Background and Objectives: The purpose of this research was to design a policy research model to make educational policymaking more efficient in university units in Mazandaran province.

Methods: The present research was conducted with a mixed exploratory approach (qualitative-quantitative). In the qualitative phase, the components of the model were identified by analyzing the content of semi-structured interviews with 19 experts. In the quantitative phase, a researcher-made questionnaire was distributed among 242 faculty members of the universities of the province and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis.

Results: The findings showed that there are positive and significant causal relationships between the components of university policy research (including educational, research, socio-cultural, financial-administrative, international and environmental policies) and the components of educational policy-making (including educational content, quality, finance and budget, monitoring and evaluation, political-social and cultural-linguistic). The final model had a good fit and was able to explain more than 80% of the variance of the variables.

Conclusion: The overall conclusion of the research indicates that the establishment of a systematic policy research model can pave the way for evidence-based decision-making, increase the coordination and effectiveness of educational policies, and ultimately improve the quality of higher education in universities in Mazandaran province.