From Fragmentation to Comparable Evidence: Open Research Infrastructure for Evidence-Informed Drug Policy

This presentation introduces an open research infrastructure approach to addressing fragmentation in the global research landscape on drug policy. It argues that the dispersion of scientific outputs across repositories, journals, and databases limits the comparability and usability of evidence in multilateral policymaking contexts. The presentation conceptualizes evidence systems as dependent on knowledge infrastructures that enable the integration, structuring, and comparison of research outputs across institutional and disciplinary boundaries. While open science improves access, it does not by itself ensure coherence or policy usability. As a practical contribution, the presentation introduces the Knowmad Research Gateway, a structured research environment designed to organize and systematize global drug policy research. The platform integrates 3,470 scholarly works and 38,700 citations across disciplines, covering the period 2016–2026, and operates under a fully open access model. The presentation concludes that shared research infrastructures are essential for improving transparency, enabling comparable evidence, and strengthening multilateral policy dialogue.