Using global evidence to benefit children’s online opportunities and minimise risks

This article considers the challenges of conducting global research in a domain characterised by intense socio-technological change, complex ethical issues and contested policy choices. The domain chosen is that of children’s rights in the digital environment, which poses challenges to policymakers regarding children’s protection, empowerment and wellbeing. The article critically examines a particular project, Global Kids Online, which was designed to impact beneficially on policy and practice in this area through a coordinated, yet distributed, collaborative approach to cross-national research and impact. It examines the project’s conception, implementation and emerging impact to illustrate some key challenges of evidence-based policy in a digital society and to discuss the lessons learned regarding the possibilities and limitations of impact effectiveness. Global Kids Online has developed an approach to address these challenges by building a multistakeholder and multinational research network and co-creating knowledge exchange and impact tools. These tools allow research evidence to reach and inform stakeholders as they formulate relevant policies, harnessing the capacity of the overall network in addressing different country priorities. The impact tools developed to support the processes of impact planning and monitoring are illustrated with a selection of country case studies demonstrating pathways to impact.