This paper supports and complements "At the heart of change: the role of communication in sustainable development" by addressing the challenge of using communication more powerfully as an agent of change to establish faster, more sustainable development. It concludes with a call to action for international and national policy makers and leaders, asking them to: build more open, transparent information and communication systems and political cultures; treat information, communication and the media as public goods and invest accordingly; take a holistic view of communication processes and integrate communication into development planning and implementation; and invest in media development
This accessible briefing paper outlines a number of key issues and challenges for strengthening research communication and promoting evidence-based policy. It reviews a range of recent NGO initiatives and debates in this area and signposts a number of useful resources and case studies. Considers the need to bridge the gaps between researchers, policy-makers and practitioners, the role of influential policy networks, the role of political context, components of effective research communicatIon, and some promising initiatives at the 'research-practice boundary'
This briefing paper considers the findings of research conducted by REACH, an independent research trust in Malawi, on poverty and access to health care services at community level. It looks at the processes used by REACH to communicate findings into policy and practice. These include developing relationships with policymakers to enhance ownership of the research process, advocating research findings at policy fora, presenting findings generated by a range of research methods, and strategically framing the research in different discourses (eg poverty, gender) depending on the audience
Looks at the uptake of health research into policy in four developing countries - Malawi, Tanzania, India and Pakistan. Identifies a range of barriers to effective dissemination and uptake of research results based on interviews with researchers, policy-makers and a range of stakeholders. Makes recommendations for donor support to developing country research capacity and greater involvement of practitioners and policy-makers in the south in research priorities and applications