"This DFID-funded book offers a literature review of sources that have provided insights on research dissemination both in and outside the UK. They conclude that researchers should consider the potential impact of their outputs much more carefully before producing reports. They identify organisational, practical and psychological barriers to the effective dissemination of information and four explanations of how information influences policy: the 'rational' model (making information available sufficient); the limestone model (information trickles like water through porous rock); the gadfly model (information gets through because dissemination is prioritised as much as research itself); and insider model (researchers exploit links with policy-makers). While they found that non-UK researchers planned a strategy for disseminating information, the UK researchers produced lengthy outputs for a homogenised audience with little strategy for influencing. There should be more consultation between information producers and users of research on the types of outputs and strategies required for dissemination. They argue for (and give examples of) the need for dissemination plans, designing different kinds of outputs for different audiences and considering dissemination from the beginning of a project rather than the end. Their very varied case studies illustrate which dissemination strategies work in which contexts, ranging from very practical advice about translating research outputs into local languages, to more abstract principles about how dissemination can be useful if seen as a process of mutual learning. They also offer specific suggestions to contractors and DFID, as well as useful checklists of questions for researchers about planning effective dissemination, plus advantages and disadvantages of different dissemination 'pathways' (e.g. manuals, networks and briefs etc.)." (ODI website)