Influencing policy with research

In these times of austerity research funding is under more pressure than ever. In this environment it is more important than ever to ensure that the social research is appropriately targeted for maximum impact.  This one day course is aimed at giving participants the tools and techniques to make their research policy relevant,
from the design stage through to making policy recommendations on the basis of their research findings. Participants will learn through a combination of presentations, informal discussions and practical sessions, including pre-course reading.

Course outline
Course content covers:
• What is policy?
• Designing for policy relevance
• Formulating recommendations
• Communicating with impact

Who is it aimed at?
This is an intermediate level course, which assumes some general familiarity of qualitative or quantitative research methods.

You will find the course useful if you:
• Conduct social research
• Manage research projects
• Communicate findings to policymakers and practitioners

Learning outcomes
By the end of the programme participants will be able to:
• understand how research can impact on policy making and practice
• critically evaluate their policy area and context
• demonstrate awareness of the impact of research design and management on the policy relevance of findings
• understand how to plan and timetable for policy recommendations throughout the research project
• formulate persuasive and relevant policy recommendations
• understand how to communicate through different media to reach the target policy audience