

Phase 4: Optimization (Ongoing)

• Monitor performance metrics and user feedback
• Continuously refine processes and tool configurations
• Share success stories and lessons learned across the organization

Real-world Applications of Esper in Policy Research

Some teams are asking what adopting tools looks like in their team’s day-to-day. Here are some examples based on common government roles:

The Impact of Data-Backed Regulatory Research 

With this data-backed policy research process, policymakers get the evidence they need to make informed decisions.

Policymakers gain a deeper understanding of complex problems as they can identify patterns and relationships that may not be immediately apparent. For example, you can identify which policies will likely be effective and make evidence-based decisions. This way, policies are birthed from empirical evidence rather than assumptions or personal beliefs, which often result in an endless feedback loop in the policy lifecycle.

The shift toward evidence-based policymaking is accelerating across government levels. Teams using modern research tools report improved policy outcomes, those using comprehensive comparative analysis tools saw fewer policy conflicts and faster implementation timelines.

Measuring Success: Key Performance Indicators

To ensure your transition to digital research is successful, track these essential metrics:

Efficiency Metrics:

• Time spent on research tasks (target: 60-70% reduction)
• Number of jurisdictions analyzed per project (target: 3x increase)
• Time from research completion to policy draft (target: 50% reduction)

Quality Metrics:

• Number of policy conflicts identified during research phase
• Accuracy of cross-jurisdictional comparisons
• Stakeholder satisfaction with research thoroughness

Compliance Metrics:

• Percentage of research using current (non-repealed) regulations
• Documentation completeness for transparency requirements
• Audit trail availability for policy decisions

Policy Research in Action

Montana’s Governor’s Office needed to assess whether overbearing rules were holding back small businesses and farmers.

With Esper they:

• Identified 300+ outdated regulations
• Centralized policy across 13 agencies
• Significantly reduced time spent on research requests

Read the case study to learn more about how Montana’s Governor’s Office centralizes regulatory work across 13 agencies with Esper.

Addressing Security and Compliance Concerns

Government agencies rightfully have strict requirements for data security and compliance. When evaluating digital research tools, ensure they meet:

Security Standards:

• FedRAMP authorization or state-level equivalents
• End-to-end encryption for data transmission and storage
• Multi-factor authentication and role-based access controls
• Regular security audits and penetration testing

Compliance Requirements:

• FOIA-ready documentation and audit trails
• Data retention policies aligned with government standards
• Privacy protections for sensitive policy discussions
• Integration with existing government IT infrastructure

Future Trends in Policy Research

Looking ahead, several trends will continue to shape how government agencies conduct policy research:

Increased AI Integration: Expect more sophisticated AI tools that can understand policy context, identify nuanced conflicts, and provide predictive analysis about policy outcomes.

Real-time Collaboration: Enhanced platforms that enable seamless collaboration between agencies, jurisdictions, and stakeholders in real-time.

Predictive Analytics: Tools that use historical data to predict policy effectiveness and potential unintended consequences.

Enhanced Transparency: Public-facing dashboards that allow citizens to understand how policy decisions are researched and developed.

Getting started with Esper for public policy analysis

If you’re looking to get your hands on the right policy information for your policy research team, we’re your solution. Esper enables government agencies to manage every step of the policy process, including regulatory research and public policy analysis.

Our platform addresses the key challenges facing modern policy research teams:

• Eliminates the research bottleneck with AI-powered search and analysis
• Provides comprehensive cross-jurisdictional comparison tools
• Offers automated version control and change tracking
• Ensures security and compliance with government standards

Ready to make your policy management more efficient? Schedule a meeting with our team to see how Esper can transform your research process while maintaining the rigorous standards your agency requires.