Background:
At a time of growing emphasis on both the use of research and accountability, it is importantfor research funders, researchers and other stakeholders to monitor and evaluate the extent towhich research contributes to better action for health, and find ways to enhance the likelihoodthat beneficial contributions are realized. Past attempts to assess research ‘impact’ strugglewith operationalizing ‘impact’, identifying the users of research and attributing impact toresearch projects as source. In this article we describe Contribution Mapping, a novelapproach to research monitoring and evaluation that aims to assess contributions instead ofimpacts. The approach focuses on processes and actors and systematically assessesanticipatory efforts that aim to enhance contributions, so-called alignment efforts. Theapproach is designed to be useful for both accountability purposes and for assisting in betteremploying research to contribute to better action for health.
Methods:
Contribution Mapping is inspired by a perspective from social studies of science on howresearch and knowledge utilization processes evolve. For each research project that isassessed, a three-phase process map is developed that includes the main actors, activities andalignment efforts during research formulation, production and knowledge extension (e.g.dissemination and utilization). The approach focuses on the actors involved in, or interactingwith, a research project (the linked actors) and the most likely influential users, who arereferred to as potential key users. In the first stage, the investigators of the assessed projectare interviewed to develop a preliminary version of the process map and first estimation ofresearch-related contributions. In the second stage, potential key-users and other informantsare interviewed to trace, explore and triangulate possible contributions. In the third stage, thepresence and role of alignment efforts is analyzed and the preliminary results are shared withrelevant stakeholders for feedback and validation. After inconsistencies are clarified or described, the results are shared with stakeholders for learning, improvement andaccountability purposes.
Conclusion:
Contribution Mapping provides an interesting alternative to existing methods that aim toassess research impact. The method is expected to be useful for research monitoring, singlecases studies, comparing multiple cases and indicating how research can better be employedto contribute to better action for health.