Networks (Introduction | Integrated | Politics | Networks | Evidence)

The nature of the relationship between researchers and policy makers shapes how much influence they have over each other. Policy networks usually share some common values and outlooks and consciously work together to take advantage of policy ‘spaces’ and ‘windows’. Policy makers themselves can be members of these networks, but if not directly involved in the influencing process, other kinds of support (such as citizen action) can become critical.

What influences policy making will depend on the policy area and geopolitical level. Scientific arguments are important in some areas, lobbying by professional groups is vital in others. Certain patterns about the perception of expertise prevail across all policy areas; the marginalisation or appropriation of indigenous knowledge is well documented. The reversals advocated in Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques - and its spin-offs - have challenged these power relations to some extent but have sometimes been merely another tool for 'developers' to control encounters more effectively.

It has been suggested that international NGOs will have to be more accountable to the citizens they claim to represent, more South-driven when international development goals are in mind, and extremely well-informed, to be taken seriously. They have been advised to map out their legitimacy chains through systems of accountability (building structures that are representative of local constituencies where necessary) or relevant experience. Researchers who ensure they build legitimacy chains to their informants may also be less easy to ignore.

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These pages are taken from Bridging Research and Policy: Context, Evidence and Links. by Emma Crewe and John Young. ODI Working Paper No. 173, 2002, Overseas Development Institute, London, UK.