Acting on research and evidence isn’t only a technical problem, it’s a social one. Trust and relationships are important. For trust to be built in evidence, we must not only focus on rigor and research design, but the credibility of the person or organization conveying the evidence. We need to create relationships of trust between beneficiaries, providers, partners, external evaluators and funders. Internal relationships between researchers, program and policy teams are equally important. Relationship building is an ongoing process that requires nurturing.
- Do you know the stakeholders for your program and their data needs?
- Do you have a shared vision for success with your program stakeholders?
- Do you hold regular activities that strengthen the relationships between project stakeholders (such as F2F meetings)?