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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Building a brand

Bond boosts their brand

27/02/2019

Blog Posts

Branding and animation are both tricky to get right, so combining them well is even harder. I’ve just seen the new short launched today by…

Kimberly Clarke

Engaging policy audiences

Bridging the research–policy gap

27/02/2019

unknown-contenttypes

Professor Paul Boreham, Dr Adrian Cherney, and Professor Brian Head from the University of Queensland conducted a study which identified a range of issues impeding…

Maria Katsonis

Making your research accessible

Research film wins impact award

25/02/2019

Blog Posts

Films have the potential to engage a far wider audience and reach further than an academic paper ever could. A film is shared, watched sociably,…

Anna Sowa

Using social media

The R2A Career Challenge

07/02/2019

Blog Posts

 Do you work in research, policy, or communications? Perhaps you work in two of these fields? Or all three? If so, we want to hear…

Research to Action

Engaging the public

Kolonko: New film raises awareness about sex worker abuse

17/12/2018

Blog Posts

A new documentary film, Kolonko, about the experiences of sex workers in Sierra Leone, highlights the sexual, physical, and verbal abuse they endure on a…

Research to Action

Featured

From community-based livestock services to equitable knowledge ecosystems

13/12/2018

Blog Posts

New INASP Executive Director John Young shares how his journey from delivering livestock services to promoting the use of appropriate evidence in policy has demonstrated…

John Young

Knowledge translation

Sowing seeds for knowledge translation among new global health ‘change agents’

10/12/2018

Blog Posts

The Emerging Voices programme is an initiative of the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, and it aims to empower health researchers from the Global…

Olivia Biermann

Nasreen Jessani

Ahmad Firas Khalid

Shweta Singh

Dorcus Kiwanuka Henriksson

Vivienne Benson

Engaging the public

Pay No Bribe – Shining sunlight on corruption in Sierra Leone

08/12/2018

Blog Posts

It is widely agreed in Sierra Leone that corruption is one of the main problems holding back the economy as well as limiting the government…

Ewoku Andrew

Featured

Three lessons on research dissemination in fragile settings: Healing, learning and more

23/11/2018

Blog Posts

Research dissemination in settings of conflict and hurt is more than a well-rehearsed flash talk; it can become a forum for healing and learning. That…

Oluwabusolami Oluwajulugbe

Featured

Just starting out in research communications?

14/11/2018

Blog Posts

Just getting started in research communications? There is so much good advice around from fellow communications practitioners that there’s no need to reinvent the wheel….

Research to Action

Working with the media

Top tips for writing effective press releases

14/11/2018

Blog Posts

Getting your message out to journalists and intermediaries is vital, and you need to get it right. One size does not fit all, and it’s…

Research to Action

Featured

Policy Engagement and Communications: A toolkit for researchers and communications officers

14/11/2018

Blog Posts

This practical and engaging toolkit contains guiding principles, tips, and suggested approaches to help better plan, package, disseminate and evaluate PEC strategies. It was developed…

Research to Action

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

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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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