The Impact of Research on Development Policy and Practice: This Much We Know

BackgroundIn order to understand and measure the policy impact of research we need a definition of research impact that is suited to the task. This article systematically reviewed both peer-reviewed and grey literature for definitions of research impact to develop a definition of research impact that can be used to investigate how public health research influences policy.MethodKeyword searches of the electronic databases Web of Science, ProQuest, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Informit, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Google Scholar were conducted between August 2015 and April 2016. Keywords included ‘definition’ and ‘policy’ and ‘research impact’ or ‘research evidence’. The search terms ‘health’, public health’ or ‘mental health’ and ‘knowledge transfer’ or ‘research translation’ were used to focus the search on relevant health discipline approaches. Studies included in the review described processes, theories or frameworks associated with public health, health services or mental health policy.ResultsWe identified 108 definitions in 83 publications. The key findings were that literature on research impact is growing, but only 23% of peer-reviewed publications on the topic explicitly defined the term and that the majority (76%) of definitions were derived from research organisations and funding institutions. We identified four main types of definition, namely (1) definitions that conceptualise research impacts in terms of positive changes or effects that evidence can bring about when transferred into policies (example Research Excellence Framework definition), (2) definitions that interpret research impacts as measurable outcomes (Research Councils UK), and (3) bibliometric and (4) use-based definitions. We identified four constructs underpinning these definitions that related to concepts of contribution, change, avenues and levels of impact.ConclusionThe dominance of bureaucratic definitions, the tendency to discuss but not define the concept of research impact, and the heterogeneity of definitions confirm the need for conceptual clarity in this area. We propose a working definition of research impact that can be used in a range of health policy contexts.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12961-017-0247-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do we define the policy impact of public health research? A systematic review

Alla

Hall

Whiteford

et al. 2017

“…KT can provide mechanisms by which researchers and users can interact to combine scientific knowledge with experiential knowledge [ 3 ]. With this approach, users can be included in developing, producing, interpreting and applying RBE [ 4 ]. Integrating the knowledge of all stakeholders involved in resolving a health issue is essential to producing concrete and realistic recommendations that are adapted to the local context and based on research results [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A deliberative dialogue as a knowledge translation strategy on road traffic injuries in Burkina Faso: a mixed-method evaluation

Sween-Cadieux

Dagenais

Ridde

2018

IntroductionDeliberative dialogues are increasingly being used, particularly on the African continent. They are a promising interactive knowledge translation strategy that brings together and leverages the knowledge of diverse stakeholders important to the resolution of a societal issue. Following a research project carried out in Burkina Faso on road traffic injuries, a 1-day workshop in the form of a deliberative dialogue was organised in November 2015. The workshop brought together actors involved in road safety, such as researchers, police and fire brigades, health professionals, non-governmental and civil society organisations, and representatives of government structures. The objective was to present the research results, propose recommendations to improve the situation and develop a collective action plan.MethodTo better understand the workshop’s utility and effects, a mixed-method evaluation was conducted. Data were obtained from two questionnaires distributed at the end of the workshop (n = 37) and 14 qualitative interviews with participants 6–10 weeks after the workshop. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data, and a thematic analysis was conducted for the qualitative data.ResultsThe data revealed several positive impacts of the workshop, such as the acquisition of new knowledge about road safety, the opportunity for participants to learn from each other, the creation of post-workshop collaborations, and individual behaviour changes. However, several challenges were encountered that constrained the potential effects of the workshop, including the limited presence of political actors, the lack of engagement among participants to develop an action plan, and the difficulty in setting up a monitoring committee following the workshop.ConclusionWhile the deliberative workshop is not the standard format for reporting research results in Burkina Faso, this model should be reproduced in different contexts. This interactive knowledge translation strategy is useful to benefit from the experiential knowledge of the various actors and to encourage their involvement in formulating recommendations.

“…Using research evidence to inform practice, decision-making, and public policy is increasingly seen as a core concern, especially in global health [ 8 , 9 ]. Such use is optimized when sufficiently compelling knowledge translation (KT) strategies are implemented that are based on the sharing, exchange, and transmission of knowledge between researchers and users, thereby combining scientific and experiential knowledge [ 10 ]. Accordingly, several knowledge translation activities were undertaken to maximize the impact of the TRAUMA research project and ensure the sharing of research data [ 11 ].…”

Section: Knowledge Translation Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This reaffirms the importance of ensuring the presence of decision-makers at knowledge translation activities to make effective change possible [ 14 , 20 ]. This also underscores the importance for researchers of focusing on attracting decision-makers’ interest, convincing them of the added value of their recommendations, and persuading them to support the changes needed to put them into practice [ 10 ].…”

Section: What We Have Learnedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collaborative research and knowledge translation on road crashes in Burkina Faso: the police perspective 18 months on

Dagenais

Proulx²,

Sween-Cadieux

et al. 2021

In this commentary, we present a follow-up of two articles published in 2017 and 2018 about road traffic crashes, which is an important public health issue in Africa and Burkina Faso. The first article reported on a research project, conducted in partnership with local actors involved in road safety, carried out in Ouagadougou in 2015. Its aim was to test the effectiveness, acceptability, and capacity of a surveillance system to assess the number of road traffic crashes and their consequences on the health of crash victims. Several knowledge translation activities were carried out to maximize its impact and were reported in the 2018 article published in HRPS: monthly reports presenting the research data, large-format printed maps distributed to the city’s police stations, and a deliberative workshop held at the end of the research project. The present commentary presents our efforts to deepen our understanding of the impacts of the knowledge translation strategy, based on follow-up interviews, 18 months after the workshop, with the heads of the road traffic crash units in Ouagadougou police stations (n = 5). Several benefits were reported by respondents. Their involvement in the process prompted them to broaden their knowledge of other ways of dealing with the issue of road crashes. This led them, sometimes with their colleagues, to intervene differently: more rapid response at collision sites, increased surveillance of dangerous intersections, user awareness-raising on the importance of the highway code, etc. However, sustaining these actions over the longer term has proven difficult. Several lessons were derived from this experience, regarding the importance of producing useful and locally applicable research data, of ensuring the acceptability of the technologies used for data collection, of using collaborative approaches in research and knowledge translation, of ensuring the visibility of actions undertaken by actors in the field, and of involving decision-makers in the research process to maximize its impacts.