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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Impact Practitioners

Seven lessons about impact case studies from REF 2021

06/06/2024

Blog Posts

This blog post written by Dr Philly Iglehart details seven key takeaways about impact case studies, drawing on Plymouth Marjon University’s experience of preparing impact…

Inés Arangüena

Strategic communication

1-2-4-all, the atomic bomb of Liberating Structures (LS under the lens)

05/06/2024

Blog Posts

If you are passionate about fostering collaborative environments and unleashing the full potential of group creativity, this blog on Liberating Structures (LS) is a must-read….

Isobel Fisher

Impact Practitioners

How to co-produce a research project

30/05/2024

Blog Posts

This 11-page guidance document by Tina Coldham and published by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) sets out the key principles and features of…

Inés Arangüena

Impact Practitioners

How to design a research uptake plan

23/05/2024

Blog Posts

This 13-page guide by Malaria Consortium is about developing and monitoring research uptake plans. Research uptake is the use of research evidence by researchers, policymakers,…

Inés Arangüena

Impact Practitioners

Using the PPE approach to improve advocacy evaluation processes

16/05/2024

Blog Posts

This 19-page article argues that participatory process evaluation (PPE) can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of advocacy programmes. Evaluating advocacy can be really challenging….

Inés Arangüena

Presenting your research

AEN African Evidence Ecosystem Podcast – Season 1

15/05/2024

Blog Posts

AEN have recently released their final episode to their podcast series: African Evidence Ecosystem. Across 5 exciting episodes, the AEN explored Evidence Informed Decision Making…

Isobel Fisher

Impact Practitioners

Making knowledge systems more equitable: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

09/05/2024

Blog Posts

This brief paper by the international development charity INASP delves into the injustices exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic within our knowledge systems. As we continue…

Inés Arangüena

Impact Practitioners

Strengthening and measuring M&E capacity in Africa

03/05/2024

Blog Posts

This brief article by Steven Masvaure and Tebogo E. Fish explores monitoring and evaluation (M&E) strengthening capacities and how their effectiveness is being measured in…

Inés Arangüena

Strategic communication

Latest Newsletter from APHRC – implementation of 2022–2026 Strategic Plan

02/05/2024

Blog Posts

African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) have released their latest newsletter which looks at their journey so far under their 2022-2026 strategic plan. This…

Isobel Fisher

Impact Practitioners

How can we achieve locally led practice in international development?

25/04/2024

Blog Posts

This 70-page report published by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) sets out the key issues in the localisation agenda. It concludes with a series of…

Inés Arangüena

Impact Practitioners

Ten guidelines for an effective research impact assessment

18/04/2024

Blog Posts

This 16-page statement, by the International School on Research Impact Assessment (ISRIA), proposes ten initial guidelines to make your research impact assessment process (RIA) as…

Inés Arangüena

Strategic communication

How is the communication landscape changing?

17/04/2024

Debating Development Research logo Blog Posts

Lize Swartz’ recent blog discusses the findings of a recent workshop for EADI members held in Bonn, Germany. The workshop used data from the last…

Isobel Fisher

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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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