Presentation on Research Uptake
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This basically covers the aspects of Research Uptake and Knowledge Translation which will be useful to those who are interested in health communication and uptake of research evidence to different audiences in Public or Private sectors.
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Presentation on Research Uptake
- 1. A Presentation on Research Uptake Presenter: Zunayed Al Azdi Research Associate, Research & Research Uptake Team,
- 2. Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement Overview Why do we need it?2 How do we do it?3 Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement What is Research Uptake (RU)?1 Slide 3 to 8 Slide 9 to 10 Slide 11 to 14
- 3. FindingResearch Design Writing Papers Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement What is it? Policy Makers Research Question 3
- 4. 4 The aims of Research Uptake (RU) Support the supply of research to users by ensuring research questions are relevant. Support the usage of research by strengthening commitment and capacity of research users Learn and use feedback for revising the uptake strategy and research design. 01 02 03 Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement
- 5. Research uptake is not always ‘up’ Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement 5
- 6. Uptake (or sidetake, or downtake) is unlikely to be about research findings alone Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement 6 Methods Tools Data-sets The Analysis Quality
- 7. Replication is uptake too (and so is inspiration) Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement 7
- 8. Dismissal is ‘uptake’ as well Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement 8
- 9. 9Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement The public can benefit from it Development programs benefit from evidence of what works and what doesn’t Policy-makers can make better policies Organization’s credibility increases
- 10. It is not just about making policy recommendations Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement 10
- 11. Design initial communication strategy Communicating - Tailoring research design to meet user needs - Interactive discussions of research results - Ongoing Stakeholders Engagement Initial Mapping of relevant stakeholders and context Stakeholders Engagement Design research uptake objectives that reflects in logical framework Maintaining and evaluating uptake 1 2 3 4 Assess existing capacity internally & externally Capacity Building - Continually monitor capacity - Modify Capacity building strategy accordingly - Package and disseminate emerging results - Rigorous synthesis - Gather data on uptake - Adapt research uptake objectives Research Program Duration Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement Elements of Research Uptake 11
- 12. Uptake of bad research is not good Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement 12
- 13. ‘Uptake’ should be good only when the process is traceable Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement 13 Process Practices Mapping Method
- 14. Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement 14 Research Process Research Design Result
- 15. 15 Thank You Integrity | Equity | Innovation | Improvement
Editor's Notes
- What our general practice is… For some, research uptake is all about research-generated evidence informing and influencing policy. This is by far the most common understanding of the term. However, for the organizations represented by diverse participants policy-makers are not the main target. Sometimes the focus is using research to inform the design, implementation and evaluation of programmes on the ground. For some, research uptake also includes researcher-to-researcher knowledge sharing and adoption. Research uptake is the process whereby research findings enter the domains of not only the intended but also unintended audiences. Thus it includes all the activities that facilitate and contribute to the use of research evidence by policy-makers, practitioners and other development actors.
- Research uptake activities aim to: support the supply of research to users by ensuring research questions are relevant through engagement with these users, communicating research effectively and synthesising and repackaging research for different audiences; support the usage of research by strengthening commitment and capacity of research users to access, evaluate, synthesise and use research evidence; learn and use feedback for revising the uptake strategy and research design.
- Not all ideas flow ‘upwards’ and to ‘policymakers’. What do we do? For most researchers the most immediate audience are other researchers. Ideas take time to develop and researchers need to share them with their peers first. And while doing so, preliminary ideas, findings, research methods, tools, etc. flow in both directions. ‘Uptake’ therefore can very well be ‘sidetake’. And this should remind us that there are many researchers in policymaking roles too; not all research is academic. Similarly, ‘uptake’ can also be ‘downtake’. Much of the research done is directed not at high level political decision-makers but at the public (think of public health information) or practitioners (think of management advice and manuals).
- If the findings were all we cared about, then research outputs would not be more than a few paragraphs or bullet-points long. While thinking about research uptake we have to keep in mind that the process is important too because it help us to maintain the quality of the conversation between the different participants of any policy process. Methods, tools, the data-sets collected, the analyses undertaken, etc. matter as well and can be subject of ‘uptake’. If policymakers doesn’t understand where ideas come from they become incapable of making informed decisions.
- There is also an element of inter-generational transfer of skills that must be taken into account when we consider research uptake. Much of the research that goes on in universities and research organizations has the purpose of helping to train new generations of researchers. If all research-work and all communication efforts were targeted at policymakers’ immediate needs what would be taught to students?
- Researchers, and their funders, need to understand that by playing the particular role (to provide evidence) they have given up the right to make the final choices. They cannot decide for smokers or other parents… -for obvious reasons- but they also can’t decide for politicians. But they should not expect that their research work alone, and their credibility, ought to be enough.
- The main reason why we need to consider R U are these: Making research available outside the walls of academia means that the public can benefit from it - directly or indirectly. Taxpayers in donor countries become aware of what their tax money is spent on. Development programmes benefit from evidence of what works and what doesn’t, which helps them deliver better results to beneficiaries, thus improving the lives of poor people across the world. Policy-makers in developed and developing countries alike can make better policies, which again benefits services provided to citizens, such as education, healthcare and others. And Our research is not something like other sectors (e.g. private pharmaceutical companies), where knowledge gets patented and shielded from being used by others. Research produced in the not-for-profit sector should be made available as widely as possible. It is thus our ethical (and often legal) obligation to engage in research uptake efforts. So, if research is made publicly available, it can add to the global process of knowledge generation, refinement and adoption.
- Setting the media agenda, or focusing policymakers attention on an issue of public interest is also a crucial function of Research uptake. So, research uptake is needed to set the agenda, to help explain a problem, to popularize ideas, educate the elites, create and maintain spaces of debate and deliberation, develop critical thinking capacities, ‘audit’ public and public institutions, etc.
- Early engagement and investing in building relationships with relevant stakeholders before, during and after the lifetime of the project is key to enhance the usage of research and thus the potential impact of a project. This concerns both internal capacities (consortium/team) as well as the capacities of stakeholders. Internal capacity for research uptake includes the knowledge, skills, time and attitudes needed to access, use, create, translate and communicate research information. External capacity for research uptake includes the knowledge, skills, time and attitudes needed to understand and use research information. Knowledge sharing and communication are central to enhancing the availability, relevance and accessibility of research. Research communication is based upon high quality research and it is a two-sided process. It asks to understand your audience, prioritize and target messages and use appropriate means for communication and learn and use feedback for adapting the research design and uptake strategies. Project teams are expected to integrate research uptake objectives and expected results as outcomes and outputs in the Impact Pathways (and Theory of Change), and to revisit and revise these according to early research results and emerging insights, shifts in knowledge needs and lessons learned from uptake activities.
- We should be careful about asking for uptake unless we are certain that the research undertaken is of the highest quality. Quality is their best line of defense against accusations of bias, lobbying, and self-interest.
- we can conclude that good uptake happens when good ideas, practices, and people are incorporated into a replicable and observable decision making process. What we want are good decision making capacities and not just good decisions. Bad decisions we can live with (it’s part of the democratic process); but bad decision making processes are unacceptable. And worse still is keeping these decision making processes out of sight.