PEP Activities
The basic activity of the PEP network is to provide financial and scientific support to policy relevant and methodologically rigorous research by local researchers on the causes of and remedies to poverty in developing countries. This research is predominantly of an applied nature, although conceptual and methodological research also plays an important role where necessary. It focuses primarily on a limited number of themes. Research projects are conducted on an 18-month cycle by small teams (generally a senior researcher supervising a group of younger researchers), with a working paper, preferably of publishable quality, expected at the end of each project. Support and dissemination of this research will be the primary goal of the other activities outlined below. While the primary goal of the network is to support research performed by PEP researchers, collaborative and fundamental research involving resource persons plays an important role in charting new and innovative research directions for PEP researchers and ensuring international recognition of the network, while also providing an important intellectual motivation for the ongoing implication of resource persons in the network. Collaborative work can also be useful to bring a completed report up to a level at which it can be published internationally, although the PEP researcher should normally be identified as the primary author in these cases. Comparative research, bringing together and contrasting results from several projects (and countries) on a common theme, is also undertaken with the involvement of researchers and resource persons. For example, the MPIA group will soon finalize a comparative volume of CGE studies on the poverty impacts of trade liberalization. Several types of meetings are being organized with a view to presenting, discussing and evaluating research proposals and reports. Meetings are also used to encourage networking between researchers and resource persons working on related issues. These are also the occasion to organize a variety of training activities. The centerpiece is the organization of a general meeting every 18 months and interim network and regional meetings. Time at these meetings is set aside for discussions on broader conceptual and technical issues. Funding is being provided for the organization of periodic national meetings, bringing together researchers working in different networks, other MIMAP or IDRC projects, and possibly other researchers working on poverty issues in a given country. Indeed, as the PEP network adjusts from a structure of national projects to thematic individual research projects, efforts should be made to maintain discussion at the national level. All proposals, reports and background documents are posted on the PEP web site to facilitate discussion. Discussion is being maintained between meetings through web-based email fora; one for each network plus another for the whole network. Informal contacts between researchers are strongly encouraged and facilitated. Intensive scientific support to PEP researchers is provided by experts from developing and developed countries to researchers through regular PEP training workshops, largely organized and conducted by Southern researchers and institutions and through the PEP mentorship program, from the initial proposal phase through to the preparation of the final reports national and international dissemination activities and efforts to publish. One resource person from these institutions is appointed as the supervisor for each project for the entire duration of the project. A day or more is set aside at each meeting for teams to work one-on-one with their supervisor. The supervisor is also expected to provide ongoing support either directly or, where appropriate, by drawing on other resource persons internal or external to the PEP project. Scientific advice goes beyond strictly technical issues and involves advice on the choice of research topics, methodologies and the preparation of research reports and articles. Over the course of its first five years, PEP has focused its efforts on the organization of advanced training seminars during PEP general meetings, on a wide variety of techniques of micro poverty analysis techniques: poverty measurement, robustness analysis, poverty profiling, multidimensional poverty analysis, public spending and benefit-incidence analysis, policy impact evaluation, poverty dynamics, etc. Senior PEP researchers and other Southern resource persons play a major role in designing and conducting these workshops. To the extent possible, PEP also supports and facilitates the participation of its researchers in related training programs offered by other organizations such as the World Bank Institute that can further improve the capacities of PEP researchers in poverty analysis and in responding to information demands of their local CBMS partners within their countries. In order to reduce travel costs, advanced training is generally organized over a period of one to three days, as part of annual and interim meetings. While network resource persons have the responsibility to organize and conduct most of these training activities, senior researchers are increasingly called upon. Researchers and resource persons are also occasionally invited to present seminars on their outside research activities in areas of interest to the network in general. To reduce financial and organizational costs and reduce travel time for all involved, training activities are generally held in conjunction with the biannual meetings, either as workshops before or after the meetings, or as special sessions during the meetings themselves. In parallel, CIRPÉE staff, PEP researchers and outside resource persons develop training material (for example, DAD and DASP) for use in future training activities and for widespread dissemination within and outside the PEP network. Access to recent and relevant documentation is provided through a number of mechanisms. First, the IDRC provides all PEP researchers with access to several online literature search tools and electronic journal databases. Second, resource persons and member researchers prepare literature reviews and lists of recommended readings on emerging issues. These lists are posted and continuously updated on the PEP website, including links to the articles themselves where possible. CD-Roms, containing all literature reviews and recommended readings available on the PEP web site, are distributed to all participants at each PEP meeting. Resource persons and other researchers also prepare and distribute articles of interest to specific researchers. Electronic communication constitutes a powerful tool for providing technical support to researchers in Asia and Africa and Latin America. However, it also imposes limits on the depth and complexity of issues that can be discussed and resolved. More in-depth discussions are possible with resource persons during meetings. However, in some cases, longer periods are required to allow researchers to explore complex issues and methodologies with ongoing support or, in some cases, to collaborate directly with resource persons. One attractive mechanism to allow this type of interaction takes the form of study visits of three to four weeks by PEP researchers to CIRPÉE, UWO, Warwick or other major research centers. With resource persons and first-rate computer and documentary facilities at hand, PEP researchers are able to discuss in detail the various technical and conceptual issues they face in the course of their research. Another mechanism for providing more in-depth technical support and for undertaking collaborative research takes the form of field visits by resource persons to PEP countries. We have often found that one-week field visits can resolve a large number of issues that will otherwise cause significant delays and lead to discouragement among local researchers. Where needs are identified in several countries, a field tour can be organized in order to minimize costs. In contrast to study visits by PEP researchers, all members of local teams can easily benefit from field visits. Also, some policymakers may be invited to these field visits 8. Consultation and Dissemination The ultimate objective of PEP research is clearly to influence and improve policy making and reduce poverty at the national, regional and international levels. The best possible research is of little avail if it is not made known to key policy makers, other researchers and the wider public. While dissemination within the network is being ensured by the above-mentioned discussion activities, separate funding is provided to support other forms of dissemination. PEP researchers are required to outline a strong dissemination strategy in their research proposals, which is considered in the selection process. More generally, a PEP closing the loop strategy has been developed. This strategy covers dissemination activities at both the national and international levels. Important dissemination activities are undertaken at the national level, such as national dissemination conferences to present final research reports to a wide range of policy makers, academics, civil institutions and the interested public. These conferences play a crucial role to ensure that research results feed into the policy making process. These occasions are also used to expose planned future research activities with a view to informing and receiving input from national stakeholders. Researchers are also encouraged to seek other, less formal, mechanisms to inform and receive input from policy makers at all stages of their research (proposal, interim and final reports). Limited funding is available for presentation of final research reports in regional and international conferences. Researchers and resource persons (in cases of collaborative or fundamental research undertaken within the network) are encouraged and supported in their efforts to publish articles, newsletters and policy briefs based on their research both nationally and internationally. The PEP web site constitutes another important instrument for dissemination of research results. One important institutional dissemination mechanism is the working paper series. This can be used to disseminate results of research undertaken by PEP researchers and resource persons. Decisions on the publication of working papers can be made by the relevant project director and network leader, with periodic reviews of the selection criteria by the steering committee. Efforts are made to get resource persons involved in many or all aspects of the above dissemination process. On one hand, they can help distil the policy conclusions and to put research results into international perspective. On the other hand, their implication increases the visibility of national dissemination activities. 9. Resource Expansion Resource expansion is also very important to the PEP networks. The network is developing a set of partnerships with other donors drawing on established strengths and experience. Last Update: 2007-10-29 |