Rhetorical Strategies in Reports for Policy: A Multi-Case Study of Intermediary Evidence-to-Policy Communication on Antimicrobial Resistance

Abstract

A major challenge to evidence-informed policy is effectively communicating the results of research between multiple communities of experts and policymakers. Each year, hundreds of thousands of “grey literature” documents — such as reports, briefings, and discussion papers — are produced to inform public debate and strengthen the knowledge base for good policy decisions. Yet despite their ubiquity, the creation and effects of grey literature are relatively understudied in evidence-to-action research. In this dissertation, I focus specifically on grey literature authored by intermediaries — a diverse group of actors such as think tanks, non-profits, and review commissions — that function as go-betweens for research producers and policymakers. Because intermediaries play a central role in mobilizing policy-relevant research, they are increasingly recognized as key actors in evidence communication. However, little attention has been paid to the rhetorical strategies they use to establish credibility and influence policy through these documents.This dissertation combined textual–intertextual rhetorical analysis with a multiple-case study design to better understand how intermediaries created and used grey literature reports. Focusing on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) policy, I conducted three case studies of AMR-focused reports by analyzing their production context, textual features, and reception over more than five years post-publication. This approach identified a range of rhetorical strategies and theorized their function using concepts from rhetoric, expertise studies, public policy research, and technical communication. I examined the rhetorical challenges faced by intermediaries, who had to establish credibility in complex, multi-stakeholder contexts. I found that successful intermediaries used specific rhetorical strategies to cultivate an ethos of interactional expertise. Next, I integrated rhetorical theories with insights from the Multiple Streams Framework, in order to identify three promising rhetorical moves to advance policy agenda-setting and theorize how they worked. Lastly, through analysis of reception evidence, I proposed that an underappreciated function of these reports is how they serve as enduring rhetorical resources for readers to use over time. I illustrated three ways the reports promoted ongoing use by others, and proposed practical heuristics intermediaries can use to operationalize these observations. Together, the strategies I identified contribute to the rhetorical repertoire available to intermediaries working to influence policy. This dissertation illustrated that these reports operate not as static artifacts, but as dynamic rhetorical efforts before and beyond the moment of publication.