As the UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti, we conduct research to inform policymaking and implementation. This project brief summarizes our work on research uptake and impact.

1. PROJECT BRIEF
Research
Uptake and Impact
What are the barriers to
evidence-informed decision
making? How can research
be more locally-owned?
©
UNICEF/UN0274594/Herwig

2. Overview
The last decade has seen a shift toward embedding
research uptake strategies into research program-
mes and measuring the impact. UNICEF Innocenti
identifies five building blocks that encompass
research uptake: Understanding evidence-in-
formed policymaking; Stakeholder engagement
and analysis; Capacity-strengthening; Strategic
communication; and Measuring impact. Strengthe-
ning demand for research and other forms of
evidence to inform decision-making is as important
as strengthening the supply of quality scientific
outputs. Recognizing that research impact timelines
tend to be long and indirect, we often look at
contributions rather than seeking to count direct
attributions. We look at impact pathways across five
conceptual domains: Academic Impact; Conceptual
Impact; Capacity-Building Impact; Collective Impact;
and Instrumental Impact.
Approach
(1) Institutional guidance on research uptake and
impact, including development of a specialist
training now rolled out globally to over 1,000
UNICEF staff and partners. (2) Independent research
impact case studies on core Innocenti programmes
such as drivers of violence affecting children and
children’s experiences online. (3) Annual Best of
UNICEF Research competition to recognize, reward
and identify options for scaling up the top research
efforts worldwide. (4) Alternative metrics to capture
the online reach and influence of research beyond
hits and downloads using PlumX and Overton. (5)
Workshops to develop programme-level Research
Uptake Strategies. (6) Understanding how Behavio-
ral Sciences can accelerate lesson-learning from
research and strengthen systems to improve
evidence uptake in decision-making, including
altering undesirable practices and behaviors.
Goal
We enhance capacity to understand the incentives
and barriers for evidence-informed decision-making
and ways to embed research into policy, program-
ming and advocacy based on co-creation, local
ownership of the research questions and enhanced
understanding of local context.
Project Highlights
PROJECT BRIEF
Contact Info
Kerry Albright
Chief, Research Facilitation
and Knowledge Management
kalbright@unicef.org
Thinking and Working Politically,
AGORA training course
(2021–2022)
To enhance uptake and use
of evidence – including our
understanding of what works in
scaling up – increased attention
is required to decipher contextual
and implementation factors.
Building upon UNICEF’s longstan-
ding use of Situational Analysis,
this new course (including a
webinar and workshop) will
help UNICEF staff understand
how to think and work politically
and flexibly, incorporating tools
and processes such as Political
Economy Analysis and Adaptive
Management and Learning.
Cross-Sectoral Lesson Learning
in Implementation Research
workshop (2021–2022)
Implementation Research (IR)
aims to improve outcomes and
overcome bottlenecks in program-
mes and policymaking. Long-used
within the health sector, other
areas are increasingly adopting
its key principles including local
ownership and co-creation of
the research question, adaptive
management and learning
with quick course-correction
throughout the process and
direct involvement of end users
throughout the implementa-
tion cycle to enhance systemic
change.This workshop explores
how to increase its use within
UNICEF programming, how to
examine lessons within and
beyond the health sector, and how
to demonstrate its added value
among the wider development
research community.
Enhancing Evidence Uptake and
Use thought leader webinar series
(2021–2022)
With some notable exceptions,
intervention strategies to enhance
uptake and use of (research)
evidence and methods have evolved
relatively little over recent decades.
Many outputs remain under-utilized
and systemic under-investment in
structures and mechanisms which
support demand for evidence to
inform decision-making remains
an obstacle.This webinar series
will invite thought leaders to (1)
showcase new and emerging
methods and tools which are
helping to capture the tangible
impacts from research investments;
and (2) share their ideas on how
to accelerate use of evidence as a
driver of change for children.