Researchers’ perspective of real-world impact from UK public health research: A qualitative study

Abstract

Research funded by the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research Programme is being undertaken in a complex system which brings opportunities and challenges for researchers to maximise the impact of their research. This study seeks to better understand the facilitators, challenges and barriers to research impact and knowledge mobilisation from the perspective of UK public health researchers. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews, informed by the Payback Framework, with public health researchers who held a research award with the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme up to March 2017 was conducted. Following a thematic analysis, three strongly interlinked themes were extracted from the data and three key factors were highlighted as important for facilitating knowledge mobilisation and impact in UK public health research: (1) Public health researcher’s perception of the purpose of the research (2) Approaches to undertaking Knowledge mobilisation activities (3) The complex nature of public health research in the wider research context. These have been reflected onto the Payback framework. Public health researchers can maximise the likelihood for impact by being aware of the context in which they are undertaking research, using different methods, and employing several strategies to take advantage of opportunities. There is a need to support researchers with knowledge mobilisation activities and for funders to identify their expectations of the impact resulting from research. Our findings have relevance to public health researchers and funders interested in increasing the benefit that research brings to society.

The effectiveness of knowledge-sharing techniques and approaches in research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR): a systematic review

“…There is consensus that if knowledge is shared between two or more communities, it can result in the creation of new knowledge, which has a greater likelihood of leading to change within practice or research [ 7 , 19 – 21 ]. Change that can be linked back to original research findings or outcomes is often referred to as research impact [ 22 – 24 ]. Techniques and approaches that have been developed to follow this mechanism of knowledge sharing include, models of embedded researchers or practitioners, use of knowledge brokers, stakeholder engagement, organisational collaborative partnerships and the involvement of stakeholders in the research or service design process itself.…”

“…The authors concluded that the standardised measures were not capturing impact in localised settings or longer-term impact [ 23 ]. A second study explored the public health researchers’ perspectives on impact reporting and highlighted a need for funders to identify their expectations of the impact resulting from the research they fund and to increase their support for knowledge mobilisation activities [ 24 ]. These studies highlighted the need for researchers to have a clearer understanding of the knowledge mobilisation techniques and approaches to inform pathways to impact and focused on NIHR health funding streams [ 23 , 24 ].…”

“…A second study explored the public health researchers’ perspectives on impact reporting and highlighted a need for funders to identify their expectations of the impact resulting from the research they fund and to increase their support for knowledge mobilisation activities [ 24 ]. These studies highlighted the need for researchers to have a clearer understanding of the knowledge mobilisation techniques and approaches to inform pathways to impact and focused on NIHR health funding streams [ 23 , 24 ]. To our knowledge, there has been no systematic review that describes the knowledge sharing techniques and approaches that have been applied in NIHR funded research nor synthesises their effectiveness.…”