Energy has been a key focus of government policy in Nigeria for decades, yet little improvement has been seen in rates of access among the population. Our paper assesses the inputs to policymaking in this context and interrogates the role of scientific evidence and knowledge co-production in the process. Through key informant interviews and participatory workshops with stakeholders, we addressed the practical question of how to strengthen the contribution of evidence to national energy policymaking processes. Two windows of opportunity were identified for this: the critical stage of problem definition; and the time lag between policy adoption and implementation. By engaging proactively with policymakers on these fronts, academic researchers working in knowledge co-production arrangements can make quick inroads into a policy space that has largely excluded them to date. This case is instructive for academics and knowledge brokers in similar contexts where a diminished status for scientific evidence might make more ambitious exchanges with policy difficult, to begin with.

几十年来，能源一直是尼日利亚政府政策的重点，但人们获得能源的比率几乎没有改善。我们的论文评估了在这种情况下决策的投入，并询问了科学证据和知识联合生产在此过程中的作用。通过与利益相关者进行的关键信息提供者访谈和参与式研讨会，我们解决了如何加强证据对国家能源决策过程的贡献这一实际问题。为此确定了两个机会窗口：问题定义的关键阶段；以及政策采用和实施之间的时间差。通过与这些方面的政策制定者进行积极互动，从事知识联产安排的学术研究人员可以迅速进入一个政策领域，该政策领域迄今在很大程度上已将其排除在外。首先，在类似的情况下，这种情况对学者和知识经纪人具有启发性。在这种情况下，科学证据的地位下降可能会使与政策进行更雄心勃勃的交流变得困难。