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 strategy

Theory of Change Essentials – online course

13/09/2018

BOND is offering their Theory of Change Essential online course again next month. Rates are based on membership and the size of your organisation, and…

Research to Action

Engaging the public

Pitch your podcast to BBC radio

11/09/2018

Blog Posts

Have you got an original idea for a podcast? Why not pitch it to the BBC? There is a standard commissioning process for podcasts destined…

Research to Action

Using digital tools

Going ‘mobile first’ to reach African audiences

03/09/2018

Blog Posts

Mobile means more than being on the move, it means connecting to the next generation of African audiences. Recent data shows that 52% of the world’s website traffic…

Clair Grant-Salmon

Cheryl Brown

Making your research accessible

Research impact: ‘top tips’ on communicating & pitching research to non-academic audiences

30/08/2018

Some great ideas about getting your research out of the lab and in front of the public, from top researchers at the University of Manchester:…

Research to Action

Making your research accessible

Referencing sources – making it work for non-academic audiences

14/08/2018

Blog Posts

Referencing our sources of evidence when writing for academic audiences is common practice. Yet, for the average reader of research outside academia, references are often…

Kas Sempere

Using social media

Running your organisation’s social media: What I’ve learned so far

13/08/2018

Social media has become indispensable in our daily lives and its significance has increased dramatically over the years. This has influenced the way research dissemination…

Mallika Chaulagain

Featured

Four principles to make evidence synthesis more useful for policy

10/08/2018

Some of the top science policymakers in the UK have teamed up to urge that we ‘Reward the creation of analyses for policymakers that are…

Research to Action

Engaging policy audiences

How I learnt to make my voice count at the UN climate negotiations

06/08/2018

A junior climate negotiator from Laos explains how a recent training workshop gave her the tools to navigate the complex UN climate talks and the…

Xaysomphone Souvannavong

Engaging policy audiences

Four personality traits ECRs can foster to help impact policy and practice

23/07/2018

Researchers seeking to translate their work into ‘impact’ – that is, any of the range of positive, tangible influences on society possible through research –…

Megan Evans

Chris Cvitanovic

Building a strategy

Using outcome mapping to get research into use in East and Southern Africa

20/07/2018

Blog Posts

I recently published a learning report which documents my organisation’s experience using outcome mapping to plan, monitor, and evaluate research uptake. I work for the…

Emily Balls

Featured

Viral science video debunks bad viral science videos

17/07/2018

Blog Posts

If you work in research uptake you’ve thought about whether to invest time and money in video. Unless you embrace using new channels and communications…

Research to Action

Featured

Knowledge Management and Communication Officer (Chinese language) – ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal

11/07/2018

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing centre serving the eight regional member countries of the…

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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