Challenges of putting research into action
Oxfam-Monash Partnership
 Research that will “make a difference in people’s lives”
 Research conducted by academics and practitioners
 Idea that findings from the research will be used for
academic purposes as well as more practical purposes
through OAU and partners
 How can we make sure that research informs our work,
influences policy and leads to improvements in the
lives of the poor and vulnerable people that we work
with?
What is research and how can it
contribute to development?
Political Context
Politics and
Policy making
Media,
Advocacy,
Networking,
Links
Research,
Learning and
Thinking
•Who does the research?
•Who is involved or
participates in the design,
implementation &
dissemination?
•Is the research credible
with reliable methodology?
•Is it practical & are the
findings practical?
•Are the findings
communicated well and to
the right audience?
•Does it meet expressed
needs?
Evidence
Putting research into practice: Our
challenges
 Design of research project
 Situation of communities – crisis situations, time
constraints
 Partner time, resources & ability to commit – plans
and budgets
 Complexity of research make it difficult to pin point
findings that can be used for learning & application
 Rapidly changing situation: keeping the relevance of
the research
Putting research into practice:
What we have done
 Regular communication between academics and
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practitioners during implementation
Capacity building elements to research
Use of participatory research methodology that can
generate a learning process with communities & NGOs
Feedback and validation processes with participating
communities in local languages
Presenting and disseminating research in variety of
ways to different stakeholders
Putting research into practice: Our
practical outputs to date….
 Assessment of OAU development model in terms of
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accountability and citizenship
Feeding research findings in to other Oxfam learning
initiatives such as Active Citizenship and Accountability
hub research
Supporting development of a booklet by community
activists on how to strengthen communities and conduct
advocacy
Planning further analysis with EC on experiences of
working with community representatives and if this is the
best approach
Other plans for guidelines, work with NGOs to reflect on
accountability practices…….