Contributing to evidence-based Policy making

Ranjitha Puskur, ILRIBerhanu Adenew, Ethiopian Economic

Association

Nile Basin Development ChallengeScience and Reflection WorkshopAddis Ababa, 4-6 May 2011

• Policy priorities are led by the government’s visions– agriculture and rural centred development (ADLI)• Poverty reduction and food security• Commercialization, export promotion

• The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) formulates macro policies while line ministries formulate sectoral policies.

• Policy making in Ethiopia is a government’s domain (less space for private sector, CSOs/ NGOs, farmers institutions);– Participation has been largely lacking, but gradually

emerging

Policy making process in Ethiopia

• Policy making process is less known for taking evidence from grassroots or research and (through M&E)

• Lack of adequate and current datasets• Lack of adequate analytical skills, models and

knowledge• Lack of independence in policy analysis, i.e., bias

towards promoting only government or donors’ interest • Lack of informed debate among the various

stakeholders• Weak networking between the different stakeholders

Policy making process and constraints

• policies have been adopted , adapted and under implementation over the last two decades

• government intervenes in the areas of its comparative advantage

• policy elements/components relevant to RMS and water management spread over a number of policies

Relevant policies …..

The ODI RAPID Framework (Court and Young 2003)

The Context – political, social and economic structures, political processes, institutional pressures, incremental vs radical change etc.

The Evidence – credibility, the degree it challenges received wisdom, research approaches and methodology, simplicity of the message, how it is packaged etc

External Influences Geopolitical, economic and cultural influences; donor policies, etc

The Links between policyand research communities – networks, relationships, power, competing discourses, trust, knowledge etc.

Political Context: Key Areas–The macro political context (democracy,

governance, media freedom; academic freedom)

–The sector / issue process (Policy uptake = demand – contestation) [NB Demand: political and societal]

–How policymakers think (narratives & policy streams)

–Policy implementation and practice (bureaucracies, incentives, street level, room for manoeuvre, participatory approaches)

–Decisive moments in the policy process (policy processes, votes, policy windows and crises)

(Court and Young 2003)

Evidence: Relevance and credibility

• Key factor – did it provide a solution to a problem?

• Relevance:– Topical relevance – What to do? – Operational usefulness – How to do it? :

• Credibility: – Research approach– Of researcher > of evidence itself

• Strenuous advocacy efforts are often needed• Communication

(Court and Young 2003)

Links: Feedback and Networks

• Feedback processes often prominent in successful cases• Trust & legitimacy• Networks:

– Epistemic communities – knowledge-based experts and claim possession of policy relevant knowledge

– Policy networks – few actors, close working relations, development and delivery of policies

– Advocacy coalitions – develop stronger public image, bring together diverse resources and ideas

• The role of individuals: connectors, mavens and salesmen

(Court and Young 2003)

Policy EntrepreneursSimon Maxwell - ODI

Storytellers

Engineers

Networkers

Fixers

So what do we need to do?

What you need to know

What you need to do

How you should do it

Political Context:

Evidence

Links

• Who are the policymakers?• Is there demand for ideas?• What is the policy process?

• What is the current theory?• What are the narratives?• How divergent is it?

• Who are the stakeholders?• What networks exist?• Who are the connectors,

mavens and salesmen?

• Get to know the policymakers.• Identify friends and foes.• Prepare for policy opportunities. • Look out for policy windows.

• Work with them – seek commissions

• Strategic opportunism – prepare for known events + resources for others

• Establish credibility• Provide practical solutions• Establish legitimacy.• Present clear options• Use familiar narratives.

• Build a reputation• Action-research• Pilot projects to generate

legitimacy• Good communication

• Get to know the others• Work through existing

networks.• Build coalitions.• Build new policy networks.

• Build partnerships.• Identify key networkers,

mavens and salesmen.• Use informal contacts

(Court and Young 2003)

CommunicationScience often explains the familiar in terms of the

unfamiliar – Lewis Wolpert

• researchers are often not good at communicating what they know, and what they think should happen, to the people who make the decisions

• speak naively of policy issues, demonstrate little or no awareness of current policy

• over-technical, and often need drastic editing to make the outputs readable and understandable to key players

Communication

• Research can only affect policy in a significant way if it is appropriately communicated

• Research results need to be well understood by key stakeholders and have to reach them before decisions have been taken

• Multiple approaches need to be pursued• Communications to be pursued as a continuous

activity between key stakeholder groups and researchers

Communication

• Clear strategy• Intensive efforts - resources• Packaging• Interactive• Multiple approaches• Seeing is believing

• Context, location and time specific messages• Some broad-themed messages

Know your audiencePrimary - organizations with which the project deals directly and

presumably will have mandates to scale-up and scale-out the outcomes of the project

Secondary - entities and communities the project usually reaches through the facilitation of the primary audience members

Know your messages

• A continual dialogue through a variety of

communications vehicles – stickiness factor–Personal dialogues with national policy

makers– Engagement with mass media to influence

policy making via public opinion and its shapers

Communications spectrum

Printed material– Project Brochure– Project Newsletter– Working Paper Series– Success Stories Series– Commodities Sheets– Regular articles (a weekly or monthly column) in

local newspapers

Communications spectrum

Electronic Media• Project website• e-Newsletter• Success clips - video production• Regular program on national or regional radio• Public service announcements (Regular 1, 2, or 3

minute radio or TV spots that communicate a single message repeatedly – something like an advert with a twist)

Communications spectrum

Events• Stakeholder Conferences• Agricultural Technology Workshops• Board Meetings• Executive Group Meetings• Research Management Group• Sponsorship of Annual Awards for Best Performing

Woredas, Farmers, Private Sector• Sponsoring a permanent showcase (Agricultural Hall

of Fame)

Communications spectrum

Government Relations• Informal One-to-one Meetings• Sponsorship of portions of targeted

government events, meetings

• How do we ensure our evidence is credible, relevant. practical and operationally useful?

• How and what kind of feedback processes and networks should we develop to communicate our messages?

• What kind of communication vehicles would be most appropriate for communicating research to policy makers in the Ethiopian NBDC context?

• How do we go about understanding policy better? Are we aware of key decision moments?

Thank you