Jump to Navigation
HomeNewsEventsResourcesImpact Lab
Projects
Children & Young PeopleEducationGenderGovernanceHealthLivelihoodsSecurityUrban/Rural
Search

The Impact Lab

What makes impact work?

The Impact Lab seeks to strengthen links and create dialogue by providing an outline of the issues and clear lessons for knowledge practitioners, donors and researchers. 

Find out here how to enable change through social science research or read more about why the Impact Lab was set up.

Cover_cropped.jpg

The Impact Initiative has maximised the impact of global development research through dialogue, synthesis and communications for six years. The Impact Initiative team would like to thank the researchers and partners that have made this initiative possible:

Additional publications and resources published as part of the Impact Initiative, including outputs from the individual projects enabled through ESRC-FCDO's Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research and Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems Research Programme, are available from the Impact Initiative collections which are stored in the IDS OpenDocs repository.

Impact stories

Impact Initiative impact stories highlight the overall impact of projects funded within the ESRC-DFID Strategic Partnership, showcasing a rich source of development research evidence which will appeal to audiences beyond academia.

See more

Impact story

Improving Adult Literacy in Niger Through Mobile Calls to Teachers

Research in adult education programmes in Niger directly led to improved reading and maths scores. Based on the evidence, the approach has also been tested by the Ministry of Education in primary schools.
Read more

Impact story

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.
Read more

Impact story

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.
Read more

How to enable impact

Resources to help you generate impact

  • ESRC Impact toolkit
  • DFID Research Uptake Guidance

More resources from the Impact Initiative.

Edited collection: 

First-hand accounts of impact to action which focus on how to institutionalize best practice and lessons. The collection reflects a range of experiences (both negative and positive) and includes in-depth case studies and featured authors. This collection draws on what is common, as well as unique, across different sectors and perspectives. Contributors include researchers, funders, practitioners and policymakers

Maximising the Impact of Global Development Research

This report, by the Impact Initiative for International Development Research, provides an approach for brokering evidence across large research investments.

The social realities of knowledge for development

Analysis of the critical challenges faced by organisations and individuals involved in evidence-informed development through a diverse set of case studies and think pieces

Where to get funding for impact

  • ESRC Funding opportunities and guidance
    The ESRC funding gateway
  • ESRC Impact Acceleration Accounts (IIAs)
    provides specific funding for knowledge exchange activities

Learning guides: 

A series of Learning Guides which draws on the lessons for successful impact.

Each Learning Guide identifies replicable approaches to effective engagement in a particular area previously identified as a potential barrier for impact

© JB Russell /Panos Senegal, Diagho.

Opportunities, Ownership and Tailored Outputs: How to respond to demand for evidence

Cultivating demand for evidence to influence policy and practice for greater research impact

Engaging research with policy and practice

How to engage research with policy and practice to strengthen decision-making

G.M.B. Akash/Panos

Strengthening Networks and Building Relationships to Increase the Impact of Global Development Research

Strong networks and relationships contribute to greater impact of global development research

  • Load more
  • About us
  • Newsletter
  • Contact us
  • Glossary
  • Privacy
  • Home
  • News & Views
  • Events
  • Themes
  • Projects
ESRC and UK aid logos