This training is part of a series of Research Communications Capacity Building training workshops that GDNet holds for the African Economic Research Consortium's (AERC) researchers. The training aims at: building the capacity and skills of researchers in communicating research to maximise its uptake and impact; increasing the understanding of research to policy processes, and the role of Policy Briefs in the process; improving the understanding of the role of social media in communicating research more effectively; helping the researchers producing a Policy Brief for each research project by the end of the training with the support of the facilitation team.

Objectives of the workshop

1. To build capacity and skills in communicating research to maximize its uptake and impact

2. To increase understanding of policy processes, policymakers’ needs and the role of Policy Briefs in this process

3. To improve understanding of the role of the media, including social media, in communicating research and how to engage with journalists and on social media platforms

4. To produce a draft Policy Brief for each research project, to be finalized after the workshop with assistance provided by GDNet HelpDesk
5. To learn how to use a selection of social media tools to support different stages of the research process