The LIGHT Toolkit for Research Uptake is a practical, “how-to” guide for translating research into real-world change.
It is designed for researchers, research uptake/knowledge exchange professionals, decision-makers, programme managers, funders seeking to move their research beyond academic outputs into real-world applications, ensuring that evidence is used to inform policy and practice for maximum impact.
It is best used at grant-writing and project inception phase, so uptake is built in and properly resourced, rather than added as a bolt-on at the end.
In this toolkit, we use the term ‘research uptake’ (RU), in alignment with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), to describe the set of processes and activities that help ensure research evidence is used in policy and practice. We also acknowledge and explain adjacent terminology used by different funders and development partners, such as ‘knowledge exchange’, ‘knowledge translation’, ‘knowledge mobilisation’ and ‘knowledge-to-action’.
Inside, you will find 10 guiding principles for "Research Uptake" and a clear approach to: understanding context, mapping stakeholders, strategic and meaningful engagement with key stakeholders, assessing capacity needs, strengthening capacity for understanding, communicating and using evidence, planning effective communication, implementing and adapting activities, tracking impact through Monitoring, Evaluation and learning, as well as planning for sustainable impact.
The toolkit draws on our learnings and first-hand experience of research uptake from the LIGHT Research Programme, whilst building on insights from established research uptake frameworks. It includes practical templates, impact tracking tools and signposting to more in-depth resources to support effective implementation.
- It is practical, not theoretical - offering clear “how-to” guides, real-world examples, and lessons learned, along with custom templates and tools that can be directly applied.
- It builds on and complements existing approaches: Use this toolkit alongside well-established research uptake and policy engagement approaches.
- It is grounded in real-world application: The content is informed by the LIGHT Research Programme’s experience, particularly in tuberculosis and gender-focused research uptake across diverse contexts.
- It includes a capacity-strengthening component- supporting skill development for implementing effective research uptake.
- It supports impact tracking, evaluation and learning- offering practical tools to monitor progress towards intended outcomes, assess what changed over time, while enabling ongoing reflection and adaptation based on evidence gathered.