Research to Action

The Global Guide to Research Impact

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    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.

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Looking back, peering forward: our 2025 journey

As 2025 draws to a close, we’d like to take a moment to pause and look back on the past year at...

Why development research needs a new publishing paradigm

The promise of open access once offered a path toward equity in development research. However, as highlighted in a recent INASP policy...

Kathryn Oliver on rethinking evidence use

Back in October, Professor Kathryn Oliver delivered an insightful lecture on one of the big questions in our field. Individuals, organisations, and...

Job Opportunity: Director at the Africa Evidence Network (AEN)

More than a decade ago, a group of people passionate about generating and using evidence in Africa, for Africa, got together over...

Evidence is everybody’s story

In a world drowning in data, the promise of ‘evidence-based practice’ often feels distant. For many, evidence remains something that is done...

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Making your research accessible

A World In Your Ear: The Power of Podcasts

16/12/2021

Blog Posts

In 2020 over 155 million people listened to a podcast every week. Academics and research organisations, encouraged by the potential of this audience, have started…

Megan Lloyd-Laney

Engaging policy audiences

Indigenous Capacity Development for Evidence Uptake: An African-led approach

26/11/2021

logo of Africa Evidence Network Blog Posts

In 2020, the Africa Evidence Network (AEN) hosted Evidence 2020 Online, an event that brought together experts from the evidence ecosystem in Africa. As a…

Tishara Rajagopal

Strategic communication

Sustainable partnerships in a jungle secures ecosystem vitality

19/11/2021

Blog Posts

Core messages: It is possible for small and medium-sized evidence ecosystem actors to deliver enduring results Sustainable partnerships are the guarantees of any lasting impact…

Kirchuffs Atengble

AEN Evidence 23

Africa Evidence Week 2021: Understanding the success of a virtual global event

10/11/2021

logo of Africa Evidence Network Blog Posts

The Africa Evidence Network (AEN) is a diverse network of people and organisations who strive to end poverty and inequality in Africa through the increased…

Tishara Rajagopal

Making your research accessible

Five key trends driving change in research for development

15/10/2021

Blog Posts

With the development landscape continually adapting, the UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDS) have analysed and outlined five trends that are key in driving research…

Research to Action

Evidence into policy

Using evidence for better local government decision-making

09/09/2021

Blog Posts

Evidence is a key aspect of decision-making in all development sectors, and having good evidence enables policymakers and practitioners to develop and implement effective interventions….

Research to Action

Monitoring and evaluation

Making funding applications more successful

02/09/2021

Blog Posts

Writing grant proposals can be as much art as science, and larger organisations will have specialist staff to help their researchers and staff through the…

Research to Action

Knowing your audience

The Nieman Journalism Lab – If you’re not a climate reporter yet, you will be: Covid-19 coverage offers lessons for reporting on the climate crisis

18/08/2021

Blog Posts

Understanding your audience is always important for effective communication. For climate change topics, it’s essential. Wolfgang Blau spent a year researching climate change to see the role media could play in better reporting the crisis. This great article published in Nieman segments the general public audience in USA into six useful groups: the alarmed, the concerned, the cautious, the disengaged, the doubtful and the dismissive.

Research to Action

Targeting practitioners

Why Eat Wild Meat? A new decision tool for better project design

13/08/2021

Cover of Wild Meat decision tool Blog Posts

We have developed a tool that will help conservation practitioners involved in designing wild meat alternatives projects to increase their impact by designing projects that…

Stephanie Brittain

Knowing your audience

COVID-19 communication and trust in PNG: Results from a survey

30/07/2021

Blog Posts

The first blog in this series showed that of the 281 University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) students from the School of Business and Public…

Rohan Fox

Using digital tools

Why should I transcribe my media content?

29/07/2021

Blog Posts

With technology constantly evolving and new ways of communicating arriving on our doorstep, there are many ways to work more efficiently than ever before. Artificial…

Isobel Fisher

Working with the media

Grants for media innovators in in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – Deadline 31 July

16/07/2021

Blog Posts

SAMIP was launched in 2017 to diversify, strengthen and support innovation among independent media initiatives, through a mix of project funding, technical support and capacity…

Research to Action

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Most Recent Posts

  • Looking back, peering forward: our 2025 journey
  • Why development research needs a new publishing paradigm
  • Kathryn Oliver on rethinking evidence use
  • Job Opportunity: Director at the Africa Evidence Network (AEN)
  • Evidence is everybody’s story

As 2025 comes to a close, we’re pausing to reflect at Research to Action (R2A) ✨

This year, 27,000+ readers from 188 countries joined us in exploring how research can better inform action — reading, sharing, and asking thoughtful questions along the way 🌍📚

Despite a challenging year for international development, our community leaned into conversations about:
📊 Impact and learning
🔄 Knowledge brokering & evidence use
🤖 AI and the future of research

What inspired us most was how you engaged — with curiosity, care, and a commitment to making evidence matter.

✨ Looking ahead, we remain focused on creating space for reflection, learning, and meaningful exchange — together.

Thank you for being part of the journey. Here’s to another year of curiosity and impact 💛

🔗 Link in bio to read our full reflection

#ResearchToAction #EvidenceInPractice #ResearchImpact #KnowledgeSharing #EndOfYearReflection #GlobalCommunity

In our latest blog Inés Arangüena breaks down the Researcher Impact Framework (RIF) — a super practical way to show the real-world impact behind research, not just the publication count.

✨ Why it’s worth a read:
💡 Clearly explain the difference your work makes
📚 Connect outcomes to real evidence + activity
🤝 Highlight impact through collaboration, knowledge sharing & community
📊 Use metrics that actually matter (not just journal impact factors!)

If you’re a researcher, communicator, or anyone trying to share the story behind your work… this framework is a game-changer.

🔗 Link in bio to read the full blog!

#ResearchImpact #KnowledgeTranslation #DataDrivenStorytelling #AcademicCommunications #ImpactNarratives Trinity College Dublin

In our latest blog Inés Arangüena breaks down the Researcher Impact Framework (RIF) — a super practical way to show the real-world impact behind research, not just the publication count.

✨ Why it’s worth a read:
💡 Clearly explain the difference your work makes
📚 Connect outcomes to real evidence + activity
🤝 Highlight impact through collaboration, knowledge sharing & community
📊 Use metrics that actually matter (not just journal impact factors!)

If you’re a researcher, communicator, or anyone trying to share the story behind your work… this framework is a game-changer.

🔗 Link in bio to read the full blog!

#ResearchImpact #KnowledgeTranslation #DataDrivenStorytelling #AcademicCommunications #ImpactNarratives Trinity College Dublin

Revisiting a 2022 article by Tebby Leepile this International Week of Science and Peace. It dives into the challenge of scaling implementation science: too big becomes unsustainable, too small makes little impact. 🌍🔬

How do we find the balance that leads to real change?

Full article in linktree just click #R2AArchive 🔗

#ScienceForPeace #InternationalWeekOfScienceAndPeace #ImplementationScience #SustainableDevelopment #ScaleUpImpact  #FromDataToImpact  #InnovationForGood

Revisiting a 2022 article by Tebby Leepile this International Week of Science and Peace. It dives into the challenge of scaling implementation science: too big becomes unsustainable, too small makes little impact. 🌍🔬

How do we find the balance that leads to real change?

Full article in linktree just click #R2AArchive 🔗

#ScienceForPeace #InternationalWeekOfScienceAndPeace #ImplementationScience #SustainableDevelopment #ScaleUpImpact #FromDataToImpact #InnovationForGood


About Us

Research To Action (R2A) is a learning platform for anyone interested in maximising the impact of research and capturing evidence of impact.

The site publishes practical resources on a range of topics including research uptake, communications, policy influence and monitoring and evaluation. It captures the experiences of practitioners and researchers working on these topics and facilitates conversations between this global community through a range of social media platforms.

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

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