Portfolio Lead: Dr Ebrahim Samodien | ebrahim.samodien@mrc.ac.za

High-quality research only achieves its full value when it informs decisions, influences practice, and improves people's lives. At Cochrane South Africa, our Research Translation portfolio works to ensure that evidence does not remain confined to journals and reports but reaches the people who can use it, including communities, healthcare professionals, policymakers, researchers, and funders.

This portfolio supports researchers in planning for impact from the earliest stages of a project through to implementation, uptake and evaluation. Our approach recognises that research translation is not a once-off communication activity, but an ongoing process that should be embedded throughout the research lifecycle.

We develop and support a range of evidence-informed products and activities designed to make research accessible, relevant and actionable. These include plain language summaries, policy-relevant outputs, podcasts, webinars, newsletters, social media campaigns, media engagement, stakeholder workshops, and other innovative approaches to knowledge sharing. 

A growing focus of the portfolio is understanding how research is used, identifying barriers to uptake, and helping researchers design more meaningful pathways from evidence to action. By strengthening the connection between research, policy, practice and communities, we aim to promote evidence-informed decision-making and maximise the real-world impact of health research in South Africa and beyond.