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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Featured

Tariq Kokhar: Open Data Evangelist at the World Bank

29/10/2012

Audio & Video

Tariq Kokhar, Open Data evangelist for the World Bank discusses the potential of Open data in development and explains how giving wider access to more data could potentially remove the north-south divide in development research.

Research to Action

Featured

The Five Competencies Framework

23/10/2012

Guides & Tutorials

The five competencies framework is an exercise enabling an organisation (or a group of organisations) to work out, in a simple and effective manner, what different elements have to learn, and what they have to share in the realm of organisational learning and knowledge management.

Research to Action

Featured

Peeling back the layers of the onion: Theories of Change, assumptions and evidence

15/10/2012

Blog Posts

Isabel Vogel provides the expert view on identifying and honing your assumptions when developing a theory of change.

Isabel Vogel

Featured

The (not so) easy task of translating research into policy and practice

03/10/2012

Blog Posts

Lindsey Jones (ODI) shares his thoughts on translating research into policy and practice, while also challenging the existing incentives for researchers to think proactively about influence and change.

Research to Action

Featured

New IDS Bulletin: New roles for communication in development?

01/10/2012

News & Opportunities

The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) have recently published a new Bulletin entitled New Roles for Communication in Development? (Lewin, T. Harvey, B., and Page,…

Betty Paton

Featured

Why strengthening the linkages between research and practice is important: Learning from Young Lives

01/10/2012

Papers & Reports

Over the last decade, there has been increasing debate around how to most effectively use research evidence to inform policy processes. A two-year study led…

Research to Action

News

A lively afternoon at the 3ie workshop as Research to Action has lift off!

27/09/2012

News

Tuesday the 25th September saw individuals from across the globe meet to discuss Policy Influence Monitoring and celebrate the official launch of Research to Action.

Featured

Farai Samhungu discusses her role on the 3ie Policy and Influence Monitoring (PIM) project

25/09/2012

Audio & Video

Captured at the 3ie Policy and Influence Monitoring (PIM) workshop taking place in Cornwall this week, in this short video, Farai Samhungu, the Director of…

Research to Action

News

Research to Action set for official launch

21/09/2012

News

The launch of Research to Action will coincide with the 3ie workshop on Policy Influence and Monitoring at the Academy for Innovation and Research (AIR). Participants will convene for a series of discussions structured around the question: How should policy influence be defined and measured?

Featured

ESPA guide to working with Theory of Change for research projects

18/09/2012

Guides & Tutorials

The purpose of this guide is to support Principal Investigators and research teams who wish to work with a theory of change approach when developing their pathways to impact and impact strategies.

Research to Action

Making your research accessible

Impact 2.0: New mechanisms for linking research and policy

18/09/2012

Papers & Reports

The research presented in this report was conducted during 2010 – 2011, funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada) and coordinated by Fundación Comunica with support…

Research to Action

News

Putting ESPA Research Into Use: Call for proposals

12/09/2012

News

Applicants are invited to apply for a grant to put ESPA (Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation) Research Into Use.

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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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