ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the importance, complexities and challenges of the relationship between social policy and research, with particular reference to children in the Indian context. Based on a review of some policy-related chapters included in this volume and other relevant researches, juxtaposed with authors’ own lived experiences in this field, the chapter identifies some interrelated theoretical and empirical constructs with regard to children and childhood that are significant but fail to get adequately addressed in the journey from policy to practice. It explores and examines these research-policy gaps in terms of various stages of policy formulation and the interface with conceptualisation, methods, documentation and dissemination of research. In the process, the chapter highlights various kinds of challenges and dilemmas that may come in the way of bridging the desired interface. It concludes with some suggestions to bridge these gaps and expand the status of policy-oriented research in India.
