Evidence-informed policy change: improved access to groundwater in West Bengal, India

The brief highlights how a number of factors contributed to why the findings of this impact evaluation resonated among policymakers, which in turn informed two changes to West Bengal’s groundwater access policies.

Among these factors were the researchers’ engagement and communication skills, as well as their ability to leverage existing networks and their institutional affiliation to gain support from national and state-level policymakers. The study findings were also timely, clear and closely aligned with the new state government’s promise to ease groundwater access for poor farmers.