Before we go on to look at the findings in the Country Case Studies, let us first consider the kind of impact the research was intended to have, and what approaches can be taken to create impact. The study had four stated intentions around impact, which were expressed as key guiding questions:
- Does/can private sector engagement be better harnessed for the purpose of ending forms of VAWG (e.g. work based harassment)?
- Can better relationships between civil society women’s organisations and the private sector bring positive results in reducing VAW?
- What works to end Violence Against Women (VAW) and promote Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE)?
- What positive case studies exist across countries that could be built upon and replicated?
We have already noted that a stakeholder mapping and engagement with key stakeholders was regarded as important from the outset of the project, and a research uptake strategy was also development. Actively engaging with stakeholders throughout the study and keeping them updated on progress was a key part of this strategy.
Research Uptake
Essentially ‘research uptake’ is about putting research into practice. Sometimes, people also talk about ‘Outreach, Engagement and Communication’. Communicating in appropriate ways, knowing who your stakeholders are and how to reach out to them, and engage with them, are certainly key facets of any research uptake strategy.
The following brief reading highlights some of the key aims of the uptake strategy for the study, and the activities that took place:
> Key reading: Project Research Uptake Overview
Face to face workshops, and use of online approaches, all have potential value and were used in this project. In relation to online approaches, we used a WordPress blog site, regular newsletters distributed via email, and also shared material using social media including twitter and a Facebook Group. We were targeting both local stakeholder organisations from development, private and public sectors, and also wider international audiences and interested organisations and individuals.
Whether communication is face to face or via social media, the importance of the messenger cannot be underestimated, both in terms of who they can reach and what legitimacy they may add to a message . For example our most viewed online blog piece related to a story that involved a well-known Nepali actress called Rekha Thapa.
The importance of a final dissemination workshop cannot be underestimated, as it provides the opportunity to mobilise stakeholders, who ultimately can make the difference needed, if they draw successfully on the study findings in the work that they do. The links below convey information related the findings, and the process that was envisaged at the end of the workshop in terms of the uptake agenda.
>> Final ‘VAW in South Asia’ workshop
>> Dr Karuna Onto, DFID at workshop, on putting research into action
To fully embed new practice and policy thinking, requires more than communication, and consequently the project also has detailed frameworks for action and produced a new ‘Theory of Change’ which will be introduced under Theme 4. This short e-learning course is itself a further knowledge product designed to promote uptake and use of the research findings !
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