This is an overview of the workshop that took place in London on November 29 and 30, 2010 entitled Improving the impact of development research through better research communication and uptake.

The communication and uptake of research is a messy business for which there is no clear formula; what is clear is that routes to impact need to be improved. Without a greater focus on getting research into use, that potential for improving lives through research and innovation will not be fully realised. Research funders have a role to play in encouraging maximum impact from the research they fund, particularly as funding gets tighter. The workshop brought together funders of development research, researchers and practitioners with the aim to:

• develop a common understanding of the landscape of funding and activities in research communication and uptake
• identify opportunities for greater coordination and collaboration
• share innovative thinking on effective ways to get research into use
• investigate options for a more systematic opportunity to share information and coordinate activities

The documents and resources relating to the workshop can be found below.

Final Workshop Report:

The Final Report from the workshop, including summaries of the written outputs.

By Louise Shaxson

Workshop Blogs:

How Research Feeds into Parliaments Across the World,

By Megan Lloyd-Laney

How to Survive and Thrive in the Knowledge Pond,

By Andrew Clappison

Workshop Presentations:

• Improving the impact of development research through better research communications and uptake. Background paper for the AusAID, DFID and UKCDS funded workshop: London, November 29th and 30th 2010.
• Research communication: insights from practice, A working paper of the Research Communication Strategy Group, Edited by Isabel Carter and Kurt Paulus, 2010

Other Documents:

• Learning lessons on research uptake and use: Donor review on research communication, B. Adolph, F.J. Proctor, N. van der Gaag, J. Davies and L. Carlile (2009), Triple Line Consulting Ltd, UK. Report prepared for UK DFID
• Learning lessons on research uptake and use: A review of DFID’s research communication programmes (Part 1), Proctor, F; , Adolph, B; Carlile, L; Davies, J; van der Gaag, N and Myers, M with contributions from Atampugre, N (2009), Triple Line Consulting Ltd, UK. Report prepared for UK DFID
• Learning lessons on research uptake and use: A review of DFID’s research communication programmes (Part 2), Proctor, F; Adolph; B, Atampugre, N; Carlile, L; Davies, J;
  van der Gaag, N and Myers, M (2009), Triple Line Consulting Ltd, UK. Report prepared for UK DFID
• Learning lessons on research communication and uptake. A review of DFID’s Research and Evidence Division’s human development (health and education) and agriculture portfolios and their contribution to the 30% policy, Part 1 and Part 2, B. Adolph, S. Herbert-Jones, F.J. Proctor, E. Raven, and M. Myers (2010), Triple Line Consulting Ltd UK. Report prepared for UK DFID
• Developing a strategy for knowledge translation and brokering in public policymaking, This paper draws on discussions at the Knowledge Translation and Brokering workshop held in Montreal, Canada, October 20th 2010
• Between Ourselves Workshop: report from the second meeting of the I-K-Mediary Group, C. Fisher & Y. Kunaratanam (eds) (2008) Between Ourselves Workshop: report from the second meeting of the I-K-Mediary Group, July 2008, Centurion, South Africa
• Seeking Surprise: rethinking monitoring for collective learning in rural resource management, I. Guijt (2008) PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands. ISBN 978-90-8504-860-2
• Intermediary understanding, impact and action: Report from the third I-K-Mediary workshop, Y. Kunarataram & C. Fisher (eds) (2009), IDS, Brighton, UK