By using this approach, the Multi-Country Study contributed to a number of policy and programme changes in Peru, including the passage of a law banning corporal punishment in all settings. By focusing on capacity-building and awareness raising activities, the Study also helped to give violence against children a higher political priority, and study partners are committed to keeping it on the political agenda.
Recommendations from the impact assessment include:
- Plan sufficient timing – as well as flexibility - into the research design in order to build effective, trusting partnerships.
- Define and support key actors to take knowledge-brokering roles in order to ensure clear communication and engagement among study partners in complex projects.
- Plan an impact strategy from the start. Strategies should address complexity from the beginning, and also identify key monitoring criteria as well as risks and assumptions.
The RCF used here could be used both as an evaluation method and a planning tool to develop an impact strategy. Through this impact assessment, we found that the framework is adaptable and effective in a LMIC, and could be used to assess research impact in other contexts.
Morton, S and Casey, T 2017 Changing National Policy on Violence affecting Children: An impact assessment of UNICEF and partners’ Multi- Country Study on the Drivers of Violence affecting Children in Peru. University of Edinburgh.
This blog was first published on the website of the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh on 15 June 2017.
More on the Multi-Country Study on the Drivers of Violence Affecting Children.
Sarah Morton (2015) Progressing research impact assessment: A ‘contributions’ approach. Res Eval 2015; 24 (4): 405-419. doi: 10.1093/reseval/rvv016