The Impact 2.0 iGuide: New Mechanisms for Linking Research and Policy

Fundación Comunica and the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) have developed this website on linking research and policy using technical guidelines to support activists and civil society organisations to deploy new interactive services and applications in their research and advocacy work in order to promote and strengthen links between research, advocacy, and policy. Comunica and the APC believe that the gap between researchers and policymakers will only be bridged if both cooperate closely to understand specific needs, ensure relevance of topics, and improve communication, dissemination, and implementation of the research recommendations

According to Fundación Comunica and the APC, policy development is a complex process in which it is difficult to get the best arguments backed by solid research to be heard or to be acted on. These two organisations have found that even when the importance of independent public-interest research in supporting policy development is widely accepted and when the research is designed to help resolve the recognised problems of policymakers and advocacy groups, it faces significant challenges to being effectively introduced into policy debates. Furthermore, their experience suggests that communication difficulties between researchers and policymakers can compound the problem.

The main issues that this guide addresses are:
•How researchers can effectively and strategically use Web 2.0 and social networking tools to better understand the policy context, e.g. to identify and understand the main policy actors, to identify key issues and themes, and to recognise opportunities.
•How researchers can use Web 2.0 tools to encourage discussion, debate, and collaboration based on their research findings.
•How researchers can use Web 2.0 tools to develop and maintain relations with policymakers and other important stakeholders.