Who is this tutorial for?
This course helps you to think about how to use research to create change and contribute to policy. We share a range of experiences and resources for informing policy and practice to increase individuals’ knowledge of the options available, either working on their own or by collaborating with others.
There is no cost to participate in this tutorial. It is offered as an open educational resource by INASP.
What will you learn?
If you dedicate sufficient time to engage with all the learning materials and meet the completion criteria, you will be able to:
- Describe the importance of engaging with policy.
- Reflect on your own opportunities and challenges in this area.
- Develop a vision for your research in alignment with your context, identifying the associated challenges and opportunities.
- Create specific and realistic goals to influence policy.
- Select appropriate tools and strategies for working with stakeholders and collaborators.
- Develop an effective communications plan for your research.
- Use appropriate tools and techniques from your research communication (for example, as a policy brief, infographic, or elevator pitch).
Length of the tutorial
This is a self-study tutorial. You can join any time and stay enrolled in the tutorial for as long as you would like. However, we recommend that you complete the tutorial within 3 weeks of joining.
Topics covered
The tutorial consists of 5 learning resources followed by a quiz.
- What is the purpose of research?
- Why is influencing policy so difficult?
- Engaging with and contributing to the policy process
- Developing a communications plan
- Useful communication tools
Expected time commitment
To get maximum benefit from the tutorial, you should plan to spend about 10 hours going through the learning resources and completing the quiz.
Completion criteria
- Going through all the learning resources;
- Achieving a passing score on the quiz; and
- Completing the feedback survey.
A certificate will be generated automatically for you once you have met the completion criteria. You can download this certificate from the tutorial homepage.
Connectivity required
The learning resources are text-based, so you do not need a high-bandwidth internet connection.
Deadlines
This is a self-study, self-paced tutorial, so there are no deadlines.
Technical support
We are unable to offer technical support for this tutorial. All the information you need to complete the tutorial successfully can be found in the introductory resource at the start of the tutorial.
Is the tutorial compatible with mobile devices?
We recommend that you use a computer for an optimal learning experience. If you do not have a computer, you can use a web browser on your mobile phone or tablet to access this tutorial. However, this tutorial is not compatible with the Moodle Mobile app.
Is there any advice on how to learn online?
This PDF document may be useful to help you prepare to learn online. It also contains answers to frequently asked questions.
Can the learning resources be reused or adapted?
Yes. The learning resources have been developed by INASP and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
**You can enrolment in this tutorial anytime.**
You should first be logged in to this site. Create an account for yourself on this site (if you don't have one) or log in with your existing account. Click the 'Log in' link on the top right hand corner to proceed.
After you've logged in with your account, head to the course enrolment page, in case you're not on that page already. You may want to bookmark the course enrolment page in your browser to get to it easily. You will see a button called 'Enrol me'. Click this button to enrol in the tutorial.