The Role of Evidence in International Development: Working towards Pro-poor Policy

Various theoretical approaches have attempted to provide answers to the questions of how policy is made and to what extent research and evidence is incorporated into the policy process. The traditional question on this topic was based on the model of a linear and rational progression, and could be phrased: 'How can research be transported from the research to the policy sphere?' Now, however, the shortcomings of the linear model are widely recognised, and the question that is asked instead concerns research uptake pathways: 'Why are some of the ideas that circulate in the research/policy networks picked up and acted on, while others are ignored and disappear?' Or, to phrase it from the perspective of those engaged in research: 'How can we market our ideas so that they are noticed? What do we have to do to influence policy in a pro-poor and evidence-based direction?'

The 'context, evidence, links' framework
ODI's framework for analysing research-policy linkages acknowledges that the answer to these questions seems to lie in a combination of several determining influences, which can broadly be divided into three areas: (i) The political context; (ii) The evidence, and how it is communicated, and (iii) The links between the actors involved (Crewe and Young, 2002).

Context: politics and institutions
The research/policy link is shaped by the political context. In some cases the political strategies and power relations are obvious, and are tied to the specific institutional pressures that policymakers face. The degree of political contestation is important. In most cases the wider political context also plays a part - for example, the end of the Cold War was a contextual factor that strongly influenced shifts in policy thinking within international development.

Evidence: credibility and communication
The degree of attention paid to circulating ideas is also determined by the way that those ideas are presented. There are many academic fields that provide interesting contributions in this regard, including the literature on interpersonal communication, advocacy and marketing communication, media communication and information technology, and knowledge management and research relevance. Whether or not a circulating idea is able to elicit an engaged response from actors depends on a range of factors, such as the perceived credibility of the source, the way the idea is communicated, the language used, the layout, and the timing.

Links: influence and legitimacy
The research/policy link is played out in the interface between the surrounding (political) structure and the actors involved: networks, organisations/institutions, and individuals. Actors may interact through official policy working groups, or through loose networks of likeminded people who are interested in sharing ideas. The links between them may be formal or informal.

Adapting the 'context, evidence, links' model into an operational planning framework

The RAPID framework was designed as a theoretical model, geared towards highlighting to the researcher the different factors that are important in the policy process. However, it also lends itself well to a project planning framework. Evidence from ODI's work so far provides preliminary recommendations in four areas, which are laid out in the table below.

How to influence policy and practice

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