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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Stakeholder mapping

The dangers of poor stakeholder analysis

22/04/2019

Blog Posts

Do you know what your opponents are really thinking? Are you aware of what other evidence (or ‘evidence’) they are also seeing, in addition to…

Kimberly Clarke

Strategic communication

PES Communications Manager – ODI

21/04/2019

Blog Posts

Contract: Permanent Salary: £40,575 – £50,466 per annum Location: London Closing date: 1 May 2019  Ref: PES/02/19 ODI is an independent, global think tank, working…

Research to Action

Featured

April 16 Webcast: Confronting the Disinformation Age

15/04/2019

Blog Posts

This webcast took place Tuesday, 16 April, at 7pm PDT (02.00 GMT). You can watch it on SFU Public Square’s YouTube channel. SFU Public Square and…

Research to Action

Strategic communication

Online MA in Communication for Development

29/03/2019

Communication for Development is an interdisciplinary field of study and practice, combining studies in culture, communication, and development integrated with practical fieldwork. It explores the…

Research to Action

Engaging policy audiences

Informing civil servants to make better decisions

28/03/2019

Blog Posts

A new article in VoxDev by Daniel Rogger (Research Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank) and Ravi Somani (PhD candidate, University College London and Doctoral…

Research to Action

Targeting policy actors

Pairing research scientists and policymakers

23/03/2019

Blog Posts

Each year 30 research scientists are paired with UK parliamentarians and civil servants. They learn about each other’s work by spending time together in Westminster…

Research to Action Admin

Making your research accessible

‘Meet Mr Forest’: Using film to reach new audiences in China and Africa

21/03/2019

Blog Posts

IIED has released two new films highlighting initiatives to improve the sustainability of Chinese investments in Africa. The films are part of a wider effort…

James Mayers

Featured

The human costs of content moderation

20/03/2019

Blog Posts

What, if anything, should be banned from online media? And who should review violent and explicit content, in order to decide if it’s okay for…

Manoush Zomorodi

Making your research accessible

Web development consultant – Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund

19/03/2019

Blog Posts

INVITATION TO TENDER The Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF) is a long-term development initiative with the overall objective of contributing to increasing the capacity of…

Research to Action Admin

Using online tools/ICTs

Reclaiming the right to privacy: An opportunity to challenge gender inequality

08/03/2019

Blog Posts

Development programming aims to be both sustainable and equitable in part by recognizing the implications of inequality in its many forms, whether by gender, ethnicity,…

Ruhiya Seward

Alexandrine Pirlot de Corbion

Knowledge translation

Using infographics and videos to innovate knowledge translation processes

06/03/2019

  For those who might not know, knowledge translation is the synthesis, exchange, and use of knowledge by policymakers and other relevant stakeholders with the…

Olivia Biermann

Rayane Nasreddine

Clara Abou Samra

Fadi El Jardali

Rana Saleh

Engaging policy audiences

The politics and performance of scholars giving evidence to Parliamentary select committees

04/03/2019

Blog Posts

I read last week that Westminster’s Select Committees are still struggling to get equal numbers of women and men to give evidence. This matters partly because…

Emma Crewe

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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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