Forest Research helps connect scientists, policymakers, and people who manage land. We want to make sure our research is useful and makes a real difference to nature, the economy, and society.
Instead of just sharing information one way, we work closely with others during the research process. This helps make our work easier to understand and more widely relevant.
Knowledge Exchange and Impact Strategy
Our Knowledge Exchange and Impact Strategy is designed to help us share knowledge and make an impact. It focuses on three main areas:
- Stakeholder engagement
We want people who use or are affected by our research (like land managers and policymakers) to be able to work with us easily. This helps make our research better and more useful.- We create Knowledge Exchange and Impact Plans for each project.
- We run science seminars and workshops where people can discuss our findings and what they mean.
- Research capability
We want our research teams to work well together and produce high-quality work.- We work with land managers and the public through things like citizen science (where everyday people help with research).
- We help people report forest problems like pests and diseases.
- We test tools that help with decision-making and support networks where people can share ideas.
- Evaluation and learning
We ask for feedback from the people who use our research. This helps us understand what works, what doesn’t, and how we can improve our outputs.- We create case studies to show the impact of our work.
- We learn from these examples to continually improve.
Each of these three areas has its own set of principles to guide our work effectively. These follow national standards used by UK universities and are guided by the Science and Innovation Strategy (SIS) for Forestry in GB which drives our core-funded research programmes.
Our goal is to make Forest Research even more helpful and trusted. We want to keep working with others to solve big problems like climate change and loss of biodiversity.
Integrating research for policy and practice provides information about research that helped shape our Knowledge Exchange and Impact Strategy.
Principles of knowledge exchange
Our strategy is built around 15 key ideas, grouped into three themes. These ideas help us work better with others—like government, land managers, and the public—so our research makes a real difference.
Theme 1 – Stakeholder engagement
To work well with others, so our research is both useful and used.
1. Impact orientation: We focus on how our research helps the real world—not just on writing reports or making tools. We want our work to make a difference outside of science, like helping the environment or changing policies.
2. Collaboration: We know we can’t make change alone. We work closely with others—sharing ideas and responsibilities—to make sure our research leads to real improvements.
3. Alignment: People we work with (like scientists, government, and land managers) have different goals and timelines. We try to understand their needs and share early results to help guide decisions, even when things are uncertain.
4. Engagement channels: We stay in touch with people through meetings, emails, and events. We make sure our messages are clear and easy to understand, and we use formats that suit different audiences.
5. Ethics: We aim to be fair and honest. Sometimes we give expert opinions even when things are unclear, and we may challenge others’ views—but always in a respectful and helpful way.
Theme 2 – Research capability
To help teams work together and support new ideas and learning.
6. Research integration: We connect different projects and teams to share ideas, spot gaps, and work together. Sometimes we mix different types of science to solve problems in new ways.
7. Innovation: We stay flexible and open to new ideas. We don’t follow strict plans if they stop us from being creative. We support research that encourages fresh thinking.
8. Training and organisational development: We help our staff and partners learn how to share knowledge well. We offer training, support, and advice to help them grow their skills.
9. Practitioner engagement: We help land managers and others use research to improve their work. We also involve the public in science through projects like citizen science.
10. Recognition and rewards: We celebrate success and make sure people are rewarded for sharing knowledge and making an impact. This includes how we manage performance and promotions.
Theme 3 – Evaluation and learning
To learn from feedback and improve what we do.
11. Monitoring and evaluation: We check how well we’re doing using smart and simple systems. This helps us learn and show others the value of our work.
12. Appraisal and communication: We measure our success against government goals and share stories and data to show the impact of our research.
13. Learning and improvement: We ask for feedback from experts and users to understand what works and what doesn’t. This helps us improve our research and make it more useful.
14. Impact types: We look at different kinds of impact—like changing how people think or helping them make better decisions. We use both numbers and stories to measure this.
15. Attribution: We give credit to everyone who helped make an impact, including those behind the scenes or who worked on earlier projects. We believe teamwork is key to success.
For further information, contact Dr David Edwards