Communication channels for bridging the evidence to practice divide

• In Event: Translating evidence to practice in the LAC region- Practical EGL tools for development practitioners

Proposal

In the Central American and Caribbean region, there is a real disconnect between evidence, policies and practice particularly in the realm of EGL. RedLEI has identified this disconnect through multiple studies (for example the regional mapping of EGL pre-service teacher training programs) and seeks to be the actor who uses evidence to generate solutions to transform education challenges in the region. The LRCP and RedLEI have focused their efforts on the generation of local evidence on EGL and capacity building based on this evidence.

However, bridging the gap between evidence and its use in policy and practice is not easy. We must find a way to encourage a culture of evidence use, break down the barriers that exist between researchers, policy makers and education practitioners, and facilitate access to quality information in the 'sea' of resources available on the Web. To this end, LRCP and RedLEI have implemented a Knowledge Translation Strategy , an approach to increase the use of evidence in policy decision-making and in the design of pedagogical practices, through actions to communicate evidence in a clear, simple, attractive and straightforward way.

The LRCP and RedLEI seek to design content that adapts to different media, allows for dialogue between stakeholders and goes beyond policy briefs as communication tools. This presentation will outline how the LRCP and RedLEI have implemented Knowledge translation strategies to disseminate evidence to key audiences, translating it clearly and presenting it in an attractive format that is likely to reach the people who need to use it. Two examples of this which we will describe during this session include The Podcast, "LAC Reads aloud," and our informed policy dialogues. We will describe why we decided on these strategies to communicate our evidence and how they have served to bridge the gap between evidence and implementation in the LAC region.

Authors

• Mariela Zelada, Universidad Del Valle De Guatemala

• Valentina Duque, American Institutes for Research