Six tips for funding impactful research

The document outlines six strategic tips for research funders to increase the real-world impact of their projects: defining specific impact goals, scoping the policy context, funding diverse consortia, including context experts in review panels, managing expectations regarding the timing and attribution of impact, and maintaining flexibility to learn from failure.

• Funders should explicitly define the type of impact they seek, distinguishing between direct, short-term changes to policies and legislation and indirect, longer-term changes in attitudes or understanding, as these require different design approaches.
• To align research with current needs, funders should prioritize understanding the national and international policy landscape and 'hot topics' by consulting grey literature and stakeholder groups as much as academic knowledge.
• Impact is more likely when funders support diverse consortia that include non-academic actors such as NGOs, think tanks, private companies, and local partners who possess established relationships with policy audiences and strong communication skills.
• Review panels for research calls should include experts with specific knowledge of the country or policy context to accurately assess whether proposed entry points are legitimate and if the correct stakeholders are involved.
• Funders must recognize that policy development is dynamic and impact is not always immediate or easily attributable; for example, while a Heat Action Plan in Ahmedabad, India showed traceable impact, the influence of research on a national submission to COP21 is harder to determine.
• Because research aimed at influencing policy is riskier than purely academic work, funders should remain flexible during implementation to allow researchers to adapt to political changes and accept that some projects may fail.

APA

Kirbyshire, A., & Roberts, L. (2017). Six tips for funding impactful research. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Six-tips-for-funding-impactful-research-CDKN.pdf

Chicago

Kirbyshire, Amy, and Leo Roberts. Six tips for funding impactful research. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2017. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Six-tips-for-funding-impactful-research-CDKN.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kirbyshire |first1=Amy |last2=Roberts |first2=Leo |title=Six tips for funding impactful research |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=June 2017 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Six-tips-for-funding-impactful-research-CDKN.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kirbyshire2017six, author = {Kirbyshire, Amy and Roberts, Leo}, title = {{Six tips for funding impactful research}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2017}, month = jun, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Six-tips-for-funding-impactful-research-CDKN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }