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Tools for Policy Impact: A Handbook for Researchers
Daniel Start and Ingie Hovland, October 2004
From insight to impact in international development
Civil society organisations are increasingly recognising
the need to influence policy and decision-making processes more
effectively, whether that be to represent the needs of their interest
groups, or to ensure that new policies are based on sound research
and evidence. This is not least true for think tank bodies. The
number of think tanks worldwide has expanded rapidly over the last
two decades as government becomes more receptive to evidence-based
policy solutions and seeks new solutions in rapidly changing political
environments. Think tank-like organisations continue to spring up
all across the world, as off-shoots of university departments, programme
evaluation and policy divisions of NGOs, or independent consultancies.
What they all have in common is a wish to capture the political
imagination; they aim to use their insight to have political impact.
This handbook addresses various factors that need to be considered
in this process, and provides a comprehensive selection of tools
that can be used when attempting to turn research into policy influence.
Bridging research and policy: The RAPID programme
The Overseas Development Institute, as part of its Research
and Policy in Development (RAPID) programme, has been looking at
the links between research and policy for several years. It is now
beginning a process of identifying, developing, distributing and
delivering tools, resources and training support that can help research
providers access the policy process. This handbook presents work
in progress on tools for policy impact, specifically geared towards
the needs of researchers.
Target audience
The handbook is particularly targeted at civil society organisations,
or the parts of them, whose activities involve gathering evidence,
doing research, learning lessons or advising on strategy for social,
environmental and economic development in the North and South. We
could call them evidence-based development civil society organisations,
but refer to them as think tanks as a shorthand.
This group might include organisations more used to interest-group
campaigning and advocacy (e.g. for the rights of landless labourers),
but who have a rich source of knowledge on the issue that they wish
to communicate to policy in a constructive and co-operative influencing
style - in contrast to more confrontational strategies. The group
might equally include research institutes and university departments
that have a large body of research but have difficulty packaging
it for policy-makers. All these organisations have important insight
yet many of them are not experienced in policy influencing skills,
and do not have access to tools, resources or training materials
to help them reach this goal.
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