Maria reached out to research4impact in order to connect with practitioners. Her experience underscores how conversations with practitioners, in addition to formal collaborations, provide immense insight:

“My research focuses on effective organizational lobbying strategies. Through research4impact I connected with two people at nonprofits who engage in lobbying in their everyday jobs to hear about the challenges they face on the ground. This process was very enriching as it gave me insight on the importance of understanding the particular on-the-ground incentives organizations face when they contact political elites. I truly enjoyed the conversations with both of them, since they offered a great opportunity to learn what type of issues non-profit organizations run into when trying to engage with elected representatives.”

In late 2019 we were invited to give a "How to be Helpful" workshop at the University of Birmingham, organized by Heather Marquette. She is a professor in the School of Government as well as a Senior Research Fellow at UK's DFID (Department for Int'l Development). At DFID she works on the front lines to figure out the best way to use evidence to improve governance and reduce corruption around the world. Here's what she reported afterwards about the workshop:

"We were very happy to have Adam come to speak to us. The group was an eclectic mix of experienced research leaders, mid-career researchers looking to take their impact work to the next level and PhD students looking for insights on how they can plan for effective engagement for impact. Adam was incredibly helpful and developed a practical and engaging workshop that spoke to all audiences and sparked great discussions, both during the workshop and afterwards."