Share and apply results

For research to tackle complex real-world problems and develop solutions, research partnerships should co-create knowledge within transdisciplinary teams. Ideally, these teams would include scientists, practitioners, community representatives, and policymakers. Working in multi- and transdisciplinary teams enhances the relevance of research, opening up pathways to sharing, applying, and scaling results. Demand-driven or locally-led initiatives require the integration of contextual, systemic, Indigenous, local, and traditional knowledge, as well as different priorities and values. Tapping into these diverse knowledge systems and complementary competences ultimately leads to more robust and relevant results. By integrating multiple perspectives, research partnerships ensure that the knowledge produced is both academically rigorous and contextually relevant. To maximize real-world impact, consider seeking support for communicating results to all partner countries’ ministries and local embassies.

In-depth:

Tools:

Further Resources:

Enable continuous interaction between researchers, strategic partners, and stakeholders, e.g. through workshops, events, excursions, meetings, and forums. This helps to ensure that the research benefits the context in which it is conducted, while contributing to scientific advancement.

Further ressources:

Reporting, monitoring, or evaluation are not just important to fulfil compliance obligations: they should also be understood as enabling factors that create both upwards and downwards accountability. Use integrated follow-up reporting and evaluating mechanisms as well as feedback loops to foster a dynamic exchange between the various actors (see P1).

Further ressources:

Foster open science, transparency, and data sharing by making research processes and findings accessible to a broader audience. Together with your partners, decide which channels are most appropriate for sharing data and results. This helps to avoid information asymmetries and selective reporting, and ensures that the knowledge generated benefits both the global scientific community and the local communities involved in its creation. Allocate funding for article processing costs, language editing, and translation, to ensure that all partners can publish open access. Ensure that the contribution of all involved actors is recognized adequately (see P3, “Agree on authorship and intellectual property rights” and P4, “Acknowledge the contributions of all partners” and “Consider your impact on research systems”).

Further ressources:

News:

While recognition in international journals remains valuable for individual academics, other means of disseminating research findings may have greater real-world impact. Adopt multilingual and inclusive language approaches when communicating project results, and use diverse science–society–policy interaction formats that are specifically tailored to a non-academic audience. Most importantly, do not wait till the end of a research project to communicate about it. Instead, plan for mutual dialogue and ongoing interaction with the public throughout the research process. Consider communication needs at an early stage of the project, i.e. when drafting the agenda and budget.

Tool:

Communicating research results effectively requires specific skills and competences. Strengthen researchers’ skills in science communication and in collaborating with science communication experts. This collaboration can involve individuals, institutions, or intermediary organizations that facilitate science–society and science–policy dialogue. Many NGOs also develop policy briefs or organize events, workshops, and policy dialogues that foster communication and collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and practitioners. Consider diverse formats such as science demonstrations, science lunches for members of parliament, policy fellowships, round tables, and collaborative workshops, to enable direct, meaningful dialogue and promote evidence-based decision-making.

Innovative research projects must look beyond the limited timeframe and scope of a single initiative. Instead, aim to build on the results of such initiatives to inspire ongoing or continuous research. Use the results to leverage policies, knowledge, social and political capital, and financial resources from various actors (private, public, and government) to help scale up sustainably.

Tools: