Dialogue, interviews and presentations
Dialogue is vital for generating shared understanding between researchers and potential users of the research.
The challenge of ‘knowledge exchange’ or ‘impact’ across institutions is that it involves communication between professionals with different understanding, concerns, interests and priorities. Interviews with potential users can challenge, inform and stimulate thinking about the significance of the research, and about what is needed to make it useable.
In our experience, practitioners need different detail, not less detail, than an academic report. Enabling people to use research can make new demands on the evidence and on the explanations of it. Hence the challenge is not just an engaging format or style. It’s about working out what concepts and insights need to be communicated, and with whom, to enable the research to be heard, understood and potentially have impact.
We bring expertise in interviewing potential users, experts and stakeholders, and in then analysing (and/or video-editing) the interviews to inform the project. We also bring expertise in facilitating discussions with practitioners, industry, policy-makers and publics on complex issues. We help to ensure that project presentations, discussions and reports address the fundamental questions, concerns and priorities.
Our role as a 'semi-outsider' to the research is often vital in asking the basic questions, in helping the research team to hear the underlying issues, concerns and priorities behind the detail, and in working out how to respond. That role is also valuable when articulating concepts from the research which may be very familiar to the team but need elaboration for others.
Examples from current and past projects.
Interviewing key policy-makers and stakeholders to explore policy priorities, concerns and issues. Analysing and reporting the responses to the team. Providing edited video of the responses.
Continued.
Dialogue p2
Examples from current and past projects (continued).
Interviewing current and potential users of the research, to explore their interest, priorities, concerns and potential uses of the research, and to develop useful case studies.
Discussions with key researchers to develop accessible and engaging explanations of core concepts, explore current limitations, develop illustrative examples and add further expert voices to research outputs.
Facilitating workshop discussions and presenting analysis of issues and concerns raised in interviews to generate understanding across sectors and move the debate forward.
Consulting public and other stakeholders through interviews and/or focussed discussion groups or citizen panels. Image: a citizen panel on managing radioactive wastes for UK CoRWM. More…
- Click on this last image to watch a 2-minute visual report of our engagement at SETAC Europe 2011 Milan.
Organising events with opportunities for potential users to engage in discussion with the research team, to have guided hands-on experience and/or to discuss issues previously recorded on video.
If would like your research to make a difference, and want to collaborate in working out how to do so, then contact us.
Lancaster UK