Caribbean Impact 2.0

Caribbean Impact 2.0: New mechanisms for linking research and policy, a two-day workshop in Kingston, Jamaica 22-23 February 2011, was the initial activity of an expert programme on new mechanisms for linking research and policy. It covered fundamentals in data visualisation techniques, Web 2.0 strategies for network building, research dissemination and impact, communication planning, and strategic use of video.

The workshop was organised by Fundación Comunica and Panos Caribbean in collaboration with the Telecommunications Policy and Management Programme of the Mona School of Business,UWI and with the support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
The program is driven by the common notion that Caribbean researchers often face serious challenges communicating the results of their research to the public, governments and other crucial stakeholders so their findings can be used as evidence to influence and guide policies, behaviours, belief systems and change.
 
Impact 2.0 iGuide
A highlight of the workshop was the launch of the Impact 2.0 iGuide by Karel Novotny of the Association for Progressive Communication and Fundación Comunica. The online manual aims to provide researchers with knowledge and tools for their communication needs in specific situations. The guide offers a brief introduction to what actually are the Web 2.0 tools and a general overview of strategies for using those tools to link research, policy and advocacy. It also focuses on basic communication strategies and provides a long list of Web 2.0 tools listed in the context of specific communication strategies that they can support.
 
The iGuide can be found online at: http://iguides.comunica.org/
Several Pilot communications products were developed after the workshop, including:

More details on  the workshop can be found at: http://impact2point0.comunica.org/2011/03/workshop-report/