Information and knowledge intermediaries powerful force for social change

An affirmation of the potential contribution of knowledge and information intermediaries to social change is one of the outcomes of the Between Ourselves workshop that took place in Pretoria in July 2008.

Emerging from the discussions and captured in the report, 4 of the insights about the role of intermediaries in development and how it can be strengthened are"

1. Intermediary work can enhance information flows between actors, stimulate demand for information and maintain access to information over time.

2. Some intermediaries go beyond playing a “repository” - 'just in case' - role. They argued that proactive - 'just in time' - communication and engagement with stakeholders are necessary. 

3. A deep understanding of the actors we seek to reach and the changes we seek to bring is necessary to contribute to greater use of evidence in policy and practice. 

4. Collaboration between people undertaking intermediary work is a central means to achieve our objectives.

The workshop was the second meeting of the I-K-Mediary Group an emerging network of research intermediaries who work to increase access to and use of research in development. Peter Ballantyne and Chris Addison attended from Euforic / see related report.

Full report of the workshop

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