This is the fourth and final blog in the series on the challenges faced by practitioners of Research Uptake. In Part I we explored the concept of Research Uptake, in Part II, we examined challenges that exist at systemic level and in in Part III, we looked at institutional barriers to Research Uptake. This blog deals with individual barriers to Research Uptake. Please let us have your comments.

Individual barriers to Research Uptake

Last but not least, at an individual level, barriers to research uptake are multiple. One of the most frequent points of opposition to research uptake that I hear, and one that I’m hugely sympathetic to, is that researchers must, first and foremost, be good researchers and that if policymakers or practitioners want to use their work, it’s their prerogative. This is a notion we must counter, strongly and with a moral imperative. It is not just the responsibility of policymakers and practitioners to seek out research—it is also the researcher’s responsibility to make it accessible, especially when it can (and does!) save lives.

Another individual barrier is the ego—and I mean this in two ways. At one level, effective research uptake activities require strong brands from strong researchers. This means that researchers must at some level be sure of themselves and of their findings and be confident to take them out into the big wide world. On the flip side, researchers must be willing to accept help and advice and work with others. Just because a researcher, who has more often than not been focusing on a study for a significant period of time, understands the findings doesn’t mean everyone will—EVERYONE needs a good editor, always. Also, given the diverse skills required for research uptake, it’s highly unlikely that any one person knows best.

That may sound like a lot of barriers and I’d hate to leave people thinking it cannot be done. A number of examples of incredibly impactful research uptake activities exist—and they can and have improved and saved the lives of many. It just means there’s some work to do.

Jeff Knezovich is the Policy Influence and Research Uptake Manager for the Future Health Systems Research Consortium based at the Institute of Development Studies in the UK.