Engagement, influencing and impact training for Danida supported researchers
Dates of training/online:  5, 12, 18, 26 September 2024.
10am and 12pm CET.

The global challenges of today call for knowledge sharing and collaboration across countries, sectors, and disciplines. Inclusive solutions must be found through the joint efforts of many different stakeholders such as communities, the private sector, civil society, public authorities, policy makers and academia.

As knowledge providers and bearers, scientists and researchers can play a key role in transforming their knowledge into action and provide inclusive solutions in collaboration with others. However, finding and prioritising the right target groups and users of your research, and the best-suited methods, the right time and channels to create impact is not always easy. It requires planning and skills.

Five key principles of the training:

1. The sessions provide accessible and practical guidance for time-pushed researchers, with a focus on facilitating peer learning and exploration of ideas in context.
2. Through the course, you will develop your own communications and impact strategy and you will tasked with submitting it for written feedback.
3. You will also be tasked with talking about your research goals in a clear, salient and lively way in a 60 Sec elevator pitch to the cross-continental community of Danida supported researchers.
4. Resources, templates and links will be provided to enable your learning to translate into action.
5. The facilitator delivering the course, Rowena Harding, will be available for a 30 minute drop-in at the end of each session for any questions or concepts you want to discuss. She will also be available to answer email queries throughout the course period (and immediately afterwards).

The Engagement, Influencing and Impact training for Danida supported researchers will strengthen your skills in engagement and outreach for impact. It will help your research having greater impact with the stakeholders you are trying to reach.

Check this video with testimonies from participants of the previous cohorts.

Programme:

5 Sept / Session 1:
What is research engagement, influencing and impact? What can it achieve?

Aim:
Focus on understanding what can be meant by engagement, outreach and advocacy and the benefits of integrating engagement approaches into research methodologies.

Including sessions, case studies and group work on:
Danida Fellowship Centre’s Knowledge in Action strategy and impact research
Defining approaches to engagement and advocacy
Building engagement into research methodologies and an overview of methodologies, including co-production, action, and participatory research

12 Sept / Session 2:
Engaging the right people

Aim:
Why and how to strategically engage with stakeholders – and what this can achieve.

Including sessions, case studies and group work on:
Stakeholder mapping
Engaging with stakeholders
Developing an impact strategy

18 Sept / Session 3:
Engagement and activity tactics

Aim:
Explore practical ways that researchers can think about engaging and communicating with stakeholders to achieve impact.

Including sessions, case studies and group work on:
Different engagement activities for different audiences over the lifetime of a project
Creative ideas to engage with less work in different settings, cultures, environments
How to engage policy audiences and questions
Further developing your impact strategy

26 Sept / Session 4:
Research into action: partnerships, politics and progress.

Aim: Review and reflect on some of the key themes of the course. How can you tell if your activity is working?

Including sessions, case studies and group work on:

Influencing change; the potential for working with partners
Monitoring and evaluation for transformational change
Further developing your impact strategy
Sessions and skills tailored to participant’s needs…and where to next!?

Facilitator:

The seminars are planned and implemented in collaboration with the Impact Consultancy. Consultant Rowena Harding is a former journalist and public relations practitioner who has spent the last 20 years
delivering strategic communications and marketing campaigns for development and social justice
NGOs, research institutes and campaigning organisations. She has delivered training and support
to global development researchers in the UK, Africa and Asia looking to increase the impact of their
research and has been recently working with government-funded initiatives to increase their reach with
civil society groups. She has been embedded within the Global Development Institute at the University
of Manchester, and appreciates the many time pressures on today’s researchers. She hopes to help
researchers gain confidence in getting their research where it needs to go!

(Tentative) guest speakers with relevant practical experience to each session’s theme will broaden the perspectives:
5 September: Dr. Adelina Mensah, Research Fellow at the Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies (IESS), University of Ghana.
12 September: Ann Kingiri, principal Research Fellow and Director of Research and Innovation at the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS)
18 September: Dr Zahara Nampewo, legal and development practitioner and academic with over 20 years of experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors.
26 September: Harriet Gimbo, women rights activist and feminist. She worked with ActionAid International, Global Secretariat as the Program Quality and Learning Advisor. Harriet is development practitioner with 18 years’ experience having worked as Country Director ActionAid Zambia, Director Programs, Program Development Manager and Women rights Coordinator at ActionAid International Uganda.

Further questions
You are welcome to contact Research@dfcentre.dk, if you have questions related to this programme.