We welcome new contributors! We aim to publish one or two blog posts each week and encourage active discussions through comments on each blog post.
To get started, see the About page for the blog’s aims and target audience. Covered on this page are:
- blog post topics
- guidelines for writing your blog post
- commenting
- publicising and republishing your blog post.
Feel free to contact us to discuss your contribution further and we look forward to receiving your blog post or comment.
A primary focus for the blog is to share tools. These can be:
- Methods see, for example, Dealing with deep uncertainty: Scenarios
- Concepts see, for example, Powhiri: An indigenous example of collaboration from New Zealand
- Theory see, for example, What is the role of theory in transdisciplinary research?
Another key aim is to discuss Institutionalisation, particularly how research integration and implementation tools are fostered by and/or become embedded in organisations, such as universities and funding organisations. For example, see: Fire together, wire together: the role of funding bodies in supporting interdisciplinary research
Education is also a major interest. For examples, see:
- Advice to graduate students on becoming “translational”
- A process model for teaching interdisciplinary research.
We also welcome posts on case studies which illustrate the application of research integration and implementation tools. For example, see: Creating a pragmatic complexity culture / La creación de una cultura pragmática de la complejidad.
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING YOUR BLOG POST
Keep the blog’s audience and aims in mind. A blog post is not an academic paper. The aim is to write something short (500 – 1,000 words) and engaging. Think about it as an academic “amuse bouche” designed to stimulate the reader’s appetite, not to provide a complete meal. Remember that your readers are busy people, so make it easy for them to skim with short paragraphs and dot points. Keep references to a minimum. Avoid acronyms and jargon.
There are numerous ways to showcase your work through a blog post. For instance, you may wish to:
- write about an important concept from a recent paper. For example see: Successful implementation demands a great liaison person: Nine tips on making it work
- float a method that you are still developing. For example see: Should I trust that model?
- summarise a range of previously published information about a method. For example see: Improving health care services through Experience-based Co-design.
The blogger community provides tips on how to write an effective blog post. Although more geared to a general – rather than an academic – audience, three good sources of ideas are:
- http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/02/09/how-to-write-a-blog-post
- http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/blogging-basics-how-to-write-blog-posts
- http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/writing-engaging-blog-posts/
Think particularly about 1) an accurate, ‘read-me’ title, 2) a punchy opening and 3) ending with one or more questions to invite the reader to get involved in a discussion.
The main language for this blog is English. We welcome translations into other languages (we currently have French, Portuguese and Spanish versions of some posts). Both American and British spelling are acceptable. Categories and tags are in British spelling.
Our aim is for the blog to be a vibrant forum for discussion. Ending your blog post with questions that invite reader input and responding to comments generates discussion. Feel free to also comment on other people’s posts. All comments are moderated.
PUBLICISING AND REPUBLISHING YOUR BLOG POST
We welcome your help in publicising your post. We will tweet about it in the week following publication, advertise it in relevant LinkedIn groups and listservs, and notify individuals who may be interested.
Feel free to republish your blog post in other blogs. Please cite this blog as the original source, for example: “This blog post originally appeared in the Integration and Implementation Insights blog (http://I2Insights.org) as “ADD YOUR BLOG POST TITLE HERE” and is reposted with the author’s permission.” For an example see the citation at the end of this blog post.
