As researchers, we struggle constantly to ‘publish’, ‘disseminate’, ‘communicate’, or ‘influence’. We write short pieces which summarise our work. We organise and attend meetings. We give radio or television interviews. We offer evidence to parliamentary committees. Occasionally, we even answer the phone and find a decision-maker on the other end of the line. So much activity, for so uncertain an impact. And so little guidance on how to use our scarce resources. Surely, we can do better."
Monitoring equity and research policy
AFROTBNET Dissemination Workshop Report
From the period of September 1999 to date the Biomedical Research and Training Institute (BRTI) based in Harare, with financial support from International Development and Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada has been engaged in a multi-centre study which has strong public health implications: to find out the personal and system related determinants of access to health services by suspected and confirmed tuberculosis patients in developing countries. Tuberculosis being one of the most common killer disease before and present times once again is in the centre of attention of national health authorities, researchers as well as donor community as a re-
emerging phenomenon. To achieve maximum relevance of the study for the Southern African Region, four SADC countries, where tuberculosis is a major public health problem especially in association with HIV/AIDS were selected to participate in this multi-centre study. These countries are South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe being the coordinating centre. Research teams of the above mentioned countries held a workshop in Harare last year to discuss and disseminate the results of the study.
The workshop report and recommendations were compiled are now open for further discussion and review from a wider audience.
Further details: /newsletter/id/29032
Bridging the gap between research and policy
COHRED, Geneva, 2001
This learning brief is based on a paper which reviews the literature assessing how research impacts on policy, and how policy draws on research. The paper provides insight into the various modes of advocacy that researchers can adopt, methods of communication and dissemination they can use, and a number of new lessons about knowledge utilisation.
Forging Links for Health Research
Perspectives from the Council on Health Research for Development
As part of the lead up to the October 2000 International Conference on Health Research for Development in Bangkok, the Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED) called upon its associates around the world to reflect on achievements and setbacks in the 1990s. This book is the result of those reflections. In Forging Links for Health Research, a team of international experts record the important lessons of the past decade and suggest what must be done in the research arena to ensure a healthy future for all. It follows up on the landmark publication Health Research: Essential Link to Equity in Development (Oxford University Press, 1990) and is unique in its combination of evocative human stories and expert insight from international health researchers. Forging Links for Health Research will be of interest to academics, researchers, students, and policymakers in public health, epidemiology, health sciences, international health, development studies, and international affairs; professionals in donor organizations, development organizations, and NGOs worldwide; and concerned citizens, particularly health-care workers, interested in international affairs and Third World development.
Research into Action, Issue 26
Research into Action is COHRED's quarterly Newsletter. Some of the articles included in this issue are:
* Bali meeting confirms establishment of the Asian and Pacific Forum for Health Research
* Latest steps towards the establishment of the African Health Research Forum
* Prioritised health research in support of health systems development in Mali
* Global health studies based on local realities.
Turning Research into Action
For over twenty years, managers of health programs have relied on many types of research to help answer strategic and programmatic questions. Demographic surveys, rapid assessments, operations research, and sociological and economic studies contribute significantly to the manager's ability to formulate appropriate goals, determine strategies, and assess the achievement of program goals. Such contributions are leading program managers to appreciate research as an important management tool. To use this tool effectively, managers must be able to systematically transform research results into decisions. They will need support from decision makers who understand the implications of research findings, and who are ready to advocate for action. This issue of The Manager presents a process known as "decision-linked research," the goal of which is to establish effective partnerships between researchers and decision makers so that the research findings can be transformed into programmatic actions. The issue focuses on how to formulate these partnerships, how to forge common interests between researchers and the users of research results, how to make research understandable to those who will be affected by the results, and finally, how to transform research results into actions aimed at improving policies, strategies, and programs.
Bridging research and policy
Critical examination of the current thinking on the research to policy process
Stone, D; Maxwell, S.; Keating, M. Produced by: Bridging Research and Policy: workshop and research project (2001)
This paper reviews some of the existing literature in various disciplines exploring the relationship beteen research and policy, and draws out the implications for both researchers and policy-makers.
Bridging research and policy:
from workshops to an international programme
Young, J.Produced by: Bridging Research and Policy: workshop and research project (2001)
This proposal describes a participatory 4-month process to develop a bridging programme to improve linkages between development research and policy. The process will continue the discussions started at the Global Development Network conference in Tokyo (December 2000), and continued at the workshop on Bridging Research and Policy in Warwick (July 2001), to develop a programme including a number of fundable proposals for specific activities with wide ownership.
Toward Higher Levels of Analysis:
Progress and Promise in Research on Social and Cultural Dimensions of Health
The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released a report, August 2001, that proposes a research agenda for the NIH related to the social and cultural dimensions of health. The focus of the report is on the development of health-related research in the social sciences. The report, "Toward Higher Levels of Analysis: Progress and Promise in Research on Social and Cultural Dimensions of Health," is based on recommendations made by participants in an OBSSR-sponsored conference held on June 27-28, 2000. The report reflects the belief that the continuing development and advancement of social sciences research are critical to the "future success of studies integrating all levels of analysis, from the molecular to the community or nation".
Corridors of Hope in Southern Africa:
HIV Prevention Needs and Opportunities in Four Border Towns
This report summarizes the findings of an assessment conducted for the United States Agency for International Development’s "Corridors of Hope" Initiative, a regional HIV/AIDS prevention project focusing on key sites along the Durban-Lusaka highway in southern Africa. Conducted in November 1999 in Messina, South Africa, Chirundu, Zambia, and Beitbridge and Chirundu in Zimbabwe, the assessment sought to develop, test, refine and package a standard participatory methodology for evaluating HIV risk, identifying prevention opportunities and designing grounded, coordinated regional prevention initiatives.