Building capacity for local
development solutions

POLICY ENGAGEMENT

Objectives and strategy

Ultimately, the goal of PEP activities is for the research and researchers it supports to contribute to informing policy in developing countries. However, both researchers and donors face the challenge of promoting greater interest in the production and use of an evidence base for policies and programs throughout the world. This challenge has inspired PEP to develop a unique research support program  in which grant recipients are mandated to complement their research project with an effective policy engagement and communication strategy. This strategy is designed and implemented under the supervision of, and with continual support/guidance from, PEP outreach mentors.

Not only does this contribute to increase policy uptake of research findings, but experience has also proven that the researchers who engage in such activities usually benefit from increased exposure and acknowledgement as field experts at the national level, which in turn ensures the long term impact of PEP support. Find out more about PEP impact stories

According to periodical surveys conducted with PEP-supported research teams:

  • 1 in 2 PEP researchers experiences significant career-promoting events, with 40% leading to their increased involvement in local/national policy processes
  • 1 in 2 PEP projects result in findings reported in national news media
  • 1 in 3 PEP projects leads to findings taken up to inform local/national policy decisions

In 2019, PEP expanded this program further by introducing new requirements and modalities in the Grant Plus model - these include:

  • "Co-production" of research by mixed government-research teams
  • Development of a Policy Paper (along with the research paper) as a mandatory project deliverable
  • A intensive (3-day) workshop on best practices to support evidence-informed policymaking


PEP support

Building on nearly 18 years of experience of supporting locally-led policy research in 60+ developing countries, PEP has developed quite a unique organizational expertise and perspective as to "what works" (or practical solutions) to create bridges and linkages between research and policy. to provide the best possible guidance in terms of stakeholder mapping, policy engagement, research communications, etc.

Overtime, and using the knowledge gained through this experience, the PEP Grant Plus program was extended to include activities that would contribute to encourage, advise and support its grantees in the implementation of effective policy influence strategies in their home countries. Such activities include intensive, "how-to" type of training workshops (see below), an innovative "mentorship program" (each team paired with an experienced policy advisor from the same region), as well as the development of a Policy Paper, to guide them in the analysis of their project's policy context, stakeholder mapping, engagement and knowledge translation, throughout the research cycle.

Training

At the onset of projects, PEP provides advisory and workshops to help researchers understand the policy and political context related to their research project/issue, as well as to design an effective policy engagement strategy.

In 2019, as part of a new series of grant programs supporting policy analysis projects led by mixed government-research teams, PEP has also developed and provided workshops aimed at reviewing best practices for evidence-inform policymaking (EIPM) - introducing solutions for both sides (research and policy) to address the core issues that impede the systematic use of scientific evidence in policy processes.

Towards the end of a project, to ensure effective and well-targeted dissemination of findings, PEP also provides advisory and worshops focused mainly on research communications (best practices and tools).

Dissemination

In addition to guiding and supporting policy engagement throughout the research cycle, PEP also provides researchers with both technical and financial support to disseminate findings more broadly and effectively. The specific activities supported by PEP through the "Grant Plus" program include:

Related instructions and guidelines for researchers who wish to undertake such initiatives are provided in the "Funding/guides" section of the PEP website.

Finally, PEP researchers' findings are also dissmeminated through the network's frequent newsletters (PEP-Talk - over 11,000 recipients), annual reports, social networks (facebook and twitter), as well as through a specially dedicated section of the website reporting on "Policy findings from PEP research".


References and external resources:

Key references and tools for research-to-policy initiatives

  • Carden, Fred (2009), "Knowledge to Policy: Making the Most of Development Research", IDRC, SAGE publications, 209 p. (online)
  • Hovland, Ingie (2005), "Successful Communications: a Toolkit for Researchers and Civil Society Organisations", ODI Research and Policy in Development program (RAPID), ODI, London, 69 p. (online)
  • Start, Daniel and I. Hovland (2004), "Tools for Policy Impact: a Handbook for Researchers", ODI Research and Policy in Development, ODI, London, 64 p. (online)

PEP workshops and resources:

Training:

  • The On Think Tanks School:  Providing long and short online courses (webinars) to help researchers and think tanks develop competences for effective policy advocacy

Blogs:


Web Sources - Specialized Organisations:

Videos:

  • IFPRI Conference on the “Challenges, Methods and Innovations in Assessing Policy Influence”. About the lessons and challenges regarding research communications for evidence-based policymaking; skip to the second presentation given by IDRC Director of the Evaluation Unit, Fred Carden, which is of particular interest in the context of building a policy influence plan.

The two following videos are good illustrations of :

Other:

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