Institute of Development Studies

Impact and Learning Team

What makes development research accessible, relevant or appropriate for people outside the research community? Does development research get its due in policy making and practice? What would be value for money in research communication?

We are interested in how communication of research brings about change - in particular, what happens when people and technology mediate between researchers and decision makers. We use the term "intermediary" to describe people and technology acting in this way. We think they play a critical role in making knowledge accessible, relevant and responsive to demand.

The work we are doing in the Impact and Learning Team (ILT) is exploring and testing this assumption using action research. We support people to think about the difference they want to make as well as how they are going to go about it. We draw insights and approaches from IDS's history of research, and the fields of marketing, strategic planning and evaluation, and capacity development.

• At the planning stage, this can include stakeholder mapping and analysis, identifying intended outcomes and how to engage with key target groups.
• At the delivery stage this can include supporting people to identify what (capacities) they need to deliver on their plans and facilitating implementation.
• At the reflection stage this can include supporting learning and review. We acknowledge that the world is a complex place. In our work we want to explore new tools and processes that can cope with that complexity.

We talk about contribution not attribution, outcome orientation, Theory of Change, and being people-focused. As we go, we are seeking to support this sector by generating with our partners a series of resources to support others to apply the learning and strengthen intermediary capacities.

For general enquiries please contact Steve Tovell, ILT Programme Coordinator