PEP RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

PEP Strategy and Guidance

Communicating research findings in order to inform and influence policy is one of the greatest challenges of the academic field. Over the past few years, PEP has devoted extensive resources to build its organizational expertise in terms of research communications, collecting information from several sources - institutions such as IDRC, GDN, ODI, i.e. experimented knowledge-brokers – and from past experiences of PEP-supported researchers in the process of policy influence.

The main outcomes of this initiative are detailed in the:

Therefore, when undertaking initiatives to contribute to poverty reduction in their home countries, PEP researchers can now rely on the network’s support every step of the way; from the development of their research capacities and expertise, to the communication of their findings and policy recommendations to national stakeholders.

In order to assist researchers in building their policy influence plan - right from the design of their research proposals - PEP has also synthesized all relevant information, advices and tips in one brief but highly informative “Guide” on “how to influence policy”.

On the occation of the 9th PEP general meeting in Cambodia (December 2011), a special workshop was held to provide attending researchers with some advice and guidance regarding the different aspects (steps, activities, tools, etc..) of communications and policy advocacy in the context of development research.

Find a summary of these tips and advice in the enclosed workshop (PPT) presentation "Making your Research Count".

Activities : to help make research count!

The areas of activities in which researchers can benefit from PEP’s experience include:

  • Defining policy issues
  • Identifying relevant audiences
  • Building networks and interacting with media
  • Consulting with national policy makers/stakeholders
  • Organizing national policy conferences
  • Presenting at international conferences
  • Making policy briefs

PEP does not only encourage these initiatives, but also provides researchers with both technical and financial support to undertake them, especially in the case of dissemination activities following conclusion of the research work:

Related instructions and guidelines for researchers who wish to undertake such initiatives are provided in the "Funding" section of the PEP website, here: http://www.pep-net.org/funding/guides/

Finally, PEP researchers' findings are also dissmeminated through the network's frequent newsletters (PEP-Talk - over 8000 recipients), annual reports, social networks (facebook and twitter) and blog postings, as well as through a specially dedicated section of the website reporting on "Policy Findings and Recommendations from PEP Research". In total, PEP has now over 9000 members who have subscribed on its website.

References and external resources:

The following presents valuable resources and references to convince and assist you in both defining and undertaking an effective policy outreach strategy.

Videos:

  • IFPRI Conference on the “Challenges, Methods and Innovations in Assessing Policy Influence”. About the lessons and challenges regarding research communications for evidence-based policymaking; skip to the second presentation given by IDRC Director of the Evaluation Unit, Fred Carden, which is of particular interest in the context of building a policy influence plan.

The two following videos are good illustrations of :

Blogs:

  • "On think tanks" : often presents useful tips, references and forceful arguments in favor of research communications. 
  • "Zunia" is also an important platform to promote and share work in development research

Documents:

  • Carden, Fred (2009), « Knowledge to Policy: Making the Most of Development Research », IDRC, SAGE publications, 209 p. (online)
  • Hovland, Ingie (2005), « Successful Communications: a Toolkit for Researchers and Civil Society Organisations », ODI Research and Policy in Development program (RAPID), ODI, London, 69 p. (online)
  • Start, Daniel and I. Hovland (2004), « Tools for Policy Impact: a Handbook for Researchers », ODI Research and Policy in Development, ODI, London, 64 p. (online)


Web Sources - Specialized Organisations:

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