Integrating scientific knowledge, data, and evidence into public decision-making is essential. Yet Israel still faces a gap between government needs and academia’s ability to provide timely, targeted research within a structured, funded framework.
This report maps mechanisms for integrating scientific knowledge into Israel’s public sector, identifies gaps, and compares international models for researcher placements in policy organizations. It draws on publicly available sources, interviews with government officials, and a comparative review of programs.
Israel uses calls for proposals, short-term studies, committees, internal research units, fellowships, and informal networks. While valuable, these mechanisms do not provide a cross-government framework enabling researchers to work within organizations, access internal data and decision-making processes, and retain their academic affiliation.
The analysis favors an embedded secondment model for mid-career or established researchers. Placements would last 12 months, extendable to 18, at 60–80% FTE, with a 40–60% option where appropriate. The host would define the policy field, while the work plan and research topic would be developed jointly. Funding would come from the host or co-funding arrangements, while employment would remain with the home institution.
The report recommends using the Chief Scientist’s proposal as the basis for a phased, flexible pilot in several ministries. The pilot would identify barriers, clarify funding, research independence, data use, and intellectual property arrangements, and support a complementary mechanism for strengthening evidence-informed policymaking and government–academia collaboration.
