Impact Stories from 2022

From research to action

PEP's support facilitates collaboration between local researchers and stakeholders to generate context-sensitive, policy-relevant evidence. We foster best practices in policy engagement and communication while supporting research teams to promote the use of evidence-based decision-making within local institutions and through public engagement via national events and the media. As a result, most PEP projects inform policymaking and lead to increased visibility and career advancement for local researchers. Find out more about the impact of PEP's support and projects. 

In 2022, every research project supported by PEP adopted a "coproduction approach," led by teams compromising local researchers and government representatives or relevant stakeholders. PEP also mandates that research projects include the production of a policy paper or context analysis to bolster knowledge translation for decision-making.

The following accounts, reported by PEP-supported project teams in 2022, testify to the effectiveness and substantial impact of this approach.

Jump to:

Burkina Faso    Cameroon    Côte d'Ivoire   Kenya    Nigeria 

Pakistan     Senegal     Tanzania     Uganda     Vietnam

Findings from a study led by PEP researchers in Burkina Faso showed that allocating a greater proportion of agricultural land plots to women, as opposed to men, would be the most effective way to reduce the adverse effects of climate change on poverty and productivity in rural areas.

When they presented these findings to the various government institutions they had been consulting with throughout the project, the team discovered that the suggested measure was already at the center of a vigorous policy debate. In fact, the measure had been proposed and considered but encountered significant opposition from various parties due to cultural realities and sensitivities. However, the findings were well-received by the Ministry of Agriculture, as their representative confirmed that the evidence aligned with their own research, indicating that land plots allocated to women tend to be more productive than those issued to men. This support could tip the debate in favour of this policy option. Additionally, the measure was identified as a means to safeguard the welfare of rural women amid the ongoing conflict and insecurity in Burkina Faso.

This PEP project was supported under the “Climate change in Africa: Impact and responses for women and girls” initiative.

A thriving and diversified agricultural sector is at the core of Cameroon's 2020-2030 National Development Strategy (SND-30), serving as a key objective for achieving its poverty reduction and structural transformation goals. Despite this, a PEP study—part of the "Climate change in Africa: Impact and responses for women and girls" initiative—reveals a troubling reality. The impact of climate change could significantly reduce the production of most crops, posing a direct and substantial threat to the country's development objectives. However, the local research team found that these adverse impacts can be lessened by facilitating farmers' access to agricultural inputs, such as subsidizing fertilizer costs. This strategy not only enhances food security and boosts production but also improves overall welfare, particularly benefiting rural households led by women.

PEP researchers in Côte d'Ivoire conducted an experimental study to assess the impact of the government's Civic Action Service for Employment and Development (SCAED) program, which provides soft-skill education to unemployed youth. Their results demonstrated that the program is effective in fostering positive behaviours among beneficiaries and also promotes social inclusion, outperforming educational scholarships or start-up capital for young entrepreneurs.

Following the presentation of their findings at a national policy conference, the Minister of Employment and Social Protection's Technical Advisor expressed that the team's insights would be used to inform the National Strategic Plan for the Inclusion of Vulnerable Populations, which he was leading. Specifically, their findings will help with prioritization and budget allocation for the strategy's support programs. Recognizing the team's expertise, they were subsequently invited to advise on these adjustments.

The National Office of Civic Service's representative also stated that these findings would help support and strengthen the government's commitment to scale up the Civic Education Center, with plans to establish branches in 14 district areas nationwide.

This year, under the "What Works for Youth Employment in Africa" initiative, PEP supported a team of researchers from the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) institute to review youth employment policies and programs. As part of this project, the team consulted with a broad range of stakeholders at the national and local levels. As a result of these consultations, the team was invited to collaborate with the National Youth Council, the State Department for Youth Affairs, the Council of Governors and national offices across Kenya's 47 Counties to help integrate the team's findings into the 3rd Generation County Integrated Development Plan (2023/24-2027/28). Further, at a national policy conference where the team shared their findings, the State Department for Youth Affairs' representative confirmed that this evidence would inform policy design and implementation within the country.

As part of the Covid-19 Responses for Equity (CORE) initiative, PEP supported a study in Nigeria to assess the welfare and economic impacts of the Covid-19 crisis, along with the effectiveness of government measures to mitigate its adverse effects. Owing to his reputation and existing relationship with the government, the country lead of this PEP project was nominated to join President Buhari's special "Economic Sustainability Committee" formed in March 2020, which comprises high-ranking representatives from various government agencies—including several advisors to the President. The mandate of this committee was to develop the country's crisis response and recovery plan. As a result of the project lead's involvement, this PEP-CORE study was incorporated into the committee's working agenda. Accordingly, the study's findings were directly shared with and discussed among all relevant government institutions and national decision-makers, ensuring their influence in the country's response strategy.

Another team of PEP researchers supported under the CORE initiative conducted a series of simulations to assess the impacts of Covid-19 policy responses on the national economy in Pakistan. Thanks to the team's intensive engagement and advocacy efforts, the project has contributed to evidence-informed policymaking in several ways: 

• In May 2021, the team was informed that their preliminary results had been instrumental in informing the Planning Commission's federal budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year.

• In 2022, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) not only publicly recognized the need but also implemented measures to increase the production of gender data and enhance the accessibility and transparency of data in general. In addition to providing a detailed plan to improve the PBS's data capacity, the team was also invited to advise the process, which is now an integral part of the PBS's digital transformation initiatives.

• Subsequently, the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives sought the team's expertise to help strengthen their institutional capacity in evidence-based policy design and evaluation. This included training the Ministry's staff, particularly within the SDGs unit. In an effort to enhance their understanding of research-based policy models, the Ministry assigned several of its research fellows to work directly with the team.

Numerous stakeholder consultations conducted as part of a PEP project in Senegal, supported by the "What Works for Youth Employment in Africa" initiative, revealed a critical gap in coordination and information-sharing between various programs and institutions addressing youth employment issues in the country. Through the collaboration facilitated by this PEP project, the National Agency for the Promotion of Youth Employment (DGPPE), the Center for Development Policy Studies (CEPOD) and the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Cooperation has committed to working closely on the design and implementation of youth employment programs to increase their efficiency and anchor programming decisions on rigorous evidence. In addition, the Operational Monitoring Office of the Plan for an Emerging Senegal (PES)—which serves as the country's guiding framework for economic and social policy—also expressed an interest in collaborating with the team to conduct a study profiling job seekers in Senegal.

Findings from another study supported under the "Climate change in Africa" initiative reveal that while the adoption of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) technologies boosts agricultural productivity in Tanzania, there is a pressing need to enhance women's access to CSA technologies to bridge the productivity gap between men and women smallholder farmers. 

When the research team presented their results and recommendations to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Director indicated that the team's policy brief would be instrumental in guiding staff during daily policy discussions and broader talks with other stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Recognizing that ingrained social norms in Tanzania could limit women's benefits from national interventions, the Ministry has since called on the project team to help inform the implementation of policies specifically targeting women.

A project team in Uganda, supported under the "What Works for Youth Employment in Africa" initiative, completed an extensive review of youth employment programs (YEPs). The research team determined that while core government programs should be maintained, they also proposed several improvements: strengthening the institutional framework of YEPs, increasing integration and fostering greater coordination between national initiatives and local efforts, removing barriers to youth self-employment, standardizing technical and vocational training and ensuring that beneficiaries are better prepared before funds are distributed, among others.

Throughout the project, the team consulted with several government institutions. As a result, their findings and recommendations have been incorporated into local legislation, the "Start-Up Bill" and the "Domestic Employment Bill." The team's insights were also used by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to inform the review of the existing Youth Livelihood Program, as well as by the National Planning Authority during the Mid-term review of Uganda's Third National Development Plan (NDP III).

A study investigating the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis in Vietnam, supported under the CORE initiative, highlighted the uneven economic effects of the pandemic across various sectors. While agricultural workers were less affected, those in transport, leisure, and tourism experienced significant income reductions. The study also shed light on the disproportionate effect on households headed by women, which were hit harder due to a decline in remittances. The team found that as more men than women migrate from Vietnam, families receiving remittances usually have a greater proportion of female members or are headed by women. With these insights, local PEP researchers recommended that the Government increase support to the most affected sectors, as well as migrant families, to counter the effects of the pandemic on the welfare of these communities.

At the national policy conference held by the PEP team in Hanoi in August 2022, the Vice head of the Department of National Economy Issues under the Ministry of Planning and Investment affirmed that the team's findings would be integrated into policy decisions. Their conference also garnered the attention of the national media, who reported on the event.