Research Communication at the Crossroads of Cultural Flows

Communication for change has had long and storied history particularly in the global south. In particular the allied practice of Research Communication has become an integral component enabling the amplification of societal impact. This is particularly so for organizations engaged in knowledge production that enables sustainable development and just futures. However, an important, but understudied, layer in understanding research communication and communication for change is the inherent socio-cultural tensions that emerge in the flows of communication as evidence from international and comparative research now finds its voice in multiple local and global media intersections.

In this paper, we draw on the idea of “Cultural Flows” to highlight how the practice of communicating research flows across multiple geographic and disciplinary divisions, and cultural contexts, implicating organizations as well as researchers. We do so by critically examining media discourses around issues of development, focussing on the documentary form created for digital platforms as a cultural artefact. In our analysis we draw on frameworks provided by critical cultural studies, and the concepts of ‘scapes’ and ‘flows’, arguing that research communication practices and by extension the imperatives of communicating for change, differ across both geographies and disciplines. These differences are embedded in cultural contexts and are therefore produced not only through objectives practices of research, but also through subjective productions of messages. Facets such as evolving media landscapes in the global north and south, digital penetration, access, language, medium, the various cultural frameworks and structures that define an ‘issue’ within and across boundaries, as well as political climate play a key role in shaping communication practices and allied strategies for institutions and organizations.