Promoting evidence based policy in the U.S.-Mexico Border

Research promotion and development through the Evidence Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet) is a key initiaitve in the U.S.-Mexico Border. EVIPNet is an innovative mechanism designed to promote the systematic use of high quality health research in policymaking. To promote country and local based mechanisms to facilitate the regular use of research evidence into the decision making process: to provide border states in the United States and Mexico with a reliable and trustworthy source of evidence while taking into consideration the local needs; and to better use regional resources through the development of multi-country networks using the local networks with similar organizational dynamics as the starting point. EVIPNet in the U.S.-Mexico Border is still in its initial phase trying to enables the interaction between the producers and users of research so that the use of evidence is systematically incorporated into the decision making process and building the capacity to produce this new evidence, Moreover creating opportunities and providng exposure to local research production. EVIPNet in the border has been an opportunity for sharing processes and methodologies to achieve the development of policy briefs in chronic diseases particulary diabetes and childhood obesity and the feasible evidence-based policy options for supporting these policy briefs. This has also served to identify barriers in promoting or acessing scientific literature accrodinlgy to the border context. The next phase of this initiaitve in the border will be to move on this policy briefs to become an instrument for policy dialogue with decision makers.