| [Back to front page] | The ‘impact pathway’ concept Gone are the days when scientists and institutions engaged in strategic research can afford to ignore the issues of dissemination, uptake and impact. There must be a coherent plan both for producing outputs and delivering them to the specified target groups that maximises the potential for impact. CIFOR has conceptualised and is actively promoting the concept of ‘impact pathways’ in response to this need. Focusing on ‘impact pathways’ does not imply that CIFOR will allocate a significant proportion of its budget to ‘extension and public awareness activities’ because the guiding principles of ‘comparative advantage’ are always applied. In most instances national organisations are best placed to adapt and extend new technologies and policies. However, a research impact strategy demands that the ‘pathways’ by which research outputs are most likely to yield impact (positive or negative) be clearly identified and re-evaluated throughout the planning and implementation of the research effort. |