Publication is only the halfway point.
Research gets written, reviewed and published. Then, too often, it stops. This is a place to follow what happens next: who used it, who didn’t, and why.
Why mobilisation
Every study begins with a question and, officially, ends with a publication. But a published finding hasn’t yet changed anything on its own. It has only become available. That’s a real gap.
Knowledge mobilisation is the work of closing that gap. It connects a finding to the people who can act on it, such as a policymaker, a practitioner, a community group, or another researcher, so that it can shape a decision. That connection is rarely automatic. It takes planning, relationships and trust. A good place to start is a conversation rather than a handover.
You’ll often hear three terms used almost interchangeably, though writers define them differently. Here is how I use them:
Knowledge Transfer
Usually one way, moving knowledge from those who produce it to those who use it.
Knowledge Exchange
Two way, with researchers and users learning from each other.
Knowledge Mobilisation
The wider effort to get knowledge into use, including both transfer and exchange. It also includes shaping questions with users and keeping the work alive after publication.
Publication asks, “Is it rigorous?” Mobilisation asks, “Is anyone using it?”
KARM Practice (Knowledge and Research Mobilisation) is my attempt to close that gap: to help research reach the people who can use it, and to learn from what happens when it does and when it doesn’t.
About
I’m Meenakshi Bharti. While writing my dissertation for an MSc in International Relations at the London School of Economics & Political Science, UK, I kept asking one question: how can this change anything in practice? I’ve been working on the answer ever since.
I went on to work in knowledge exchange and open research at the same university. I led the rebuild of how the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science shared its research with the public, and delivered a £5,000 research-culture project funded through the LSE’s Summer of Research Culture Grant. With CIVICA, I turned UK and EU open-research policy into briefings and training adopted by over 100 researchers and professional staff across ten partner institutions.
Now I’m writing Where Does My Research Go?, a book about what happens to research after it’s published. I’m also developing frameworks to understand where a research project’s journey to impact moves forward and where it stalls.
I currently offer advisory work and plan to grow it into wider services. For now, this site is a place to learn, co-create and talk. If you have a research story to share, I’d love to hear it. Share your research journey
“Knowledge enables research, and research enables a way forward. What happens after publication decides whether it arrives.”
Meenakshi Bharti
Where Does My Research Go?
A book about what happens after publication.
Every year, researchers finish rigorous work. They publish it and move on. But then what? Some findings reach a minister’s desk, a seminar, a classroom or a community. Many sit in a journal, read by a handful of people. Few people tell the story of why.
Where Does My Research Go? will follow research on its journey after publication. It will explore who used it, who didn’t, and what got in the way. It will read like a detective story, tracing a finding from the page to wherever it ended up, and will ask what helped or stopped it along the way.
What the book is about
- Real journeys – Researchers and their work, told through what actually happened.
- The stalled stories too – The research that never quite arrived, and what the people behind it learned.
- Myth-busting – Common beliefs, such as “good research speaks for itself” or “a summary is enough”, will be tested against real cases.
- Personal stories – My own path from asking, “how can this change anything in practice?” while writing my dissertation at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, to the question this book tries to answer.
Who it’s for
- Anyone curious about how knowledge becomes action. You don’t need to know what a p-value is. If you’ve ever wondered why good ideas take so long to change anything, this book is for you.
- Researchers who want their work to matter beyond the journal page, and who suspect that publishing was the easy part.
- Research-impact practitioners: the knowledge brokers, research-support staff, communications teams and funders who help findings travel. You’ll recognise some of these stories, and perhaps a few of your own frustrations.
Whether you’ve never read a journal article, have written hundreds, or spend your days helping other people’s findings find a home, this book has a seat for you.
Where it stands
I’m researching and writing now. I’m gathering stories from researchers, with their permission, and nothing will appear without their agreement.
Be part of it
Share your research journey. Did one of your studies travel further than you expected, or stall somewhere you didn’t expect? You choose what I can use, whether your name appears, and you can review anything before it’s published.
Follow the book & site. One short email when there’s news, such as a new journey, an excerpt, or the publication date.
Engage
Share your research journey
What was the work? Where did it go? Where did it stall? You can choose what I can use, whether your name is shown, and review anything before it’s published.
Sign-up
One short email when something new goes up. No spam, and you can leave any time.
Privacy notice
Last updated: 7 November 2026
Who I am. This site is run by Meenakshi Bharti (“I”) for KARM Practice (Knowledge and Research Mobilisation). You can reach me at meenakshi@karmpractice.com.
What I collect, and why
- “Share your research journey” form. I collect what you tell me about your work and where it went or stalled, your name, your email address, and your institution, and your choices about how I may use your story. I use this to understand research journeys and, only if you agree, to write about yours in my book and on this site.
- Email sign-up. I collect your email address only. I use it to send short updates about the book and the site.
- If you email me. I keep your email address and what you write, so I can reply.
How I use your story
Nothing you share will appear anywhere without your agreement. You choose what I can use and whether your name is shown, and you can review anything before it is published.
Who sees your data
I don’t sell your data. It is held by the tools that run this site, which handle it on my behalf. I won’t share it with anyone else unless you ask me to or the law requires it.
How long I keep it
- Sign-up emails: until you unsubscribe.
- Journey submissions: until the book is finished, or until you ask me to delete it.
- Emails to me: 8 months after our last message.
Your choices
You can withdraw your consent at any time. Use the unsubscribe link in any update, or email meenakshi@karmpractice.com, and it will be as easy as signing up. You can also ask to see, correct or delete what I hold about you. Before publication, you can change or withdraw your story. After publication, I will remove it from the site and from future editions if you ask, though I can’t recall copies already printed.
Questions or complaints
Write to me first at meenakshi@karmpractice.com, and I will reply within 5 days. You can also complain to the Data Protection Board of India.
Children
This site is for adults and is not meant for anyone under 18.
Changes
If I change this notice, I will update the date above.