Key messages Embedded research initiatives come in a range of different shapes and sizes. Despite this variety, initiatives share a number of common features. An understanding of these features can promote dialogue about the design and management of embedded initiatives. These features can also guide systematic and evaluative enquiry of such initiatives. Background Research and researchers represent a rich source of empirical, theoretical and methodological knowledge that can help organisations with pressing challenges. There is, however, a
Key messages Embedded research initiatives are becoming increasingly popular across public sector organisations. There are many choices to be made when designing an embedded research initiative, and fresh challenges and tensions emerge as initiatives unfold. We present a structured, multilayered framework to support those designing, analysing and managing embedded research initiatives. The framework can support transparency, dialogue, agreement of expectations and ongoing learning within and between initiatives. Background ‘Embedded research
Strazzari, 2017 ). In this chapter, I reflect on my own experiences of doing embedded research in Darfur, Sudan. I do so to, first, illustrate how practical considerations of accessing sites of conflict are entangled with ethical considerations for scholarly work and for interventions themselves, and, second, to highlight how a combination of practical and ethical constraints impacts what we can say about places we study. While I had previously conducted embedded research—most notably in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the war—the two-week research visit to Darfur in
555 Evidence & Policy • vol 10 • no 4 • 555-64 © Policy Press 2014 • #EVPOL Print ISSN 1744 2648 • Online ISSN 1744 2656 • http://dx.doi.org/10.1332/174426414X14144247109334 Embedding research into practice through innovation and creativity: a case study from social services Alison Petch, alison.petch@iriss.org.uk Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services, UK Claire Lightowler, claire.lightowler@strath.ac.uk Centre for Youth and Criminal Justice, UK Lisa Pattoni, lisa.pattoni@iriss.org.uk Ian Watson, ian.watson@iriss.org.uk Institute for
Key messages Evidence use in local government is changing but in-house capacity remains underestimated and underutilised. Embedded, co-located researchers can work with local government navigators to use levers of influence. Changes to academic funding, career paths, incentives and assumptions are required. The influence and impact of embedded research in local government requires further testing. Summary The question explored in this study was how to embed a culture of research and evidence use in local government (LG). Although studies of LG
Using detailed insights from those with first-hand experience of conducting research in areas of international intervention and conflict, this handbook provides essential practical guidance for researchers and students embarking on fieldwork in violent, repressive and closed contexts.
Contributors detail their own experiences from areas including the Congo, Sudan, Yemen, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Myanmar, inviting readers into their reflections on mistakes and hard-learned lessons. Divided into sections on issues of control and confusion, security and risk, distance and closeness and sex and sensitivity, they look at how to negotiate complex grey areas and raise important questions that intervention researchers need to consider before, during and after their time on the ground.
This book provides a timely and novel contribution to understanding and enhancing evidence use. It builds on and complements the popular and best-selling “What Works?: Evidence-based policy and practice in public services" (Davies, Nutley and Smith, Policy Press, 2000), by drawing together current knowledge about how research gets used and how this can be encouraged and improved. In particular, the authors explore various multidiscipliary frameworks for understanding the research use agenda; consider how research use and the impact of research can be assessed; summarise the empirical evidence from the education, health care, social care and criminal justice fields about how research is used and how this can be improved and draw out practical issues that need to be addressed if research is to have greater impact on public services. “Using evidence" is important reading for university and government researchers, research funding bodies, public service managers and professionals, and students of public policy and management. It will also prove an invaluable guide for anyone involved in the implementation of evidence-based policy and practice.
Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Reporting on the innovative, transdisciplinary research on sustainable urbanisation undertaken by Mistra Urban Futures, a highly influential research centre based in Sweden (2010-19), this book builds on the Policy Press title Rethinking Sustainable Cities to make a significant contribution to evolving theory about comparative urban research.
Highlighting important methodological experiences from across a variety of diverse contexts in Africa and Europe, this book surveys key experiences and summarises lessons learned from the Mistra Urban Futures' global research platforms. It demonstrates best practice for developing and deploying different forms of transdisciplinary co-production, covering topics including neighbourhood transformation and housing justice, sustainable urban and transport development, urban food security and cultural heritage.
Building substantially on the earlier, landmark text, What Works? (Policy Press, 2000), this book brings together key thinkers and researchers to provide a contemporary review of the aspirations and realities of evidence-informed policy and practice. The text is clearly structured and provides sector-by-sector analysis of evidence use in policy-making and service delivery. It considers some cross-cutting themes, including a section of international commentaries, and concludes by looking at lessons from the past and prospects for the future.
This book will be of interest to a wide range of social science researchers, students and practitioners as well as those interested in supporting more evidence-informed policy and practice.
EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.
Written by a leading expert in the field, this practical and accessible book is an essential guide to knowledge exchange, impact and research dissemination in health and social care.
Providing the why, what, who, how and when of research impact, the book helps researchers turn raw findings into useful, high-impact evidence for policymakers, practitioners and the public. It includes insightful interviews from leading journalists, science communicators, researchers and influencers in health and social care, as well as practical exercises, insider tips and case studies. The book will help researchers at all stages of their career to maximise the impact of their work.
