Reflection on New Researchers’ Forum

The new researchers’ forum held at the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation – North Atlantic Forum 2019: Sustainable Communities conference, included RPLC/CRRF members, emerging scholars and graduate students. The forum was a round table discussion where participants of different research disciplines shared their research experiences, knowledge and challenges relating to rural research. There were short presentations by RPLC members on “Policy Briefs”, giving more insights on the tips and steps of preparing policy brief based on the findings of the RPLC working group. The presenters emphasized that, there is no established standard format for preparing a quality policy brief since different policy bodies require different formats and content. The new researchers were delighted with the discussions and were encouraged to make increase the impact of their research through policy briefs. The main concerns emerging at the forum included, strategies to link up/network with target audience; and how to increase the interest and relevance of research for policy makers to increase the impact of that research. These concerns were debated among participants based on experiences and knowledge. Some recommendations deliberated were ensuring the target audience for the research is continually considered in the course of research; and joining RPLC and other networks for guidelines to build good networks with targeted audiences and policymakers. Poster of the tips and steps of preparing policy briefs