RAPID Programme Lessons - Talking Heads Video Interviews

Civil Society Partnerships Programme Video Interviews

Use the links next to each speaker to watch video clips or read the transcripts of the interviews. You will need Quicktime Player (for higher quality MP4 clips) / Windows Media Player (for lower quality WMV clips) / Real One Player to download or watch the videos. Click on the organisation's name to find out more about their involvement in the CSPP. These interviews were conducted at the CSPP Collaborators Workshop in London, November 2005 and at the CSPP Partners Meeting in London, November 2006.

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	"As a network organisation, we feel the most important evidence comes from the voices of the poor themselves, through using participatory approaches and having the poor identify their priorities for the national development plans..." Besinati Mpepo, Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR), Zambia More...	Watch 2 minute video clip on using both participatory and traditional research as evidence: WMV (515kb) Read the full transcript
	"The greatest challenge is probably that, most of the time, we are out of the political context and that, as a result, the political context is not always understood by research institutes, or it is beyond our control..." Nuning Akhmadi, SMERU, Indonesia More...	Watch 2 minute video clip on influencing local government and policy-makers: WMV (588kb) Read the full transcript
	"It seems to be a matter of the players applying different kinds of pressures at different points in time and, if you want to influence things, you need to be there at the right time, right at the beginning..." Priyanthi Fernando, CEPA, Sri Lanka More...	Listen 3 minute audio clip on evidence and the political agenda: WMA (260kb) Read the full transcript
	"It is the ground realities that help us in developing our evidence and our policy inputs, together with the experiences of other countries facing similar situations and the good and bad practices that have emerged from those countries..." Manish Agarwal, CUTS International More...	Watch 3 minute video clip on compelling evidence: WMV (1.4mb) Read the full transcript
	"If you have good evidence-based information, this information needs to be brought not only to policy-makers, but also to all those who are networking around the policy-makers..." Sin Somuny, Medicam, Cambodia More...	Watch 5 minute video clip on evidence-based information and policy change: WMV (2.3mb) Read the full transcript
	"As you develop the research process, it is important to bring on board these key decision-makers and get a feel of what they want and whether the research is helping to get to what they want answers on..." Charles Lwanga Ntale, Development Research and Training, Uganda More...	Watch 3 minute video clip on persuading policy-makers: WMV (1.5mb) Read the full transcript

	"Using research-based evidence is an important aspect of engaging with policy-makers by providing credible evidence about areas in which we have determined a credible need for policy interventions." Bola Fajemirokun, Development Initiatives Network, Nigeria More...	Watch 2 minute video clips on good news case studies: MP4 (3.57mb) or WMV (665kb) and what policymakers could do to increase use of research-based evidence: MP4 (2.28mb) or WMV (415kb) Read the full transcript
	"Influencing development policy is usually a long-term process that is based on credibility and trust." Carlos Aramburu, CIES, Peru More...	Watch a 2 minute video clip on what CSOs could do to increase their policy impact & what policymakers could do to increase use of research-based evidence: MP4 (6.15mb) or WMV (1mb) Read the full transcript
	"At the end of the day, what we are aiming for is change, and we need to be aware of the pressure points and of the critical levers that we would need to pull." David Kalete, CIVICUS More...	Watch 2 minute video clips on the tricks of the trade: MP4 (3.68mb) or WMV (674kb) and what CSOs could do to increase their policy impact: MP4 (3.26mb) or WMV (593kb) Read the full transcript
	"Today we are seeing the positive impact of collecting research-based evidence and this is what our target audience is looking for, in the government, parliament and the donor community." Mavuto Bamusi, Malawi Economic Justice Network, Malawi More...	Watch a 2 minute video clip on what CSOs could do to increase their policy impact: MP4 (5.86mb) or WMV (1mb) Read the full transcript
	"We have all these skills, we have all this experience, why don't we come together and fill this gap? We understand the local context and we can help community development workers to do development work in a bottom-up and culturally appropriate way which reflects the local context." Rosemary Adong, Community Development Resource Network (CDRN), Uganda More...	Watch a 2 minute video clip on the tricks of the trade: MP4 (4.89mb) or WMV (904kb) Read the full transcript
	"The most important tricks of the trade are about being appropriate: understanding the demand and the best format and mechanisms to deliver information to the recipient." Susan Mbaya, SARPN, South Africa More...	Watch a 2 minute video clip on what CSOs could do to increase their policy impact & what policymakers could do to increase use of research-based evidence: MP4 (4.81mb) or WMV (886kb) Read the full transcript
	"Actually getting from A to Z may be ten years down the line, but the work was innovative and needed time to sink in and be picked up by the policy-makers." Tony Dogbe, Participatory Development Associates, Ghana More...	Watch a 2 minute video clip on horror stories and what CSOs could do to increase their policy impact: MP4 (7.67mb) or WMV (1.3mb) Read the full transcript
	"Basically, it is important to conduct research which is embedded in the policy-making processes." Vanesa Weyrauch, CIPPEC, Argentina More...	Watch 2 minute video clips on horror stories: MP4 (3.87mb) or WMV (905kb) & what policymakers could do to increase use of research-based evidence: MP4 (3.28mb) or WMV (608kb) Read the full transcript
	"If the problem is defined well and clearly then it is possible to get concrete and relevant data to inform the policy processes, so that evidence can be disseminated to and used by policy-makers." Vivian Kazi, Economic and Social Research Foundation, Tanzania More...	Watch a 2 minute video clip on what CSOs could do to increase their policy impact & what policymakers could do to increase use of research-based evidence: MP4 (6.42mb) or WMV (1.1mb) Read the full transcript