Interactive Dissemination

IFRTD believes that with increased involvement in a research programme the level of ownership of the issues and hence ‘take up’ increases. Rather than simply handing out information products, the network is involved in an active process of feedback or in the finalisation and presentation of the research outputs.

Similarly IFRTD Workshops are designed not merely to present findings but to engage participants in the application of the research findings to their own context, and to utilise opportunities for cross pollination of knowledge and experience. Our workshops build a larger community of practice committed to the resolution of a particular issue and focus upon concrete commitments to take the issues forward either through advocacy or practical projects.

Examples of our dissemination approach include:

1) IFRTD'S major networked research programme Mobility and Health brought together 20 researchers from across the globe to plan and carry out research relating to Millennium Development Goal 5 - to reduce maternal mortality by 75%. As well as collectively planning the research a key objective was for researchers to involve their stakeholders from the early stages to aid the effective outreach of research results. For more information visit the Mobility and Health website.

2) The Toolkit for Promoting the Sustainability of Rural Transport Infrastructure. This toolkit developed by SDC promotes some key issues for the consideration of planners and development practitioners involved in rural infrastructure initiatives. It began its life as a lengthy print document before SDC brought IFRTD on board to help to develop the toolkit and re-package it to connect more effectively with a wider audience. IFRTD commissioned case studies from the international network to contextualise the theory of the toolkit and developed an interactive CD-Rom which was presented in English, French and Spanish. The Dissemination of the CD-Rom included distribution via the IFRTD mailing list, International, Regional and national conference presentations by IFRTD members and stakeholder workshops to promote the Toolkit in Panama, India and Niger. Click here for more information on this initiative.

3) Improving Mobility Workshop Series. When the draft of the World Bank paper ‘Improving Rural Mobility; Options for Developing Motorised and Non motorized Transport in Rural Areas’ was presented to a predominantly southern audience at an IFRTD Seminar they were adamant that if the ideas were to have any impact, the debate (rather than the final ideas) needed to be taken to the regions. Four regional workshops were proposed in Asia, Africa and Latin America, three of which were held between September 2002 and March 2003. The workshop structure was based almost entirely on small group discussions focusing on participant experiences.

Outputs included proposals for action formulated by groups of participants, but more importantly the workshops brought new ideas into the debate that the paper itself had not emphasised. In Asia participants stressed the importance of gender and the need to address conflicts of interest between stakeholders. In Africa the stress was on the importance of hubs as stimuli for transport services, the decentralization context and the complementarity of land based and water transport. Participation of a government minister in the Tanzania workshop led to the Tanzania National Forum Group (TFG) organising a seminar for 229 government ministers to raise awareness of rural transport issues. The impact of this seminar held in February 2004 on national transport policy has been demonstrable and it has led to the involvement of TFG as an advisor to the government on rural transport issues.

Overall through IFRTD activities the impact of the original paper is more assured than had it just been disseminated as a hard copy document.

4) A Networked Research Approach - A Guide to Conducting Research in a Networked Setting was produced by IFRTD to highlight how the principles of networking can aid both the effectiveness and outreach scope of research programmes. For more information click here.

Please explore the Projects and Activities and Regional sections of our website for more example of IFRTD initiatives many of which include examples of 'interactive dissemination'.