Research to Action

The Global Guide to Research Impact

Navigation

  • Home

  • How To ▾

    This list of how to’s provides an essential guide for a number of key communication and engagement activities that will help make your research travel.

    • Building Capacity
    • Policy Briefs
    • Research Impact
    • Theory of Change
    • Uptake Strategy
  • Topics ▾

    • Eye on 2022
    • Knowing your audience ▸
      • Building a strategy
      • Engaging policy audiences ▸
        • EBPDN
        • Targeting policy actors
        • Targeting practitioners
      • Stakeholder mapping
      • Strategic communication ▸
        • Building a brand
        • Engaging the public
      • Working with the media
    • Making your research accessible ▸
      • Framing challenges
      • Knowledge translation
      • Learning in context
      • Open access
      • Presenting your research
      • Using digital tools ▸
        • Using multi media
        • Using online tools/ICTs
        • Using social media
      • Using intermediaries
    • Monitoring and evaluation ▸
      • Applying M&E methods
      • Evidence into policy
      • Measuring success
    • Uncategorized
  • Dialogue Spaces ▾

    • GDN: Doing Research
    • Manchester Policy Week 2015
    • TTI Exchange 2015
    • Strengthening Institutions to Improve Public Expenditure Accountability (GDN PEM Project)
    • DFID/AusAid Research Communication and Uptake Workshop
    • 3ie Policy Influence and Monitoring (PIM) project
    • Policy Engagement and Communications (PEC) Programme
  • Reading Lists

  • Opportunities

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Vimeo
  • RSS

Featured

New guidance on research communications

By Abdourahmane Idrissa 27/11/2009

DFID is a recognised leader among donors in its efforts to support and develop better research communications. A recent report ‘Learning Lessons on Research Uptake and Use: Donor review on research communication’ looked across a range of donors for examples of good practice and emerging lessons. Its aim was to see what these donors’ priorities and strategies had in common, so that we could begin to harmonise and make the most of the tactics and techniques that we’ve learned do work.

While examples of good practice and innovative initiatives were found, there was still an overwhelming lack of strategic approaches: ‘Despite many promising initiatives, most donors do not appear to have a strategic approach to research communication, and do not seem to make best use either of their own or other donors’ experiences. Responsibility for research communication is generally dispersed between different departments within an agency, which are at times not always aware of each others’ programmes. These range from embedding research to supporting specific research communication programmes. There is varied understanding of the term “research communication”.’

There is also a continuing emphasis by both funders and researchers on the supply side – producing and disseminating publications – with a weak understanding of and capacity to support the demand side of research communication.

For its part, DFID is trying to give research projects more guidance about research communication. A Guidance Note on Research Communication for DFID-Funded Research that was developed to help the newest research programme consortia is online now. Research programme consortia will be expected to employ skilled senior communications specialists, and to follow the 10 Guiding Principles outlined in the notes.

Related posts

EBPDN: Refreshing recommended resources - 31/10/2019
Building momentum to advance citizen evidence in policymaking - 03/09/2019
Bringing researchers and knowledge brokers together for greater impact - 29/05/2019

Get 'New Post' e-alerts and follow R2A

> > > > >

Contribute to R2A:
We welcome blogposts, news about jobs, events or funding, and recommendations for great resources about development communications and research uptake.

Topics: communication, dfid, dissemination, guidance, participative communciation, practical guide, publications, r4d, research, research communication, research uptake, strategic approaches, text

Abdourahmane Idrissa

Abdourahmane Idrissa is a political scientist based in Niamey, Niger, where he founded the Think Tank EPGA in 2015. The focus of the Think Tank is to influence policy-making in issues related to youth employment, migration and population through empirical and theoretical research in Niger and West Africa. He has recently published a Historical Dictionary of Niger and L’Afrique pour les nuls (‘Africa for Dummies’).

Subscribe E-alerts and RSS feeds

Contribute Write a blog post, post a job or event, recommend a resource

Partner with Us Are you an institution looking to increase your impact?

Tweets by @Research2Action

Most Recent Posts

  • Jamlab’s favourite African Podcasts
  • Communications and design: (Not such) a secret ingredient for successful EU Research and Innovation Projects
  • Stakeholder consultation facillitators: Nepal, India and Bangladesh, CGIAR – Rolling deadline
  • Open access guidance, databases and more!
  • Communications Officer x2: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London – Deadline 25 May

This Week's Most Read

  • How to write actionable policy recommendations
  • Policymaker, policy maker, or policy-maker?
  • What do we mean by ‘impact’?
  • Gap analysis for literature reviews and advancing useful knowledge
  • Communications and design: (Not such) a secret ingredient for successful EU Research and Innovation Projects
  • Outcome Mapping: A Basic Introduction
  • Three ways that knowledge brokers can strengthen the impact of scientific research
  • Top tips: Writing newspaper opinion pieces
  • Key questions to ask when putting together a Theory of Change for Research Uptake (Part 1 of 2)
  • Why study the research environment?

About Us

Research to Action (R2A) is a website catering for the strategic and practical needs of people trying to improve the uptake of development research, in particular those funded by DFID.

We have structured the site and populated it with material that we think will be immediately useful to this audience, but also to development researchers in general who would like to be more strategic and effective in their communications.

R2A is produced by a small editorial team, led by CommsConsult. We welcome suggestions for and contributions to the site.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Cookies
  • Contribute

Our contributors

  • Paula Fray
  • Shubha Jayaram
  • Sue Martin
  • Maria Balarin
  • James Harvey
  • Emily Hayter
  • Susan Koshy
  • Ronald Munatsi
  • Ajoy Datta

Browse all authors

Friends and partners

  • AuthorAid
  • Global Development Network (GDN)
  • INASP
  • Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
  • International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)
  • ODI RAPID
  • On Think Tanks
  • Politics & Ideas
  • Research for Development (R4D)
  • Research Impact

Copyright © 2022 Research to Action. All rights reserved. Log in