Dear all,

 

Here at CommsConsult we’re doing a piece of work for the DRUSSA programme (Development Research Uptake in Sub-Saharan Africa) and are looking for some help from you.

They’re planning to develop a series of training materials to support universities to build capacity in research uptake management (RUM).  They define Research Uptake Management (RUM) as ‘an emerging university management field with a practical, cost-effective and sustainable approach to making research accessible and getting research into use. It requires specialist individual capacity, aligned organisational structures and strategic management processes to optimise conditions for the accessibility, dissemination, uptake and application of scientific evidence.’

 

The programme has already amassed a range of workshop materials and presentations around this topic and wants to commission an audit of these internal resources, as well as of similar external resources, in order to determine what the new series of training materials should cover.

 

The new series will be aimed at complementing the existing programme of Mphils, Phds and short professional courses in knowledge utilisation for DRUSSA universities and others. The intended audience is practitioners working in the field at operational level within DRUSSA universities.  

So for this purpose we’re interested in unearthing any and all materials around how an institution thinks about, develops strategies, policies and processes for;  nurtures staff to be more effective and passionate about; generate resources for; and evidences what impact is achieved through… a more strategic approach to research uptake. We have plenty of materials about the various elements of research uptake that an individual researcher needs to know and do, but it is at the institutional level where we think the gap is.

 

It may be that you feel you have specialist knowledge of, or access to offline materials in a particular area of research uptake that we don’t already know about (e.g. because it’s not available online, or is not well known).

We believe the mapping is a really helpful exercise to make visible - not only for the DRUSSA programme but to a much wider community including Think Tanks – resources that will help organisations to systematise a different way of managing research. We are encouraging DRUSSA to not only make the mapping public, but to offer the distance learning modules generated, also free of charge to whoever wants to learn.

 

So, if you have some RUM-related materials or information you would like to share, please either complete our short survey and/or get in contact with us via drussa@commsconsult.org so that we can make sure your input is heard and arrange appropriate follow up with you.

 

Thank you in advance,

 

Jo

 

Jo Reid

Project Manager

CommsConsult Ltd

Tremough Innovation Centre

Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9TA

Tel: +44 (0)1326 313133

Skype: joannacreid

Twitter: @joannacreid @CommsConsultLtd

 

Please note: I work Mondays and Tuesdays only.

 

http://www.commsconsult.org/

http://www.researchtoaction.org/