Enreca Health > Calendar > Archive 2009 > Year 2009 > Strategic communication

Strategic communication of research results

Communication and research: Approaches to communicating your research to practice and policy

Audience analysis, research summaries and policy briefs

There is an increasing demand from funders, policy makers and other potential users of the research we do for clear and practical explanations - or our work and its results (e.g. research based policy briefs, summaries, etc.) After the completion of years of academic research, field works, testing of hypothesis and dissemination with informants, researchers must also have the skills to ‘repackage' the results of their work and explain its benefits to different audiences in simple terms. Some researchers have questions on the oversimplification of their work, which can be quite complex. But the fact is that simple and clear explanations of your research will increase its value - by making it easier for users outside the research community to benefit from. It can be rewarding to see research actually being taken in and used a solid ground for interventions.

Background

This workshop is a follow-up on the workshop held in March 2008 organised by ENRECA Health. It builds on one of the key recommendation from the HERA report assessing Danida-supported health research is to contribute to a better and more effective dissemination of research results. The amount of research-based information generated globally is overwhelming and challenges the effective utilisation of research-based knowledge in decision-making processes. With effective application of knowledge management approaches it is possible for an organisation to generate value from its information-based assets.
An important instrument in this process is to minimize the communication gap between researchers and decision-makers through development and dissemination of policy-briefs. In order to develop a policy brief that can effectively serve its intended purpose it should be made focused, accessible and feasible (see attached document). The policy brief is often said to be the most common and effective written communication tool in a policy campaign, yet, researchers often find the brief the most complex policy tool to develop. The Network, thus, is aiming at identifying efficient ways of developing research-based policy briefs, which, in turn, may serve as a tool that can be utilised by partner countries. 

Objectives

• Gotten an understanding of how to identify a specific audience and the benefits of his or her project;
• Produced a two-page brief based on their research;
• The possibility to continue working with an experienced research communication experts after the end of the workshop.

See the programme.

Read the evaluation.

Download an article by Michael Devlin.