The Impact Initiative

Our mission is to increase the uptake and impact of research from two major research programmes jointly funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO): the Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research and the Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems Research Programme. [read more] 

The Impact Initiative 

Explore the research

Education
Teaching and learning, poverty, gender, disability

RLO
Children & Young People
Health, education, protection, livelihoods
Gender
Health, education, social norms, power, rights
Governance
Participation, accountability, citizenship, rights
Health
Health equity, accountability, infectious diseases, maternal health
Livelihoods
Making a living, securing basic necessities
Security
Development and conflict contexts, local governance, religion, gender
Urban/Rural
Issues specific to urban or rural contexts, migration, the environment

Track the impact

Testing and showcasing ways that research can bring about change

Outsourcing Primary Education in Liberia

Following contracting out of government primary schools to private companies in Liberia, researchers have examined the effects of these partnerships and how the schools deliver (or fail to deliver) better outcomes.

Improving Early Childhood Education in Rural Bangladesh

Research in Bangladesh demonstrates how early childhood programmes could be effectively adapted for implementation at scale, using locally available resources and infrastructure.

Financial Entrapment of Street Vendors in Colombia

The Mayor of Cali has incorporated a financial policy to enable street vendors to borrow money quickly and reasonably, and build a sustainable livelihood.
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Download the resources

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Covid-19: Education Research Impact

The effects of Covid-19 have been far reaching. Beyond being a recognised global health emergency, it has wide-ranging effects on children’s schooling around the world. This paper draws on lessons from a webinar organised by the Impact Initiative that explored how researchers need to think differently about impact for education policy and practice in the context of Covid-19. It provides insights from education policy actors and researchers on how they are adapting their thinking on the types of impact that can be achieved in the context of Covid-19.

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Education Accountability Relationships in India

Seeks to enhance our understanding of accountability relationships, how they function, and with what effect on learning outcomes, in both the short and long term. The research offers not only relevant, contextual evidence, but also highlights key implications for policy and practice.

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Engaging Research with Global Movements

Highlights the key points and emerging policy themes arising from a virtual event which focused on engagement with global advocacy movements as an impact pathway. The event was hosted by the Global Coalition Against Child Poverty (GCACP) and the Impact Initiative in May 2020.
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Catch up on the news

Celebrating the successes and lessons of the Raising Learning Outcomes Programme
Reported outcomes ‘harvested’ from across the Raising Learning Outcomes Programme to build a picture of the diverse processes and pathways to impact across the portfolio have been presented at an Impact Initiative hosted webinar on ‘Celebrating the Successes and lessons of the Raising Learning Outcomes Programme.’
Knowledge brokering must accompany research from the start
Impact support services that try to build the capacity of researchers and broker knowledge between academia, policy and practice need to be built into programmes from the start. This is one of the key messages coming out of a new review commissioned by the UKRI. With the launch of the new Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), capturing learning from the ESRC-DFID Partnership could not come at a better time.
Policy and research: It’s the relationships stupid
The evidence community is finally taking the relational and societal aspects of getting evidence into use seriously. James Georgalakis asks if donors, researchers, elected officials and policy professionals are ready to create research-policy partnerships that can deal with these social realities. Relationships should be built on trust, an understanding of our differences and where the sweet spot for collaboration exists.
Working in partnership with multiple stakeholders on global policy processes: Disability and Inclusive education
This webinar will explore the opportunities and challenges of engaging research with multiple stakeholders and with global policy processes. We will reflect on the Impact Initiative’s work with multiple stakeholders concerned with disability and inclusive education and create a space for the sharing of other experiences of working with evidence informed policy discussions.
COVID 19: Thinking differently about education research impact
In the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, researchers are faced with the challenge of adapting their plans for achieving changes in policy and practice through new evidence. A webinar hosted by the Impact Initiative set out to explore how researchers may need to think differently about impact for education policy and practice, and what kind of support they might need from funders and policy actors.
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Access support

The Impact Initiative exists to connect policy makers and practitioners with the world class social science research supported by the ESRC-FCDO Strategic Partnership. We seek to identify research synergies and support grant holders from the Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation or Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems Research Programme to exploit influencing and engagement opportunities, and facilitate learning. Discover how to maximise the impact of your project.

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Motorcycles and food security in African 'secondary cities'

Researchers, civil society groups, and policymakers, explored policy opportunities to support motorcycle taxi transport in addressing urban food security challenges.

Migrants provide solutions for urban sustainability

Researchers and policymakers from city and national planning agencies discussed the insights and challenges faced by migrants in rapidly growing cities in Bangladesh.