Blog: Research impact - make it, don’t fake it

As a former journalist, I like to tell good stories. Stripping away the complexity and the jargon, I like narratives to have a beginning, middle and, where possible, a happy ending. But in international development storytelling isn’t always easy and we rarely reach a satisfactory ending.

The world can be messy. Despite best intentions and clearly mapped pathways to impact, projects often have to adapt to accommodate the competing needs of partners, budget restrictions and general uncertainty. 

Amongst all of this there are also the increasing pressures to demonstrate to research funders and commissioners that money has been well spent and that impact has been achieved. Some people are clearly good at making big claims and “faking it til they make it”, but to my mind telling people what they want to hear is one of the biggest pitfalls of evidence sharing.

Complexities of the policy development process

A recent impact evaluation of the ESRC-DFID Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research, recognised the complexities of the policy development process, and the multifaceted nature of social science impact. It may be several years before the relevance of some work is fully recognised and for changes to take place. Recognising this is important as it forces us to think about the importance of incremental change and to really drill down into the details of a story. To support social science researchers to achieve impactful research, ESRC provides an Impact Toolkit which includes practical information, approaches and best practice in this area.

Impact stories that demonstrate how ESRC-DFID research is improving lives in positive ways

A new series of impact stories produced by the Impact Initiative, examines a range of challenges that occurred during the research process, the different approaches taken, and how barriers in achieving impact were overcome. Ultimately, these stories also demonstrate how research funded through the ESRC-DFID Strategic Partnership is improving the lives of people around the world in positive ways.

The stories are wide ranging – from Reducing teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone, to Improving rural lives through the Liberian motorbike boom to paving the way for improved learning and Reducing school dropout rates in Malawi and Lesotho. As a collection of stories they provide easy access to project outcomes and insights that may help to progress understanding of wider development issues. But these stories do not require you to be an expert to appreciate them. They are clearly told without being oversimplified. The intention is that as individual stories they are a good read that will ultimately stimulate thought provoking discussions and contribute to wider change.

I hope you enjoy them.