By Mark Reed
What key actions can help research have impact? Interviews with 32 researchers and stakeholders across 13 environmental management research projects lead to the five principles and key issues described below (Reed et al., 2014).
1. Design:
• Understand what everyone wants. This can help in managing expectations of different stakeholders and project members and identifying potential issues/problems early on.
• Understand the context of the project. Use local characteristics, traditions, norms and past experiences as a starting point for planning the project.
• Take your time. Knowledge exchange is time consuming if done properly.
• Design your knowledge exchange activities carefully. Spend time researching the context, the stakeholders, and possible approaches. Design for flexibility, get feedback, and adapt your plans to suit changing circumstances.