|
Abstract
|
Since its creation in 2000, the Campbell Collaboration has come a long way to bolster the use of high-quality reviews amongst policymakers and practitioners. From plain language summaries, to evidence and gap maps, strategic partnerships with government departments, and much more, Campbell has prioritised systematic review knowledge mobilisation (White & Welch, 2022).
However, more could be done. Disseminating evidence alone does little to improve its use, and is likely to fail to address practical, cultural or institutional barriers to engagement (Langer et al., 2016). The danger, as captured in the George Bernard Shaw quote above, is that all the expended energy in communication--websites, meetings, reports, partnerships--can fool us into a false sense that we made a difference.
One way we can grow our communication savviness is to look to other professions and disciplines. Too often we work in silos and there is much we can learn from other subjects (Oliver & Boaz, 2019). This might be beyond the 'usual suspects' of health research that has dominated the field of research use, to other areas of the social sciences, the creative arts, design, marketing, environmentalism and behaviour change.
To learn from these other fields, Campbell UK & Ireland organised a series of seminars and podcasts with leading thinkers from cognitive psychology, communication studies, science and technology studies, political science, design and more. The aim was to gather actionable insights and provide pause for thought on how we go about communicating our reviews. A summary of some of the lessons that I think are of most value are set out...
Language: en |