Annette Boaz and Kathryn Oliver This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Supporting policy through research funding: how UK funders can use Areas of Research Interest to bridge evidence gaps‘. Using research to inform policy sounds straightforward, but in practice, it remains one of the biggest challenges in public policy. Despite decades of effort, there is still a persistent gap between what we know from research and what gets used in decision-making. Our recent study explores one under‑examined part of this puzzle: the role of research funders. In the UK, ‘Areas of Research Interest’ (ARIs) have emerged as an important tool to help bridge this gap. ARIs are sets of questions produced by government departments that outline their priority evidence needs. They are designed to signal where new research and existing knowledge could support policy development. Our research set out to understand how ARIs might be of use to research funders. Drawing on 30 interviews with funders, policymakers, academics and knowledge mobilisers, we found that ARIs are doing something important: they …