Engagement, influencing and impact training for Danida supported researchers, September-October 2025
Dates of training/online:
On Thursdays: 11th, 18th, 25th of September and 2nd of October
from 9:30 am – 12 am CET.
The global challenges of today call for knowledge sharing and collaboration across countries, sectors, and disciplines.
The greatest challenges of our time won’t be solved by knowledge locked away in journals or libraries – they require action. Research has the power to drive real change, but only when it reaches the right people and is put to use.
To create meaningful impact, researchers can put that knowledge into action by engaging with communities, policymakers, businesses, and civil society who can use it. But how do you identify the right audiences, the most effective methods, and the best timing to ensure your work makes a difference? This course equips you with the skills to move research from theory to action, helping you transform knowledge into real-world solutions. The course encourages peer sharing of knowledge especially from those who already have significant experience in undertaking engagement activities within their research projects.
Five key principles of the training:
-
- The sessions provide accessible and practical guidance for time-pushed researchers, with a focus on facilitating peer learning and exploration of ideas in context.
- Through the course, you will develop your own communications and impact strategy and you will tasked with submitting it for written feedback.
- 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.
- Resources, templates and links will be provided to enable your learning to translate into action.
- The facilitator delivering the course, Rowena Harding, will aim to to answer questions throughout the course period (and immediately afterwards) on how to tailor insights gained to your specific project.
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.
Programme:
11 September / Session 1
11 September / Session 1:
What is research engagement and impact? What can engagement achieve?
Aim:
Focus on understanding what can be meant by engagement, and understanding what is an impact goal.
Including sessions, case studies and group work on:
Defining approaches to engagement
Defining your impact goal
18 September / Session 2
18 September / Session 2:
Engaging the right people
Aim:
How to identify the stakeholders of your impact goal
Including sessions, case studies and group work on:
Stakeholder mapping: finding the right people
Building relationships
Crafting the right message
Developing an impact strategy
25 September / Session 3
25 September / Session 3:
Engagement tactics
Aim:
Explore practical ways that researchers can engage 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
2 October / Session 4
2 October / Session 4:
How you know you’re making a difference
Aim: Identify ways you can check your engagement activities are working
Including sessions, case studies and group work on:
Understanding the importance of timing
Monitoring and evaluation for transformational change
Understanding micro impacts
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 helpresearchers 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:
Week 1:
11 September: Dr. Ann Kingiri, Senior Research Fellow at African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS)
Week 2:
18 September: Dr. Annette Skovsted, Associate Professor at Aarhus University & Dr. George Acheampong, Lecturer and Researcher, University of Ghana
Week 3:
25 September: Anna Temu, Senior Lecturer at Sokoine University of Agriculture and Founder of the
Week 4:
2 October: Dr. Sylvie Namwase, Post Doctorate Research Fellow at Human Rights and Peace Centre Makerere University
Further questions
You are welcome to contact event@dfcentre.dk, if you have questions related to this programme.
