Development Research Uptake in Sub-Saharan Africa (DRUSSA) Online

DRUSSA works with 24 Sub-Saharan universities as they improve capacity to manage the uptake of research by key stakeholders. Working at individual, institutional, and systems levels, the goal is to improve participation in and impact on policy and practice by consolidating and strengthening existing capacity that can be sustained in the long term by the universities themselves. In support of this, it provides a digital platform, DRUSSA Online. It features:

• A variety of blogs - examples include "Research uptake: The kid isn’t all that new on the block", "The Science Café: An interactive approach to public engagement", "Getting the frame right and looking beyond evidence-based policymaking", "DRUSSA science communication training in Africa", and so on.
• Articles that define the field of research uptake management (RUM), described in one piece as "an emerging university management field with a practical, cost-effective and sustainable approach to getting research into use. It requires specialist individual capacity, aligned organisational structures and strategic management processes to optimise conditions for the dissemination, uptake and application of scientific evidence."
• Programme descriptions of how RUM has been put into action at universities in Africa and elsewhere.
• A section called "Tools & Tips", which explores topics such as "Research Uptake: The Role of the University Communicator".

Established in October 2011, the 5-year DRUSSA programme is funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID). Its Facebook page may be found here.