5. Get media coverage – even if you write it yourself

If you do your research in India, consider pitching an op-ed to an Indian newspaper, like this one on air pollution or this one on a housing project in India. These researchers published an op-ed on Kenyan HIV research in Kenya’s Daily Nation. Or if you have media contacts, you can try to get a local reporter to cover your work. Obviously written media is just one way to reach people. Alice Evans has gotten local TV coverage of her research in Zambia.

You can also seek coverage in non-local news sources, either written by yourself or others. Quartz covered Emma Riley’s work on aspirational entertainment in Uganda as well as my work with Popova on cash transfers and spending on temptation goods. Jayachandran and Pande have written about their India-focused work on child height in the New York Times.

See here for all our advice on speaking to the media, and here for how to write