Sarah Morton has worked across research, policy and practice for most of her career, and will draw on examples from different settings encountered over this time in her presentation. She is keen to interrogate our learning about effective evidence use from the last 20 years, and review how this can be supported from research and practice perspectives. She will present a vision for the effective use of evidence of all kinds to plan, develop and improve policy, practice, and services. As part of this she will explain some of the ways that she is currently developing tools and support for effective evidence use.

1. Research, Impact, Value & LIS - #lisrival - Edinburgh - 11th July 2019
Practitioner research: value, impact, and priorities
Professor Hazel Hall
Edinburgh Napier University
RIVAL Network Event 1 – July 11th 2019 – Edinburgh
Getting research into action: issues, challenges, solutions
Dr Sarah Morton, Matter of Focus

2. Getting research into action:
issues, challenges, solutions
Dr Sarah Morton, July 2019
RIVAL event, Edinburgh
© 2018 Matter of Focus®

4. A vision for knowledge to action…
© 2018 Matter of Focus®
Research findings always linked with relevant people, policy and
practice
Open discussion and debate informed by latest evidence
Practitioners and policy-makers have the data and evidence then
need at their fingertips

5. Research impact: where are we now?
• Many research organisations with an impact imperative (in and
out of HE sector)
• Increasing use of outcomes (SDG’s Government performance
systems)
• REF in UK and EIF in Australia
• Shift towards impact:
• Impact prizes (ESRC, NCCPE, etc..)
• Researchers blogging, tweeting etc..
• Funding: e.g.: ESRC impact accelerator account
• Core competency of research staff

6. Universities: Impact through the research cycle
1.Potential/future impact
(Pathways to Impact )
2. Maximising impact of current research
(Knowledge Exchange)
3. Reporting on impact of previous research
(REF Impact)
Developing impact case studies for the REF www.publicengagement.ac.uk

7. Policy and practice paradigm shift (ongoing)
© 2018 Matter of Focus®

8. But…research use is messy
© 2018 Matter of Focus®

10. City Council of The Hague deliberating in 1636
Jan Antonisz. van Ravesteyn

11. Carol Weiss (1979)
Research used in policy…
Problem solving: evidence to solve policy problems (rarely)
Knowledge-Driven: drives new technological developments
Interactive: interactive, communicative
Political: lobby for political viewpoints
Tactical: to delay action, deflect criticism, etc
Enlightenment: slowly changes conceptualisation of problems and
solutions

12. Practitioners’ ‘mindlines’
Adapted from Gabbay J, and
May A l BMJ 2004;329:1013
each other
practice
experience
Client’s
view
“reps” “the centre”
eg govt department
opinion
leaders
teachers/training
“they say”
reading/updates infrastructure
meetings
And in practice

13. How do we navigate this messiness?
© 2018 Matter of Focus®
Evidence of what is effective… practice what we preach
How to embed that evidence in our practice in K2A

14. Thinking about research impact- a quick
tour of key ideas
© 2018 Matter of Focus®

16. What does it mean to use research?
Research uptake: people are interested in research,
read it, talk about it, come to a presentation etc..
Research use: people do something with the research,
change their view, pass it on to someone else, apply it
to practice or policy
Research impact: a contribution to change as a result
of research use
Morton (2015)

17. Hi! Have you heard
this? It’s really going to
change how you
do things round here.
1. Research does
not speak for
itself

18. Animating research

19. 2. Research does not stand alone

20. Contextual analysis

21. 3. Research has to
be integrated

22. Integrating new knowledge
through discussion

23. Combining different types of knowledge
What
should
we do?

24. 4. It’s not just learning – unlearning
matters too

25. 5. Using research is often
not an event

26. Work with ChildLine

27. 6. Knowledge is often co-
produced

29. 7. Not products but process

30. Products + processes
• KE strategy for every project
• Involving research users
from the start
• More than one mechanism
for dissemination

31. 8. It’s not all about decisions but often more
about framings

33. 9. Leadership support for research
creation and use

34. 10. Investment- skin in the game

35. Barriers and facilitators to research
use
Over to you! Discussion.

36. What
hinders
research
use?
Source: Carnegie UK, Evidence Exchange: learning from
social policy across the UK

37. Top 5 barriers
Oliver K, et al (2014).

38. Top 5 facilitators
Oliver K, et al (2014).

39. • Established relationships and networks with user communities
• Involving users at all stages with research
• Well-planned user-engagement and KTE strategies
• Portfolios of research activity that build reputations with
research users
• Good infrastructure and management support
• The involvement of intermediaries and knowledge brokers as
translators, amplifiers, network providers
*Summary of findings from the UK ESRC’s impact
assessment activities
The most important drivers of impact are:

40. Research utilisation:
what have we learned since 2001?
Research use is:
• a process, not a product
• complex, context specific
• translation, relationships, and systems matter
• often long time frames
• many kinds of evidence.. research just one

41. Three generations framework
system
relationships
translation Targeted and packaged for
key audiences
Build and take part in
relevant networks,
identify champions
Consider contextual
factors, barriers,
opportunities and
enablers of change

42. 10/07/2019 41©2018 www.matter-of-focus.com @matter_of_focus
More likely to address these
challenges and issues if…

43. Start with an impact vision (or pathway)
© 2018 Matter of Focus®
Helps to focus on potential impact
Provides a way of planning for impact
Communicates about what matters to the project or initiative
Provides a structure for thinking and learning about impact
Is a framework for evaluating impact

44. What difference will it make?
Understanding change
What do we want to change and Who
can make that happen?
We make this happen
if we have the right resources
and activities
We need people to respond well
and have the ability to change
to make this happen
We need other policies and ways
of doing things to be helping and
things beyond our control might
stop this happening
Sphere of indirect influence
Sphere of direct influence
Sphere of direct control
What does the
project do?
People we
have indirectly
influenced do things
differently
People or groups we
directly influence
Here we control what
happens
WHY
WHAT / WHO
HOW

45. Pathways to impact are best when
• Focus on the outcomes and impacts that matter
• Have an understanding of different levels of impacts
• Include a theory or model of impact (how we believe impact will
happen)
• Have taken account of the context in which any work sits
• Have buy-in from key stakeholders
• Are used as working documents
© 2018 Matter of Focus®

46. Mapping a pathway to impact
© 2018 Matter of Focus®
What they
do
differently
What we
do
Who with How they
feel
What they
learn and
gain
What
difference
does this
make?

47. Mapping a pathway to impact
© 2018 Matter of Focus®
What they
do
differently
What we
do
Who with How they
feel
What they
learn and
gain
What
difference
does this
make?
Here explain the
key activities
Explain who is
involved
How they react to
the activities, what
helps them engage
positively?
What knowledge,
skills or attitudes
change?
What behaviours,
policies or
practices
change?
What is better for
people or
communities?

48. Collect evidence on pathways to
• Understand if the change we seek is happening
• Learn and adapt
• Evidence the changes that result from our work
© 2018 Matter of Focus®

49. A bespoke patchwork of data, feedback and
evidence
© 2018 Matter of Focus®
Website
visits/downloads
Social media
Feedback about
experiences of
events/programme
Notes from staff
meetings about key
risks/assumptions
Reflective logs Focus groups On-line surveys
Press/media
coverage
Behavior change
measures
Creative feedback Videos/photos Policy analysis

50. At Matter of Focus
© 2018 Matter of Focus®
Have a software tool OutNav to help organisations set out,
navigate, collate evidence, understand and report on change.
Work closely with organisations to help them get the evidence they
need

51. A vision for the future of knowledge to action…
© 2018 Matter of Focus®

52. 10/07/2019©2018 www.matter-of-focus.com @matter_of_focus
Thank you!
Let’s keep the conversation going:
Website: www.matter-of-focus.com
Twitter: @matter_of_focus
LinkedIn: …/company/matter-of-focus