What Are Pivotal Questions?
The Pivotal Questions (PQ) initiative represents a shift in how we approach impactful research evaluation. Rather than starting with papers and asking "is this good research?", we start with decision-makers and ask:
"Which unanswered, quantifiable questions matter most to organizations' policy or funding choices?"
By identifying the questions that would actually change decisions—if answered—we can focus research attention where it matters most. We then connect these questions to existing research, commission expert evaluations, and synthesize the evidence for decision-makers.
Our Approach
Traditional research prioritization often follows academic incentives rather than real-world impact. The Pivotal Questions initiative flips this:
Demand-Driven
We start with the questions organizations actually need answered, not with what researchers happen to study.
Decision-Relevant
Every question must be tied to a specific decision context. If the answer wouldn't change behavior, it's not pivotal.
Quantifiable
Questions are operationalized into measurable claims that can be evaluated against evidence.
Evidence-Linked
We curate relevant research and commission expert evaluations to assess what the evidence actually says.
The Process
Eliciting Questions
Impact-focused organizations submit succinct, quantifiable questions grounded in real decision contexts. What would they do differently if they knew the answer?
Selecting & Refining
Our specialists review submissions, gather public feedback, and operationalize claims for measurement. We prioritize questions with the highest decision-relevance.
Linking Research
Teams curate relevant existing research and commission expert evaluators to assess the evidence and its implications for the question.
Stakeholder Engagement
Feedback from researchers and organizations is synthesized into reports with aggregated estimates of the current state of evidence.
Publication
Findings are published openly with accessible summaries and visualizations designed for decision-makers, not just academics.
Who Benefits?
Funders & Grantmakers
Get clarity on which research investments would most inform your giving strategy. Know what the evidence actually says about interventions you're considering.
Policymakers
Access synthesized evidence on questions that matter for policy decisions. Understand not just "what works" but "how confident should we be?"
Researchers
Discover which questions practitioners actually need answered. Increase the impact of your work by addressing decision-relevant gaps.
Implementing Organizations
Submit your own pivotal questions. Get rigorous evidence synthesis on the uncertainties that most affect your programs.
Browse Our Questions
We maintain a public database of pivotal questions, their status, and the evidence we've gathered. Explore what we're working on and suggest new questions.
Have a Pivotal Question?
If your organization faces a decision that hinges on uncertain evidence, we want to hear from you. Submit your question for consideration.
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