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This course will teach you more about the Research for Impact approach, which is a set of principles and practises that will help you make your research more impactful. Historically, the goals and outcomes of research projects were to contribute knowledge and communicate that knowledge through academic publications and journal articles. However, if we truly want our research to have an impact, we must conduct it differently. Policy, practise, behaviour, and attitudes are all influenced by research.
In this course, you will learn :
- Recognize the key interwoven elements of Research for Impact in the context of development and adaptation research.
- Identify the activities that are involved in Research for Impact.
- Evaluate opportunities in your research plan using a Research for Impact lens, and identify challenges using a Research for Impact approach.
Syllabus :
1. Introduction to Research for Impact
- Bringing about change
- Climate change and complex systems
- Wicked problems and adaptation research
- What is Research for Impact?
- Elements of Research for Impact
- Why researchers use Research for Impact
2. Planning for Impact
- Social change and complexity
- Planning for change with a complexity lens
- Impact pathways in Research for Impact1
- Understanding the system you want to influence
- Choosing your strategies
- Observing, reflecting and adjusting
3. Engaging and Partnering
- Strategic partnerships
- Why should I work with stakeholders?
- Who are my stakeholders anyway?
- Principles of stakeholder engagement
- Stakeholder engagement methodologies
- Power and politics in climate change research and action
- Case study: Ghana Using Transformative Scenario Planning to identify community problems and collaboratively develop solutions - Prince Ansah
- Researchers share their practical challenges in using the Research for Impact approach
4. Communicating for Impact
- Why strategic communications?
- Strategic communications and the Research for Impact elements
- Planning for effective research communication
- Knowledge systems, management, analysis and brokers
5. Building Capacities
- Why do we need capacity development?
- Developing researchers' capacities
- Developing others' capacities
- Different types and aspects of capacity development
- How to develop capacities
- Dealing with challenges
6. Influencing for Impact
- What is Power and Influence
- Influence in Research for Impact
- Who Are We Trying To Influence?
- How to build an influencing strategy
- Linking the elements in an influencing strategy
- Researchers share their practical tips for using the Research for Impact approach
