This guide for researchers in socio-economic sciences and humanities provides help in creating policy briefs, project websites, flyers and brochures. It offers insights into dealing with the press and contains suggestions on how to organise a final project conference. The aim is to “build a functional communications interface between researchers and policymakers.” The key topics […]

This handbook presents communication tools grouped under the headings of planning, packaging, targeting and monitoring tools. Tools include problem tree analysis, visioning scenarios, blogging and outcome mapping. The tools are specifically geared towards the needs of researchers in civil society organisations. They are a product of the work of the Overseas Development Institute’s Research and […]

Purpose: To stimulate thinking about the political and institutional environment, especially: How it affects the persistence of a particular problem Where reform is most likely to come from Implications for the use of research-based evidence. Description: This thinking tool has 5 questions. 1. Which branch of government holds the key to change?   This involves […]

Purpose: To demonstrate how games based on models can assist decision making and change on complex problems. Description: This video demonstrates how well-designed games, with skilled facilitation, empower players to make better decisions. When those with power to make change are the players, games can assist in finding innovative ways to make progress on difficult […]

Purpose: To systematically solicit and collate expert judgments on a particular topic, which also provides a structured way for the experts to build on each other’s ideas. Description: Each expert is asked for their judgment on a topic using a questionnaire or interview; this does not require the experts to meet. The responses are collated and summarised and returned to the experts before proceeding with a second round of questions about the topic, often leading to voting on a particular question...

Purpose: Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a method, a theory of action, a dialogue process, and a whole of system concept that brings together members of an organisation to clarify, develop and integrate their visions about their joint endeavours. The aim is to build on something in the organisation that works well and that can move the organisation to a higher level of goal attainment to strengthen the future of the organisation.

Purpose: Nominal group technique is a special-purpose method for problem solving or idea generation. It taps and combines individual judgments to arrive at decisions that could not be determined by one person. It is not a tool for routine meetings or for negotiating or bargaining. It is not a tool for routine meetings or for negotiating or bargaining. Instead it is a technique for judgmental or creative decision making where there is lack of agreement or an incomplete state of knowledge about either the nature of the problem or about what is required to reach a successful solution.

Purpose: To provide an introduction to creating powerful messages, also known as ‘framing.’  Description: Key elements of framing are highlighted. The characteristics of a good frame are: It is ‘sticky’ – in other words the message is powerful and simple The person hearing or seeing it intuitively agrees with it There is a ‘villain’, i.e., […]

In this classic introduction to framing, Lakoff argues that: “Frames are mental structures that shape the way we see the world. As a result they shape the goals we seek, the plans we make, the way we act, and what counts as a good or bad outcome of our actions. In politics our frames shape […]

This open-access book provides “practical guidance on how to conduct interdisciplinary research effectively with multi-member teams operating across departments and institutions.” Chapters are: Signposts for interdisciplinary travellers: introduction and some tips for reading this book Departure point: our approach to interdisciplinarity Planning the expedition: designing interdisciplinary research projects Making the expedition a success: managing interdisciplinary […]