The Policy Unit serves as Malawi Liverpool Wellcome’s central platform for advancing evidence-informed decision-making and ensuring that research outputs contribute to health policy and practice at the national level and through to regional and global levels of governance.
To ensure impact, the unit is focusing on key areas such as effective and collaborative policy engagement, optimisation of institutional policy engagement, effective policy engagement governance and management, and development of excellence in policy-relevant disciplines. The Unit has increasingly moved away from supporting single end-of-project dissemination meetings to continuous engagement or co-creation and co-production with research users.
Strategy Focus
Institutional Capacity Building Initiatives
Key Priority Areas
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
The Unit has improved the interaction with important stakeholders, including the National Planning Commission, the National Commission for Science and Technology, and Ministries of Education and Energy. Researchers are now able to explore more avenues to influence beyond previous spheres of influence – the Ministry of Health and its Technical Working Groups (TWGs). Regionally and internationally, MLW continues to cement its place as a Centre of Excellence and influence
Our People
LEADERSHIP
TEAM
Report on Multilink Policy Dissemination Meeting
Strategic Stakeholder Engagement: A Foundation for Effective Policy Influence
Putting Evidence on Trial: MLW Policy Unit Hosts Groundbreaking Evidence Jury
Policy Unit Wraps Up First Round of “Engaging with Policy” Series
MLW Policy Unit Rapid Response Service (RRS)
Who We Are
The MLW Rapid Response Service (RRS) is a knowledge translation service in Malawi that provides policymakers with synthesised, timely, and contextually relevant evidence to support decision-making. Our goal is to make research evidence in the areas of health and energy accessible, reliable, and applicable to the Malawian policy context.
What We Do
We respond to policymakers’ evidence needs through rapid synthesis and dissemination of the best available research. The RRS operates as a demand-driven mechanism, ensuring that evidence is provided within a specified timeframe, typically within 45 days, to inform urgent or emerging policy decisions.
Option 1:
Option 2:
Our process is iterative and collaborative and involves the following steps:
1. Clarifying and refining the policy question with the requester.
2. Assessing whether the query falls within our scope.
3. Conducting a comprehensive search and synthesis of relevant evidence.
4. Summarising and packaging findings in a clear and accessible format.
5. Submitting the brief for both internal and external review to ensure accuracy, relevance, and alignment with policy priorities.
Who We Serve
The RRS supports the following users:
- Policymakers and technical officers in health and energy government ministries and agencies.
Our Structure
The service is managed by a dedicated team of researchers within the MLW Policy Unit, who are readily available to respond to evidence requests and conduct literature searches within the agreed timeframe.
How to Contact Us
The RRS Help Desk is the first point of contact for policymakers seeking timely evidence support. Our team is available to receive, clarify, and process evidence requests within the agreed timeframe.
To reach the Help Desk:
Email: policyteam@mlw.mw
Phone: +265 996 660 072