| How to use evidence
to influence policy and practice
Regardless of the barriers the face, networks in Peru have proven
to be relatively successful in influencing the policy process. They
have done this taking advantage of multiple strategies, means and
tools. Within these stories of success there are some best practices
that must be highlighted and shared.
Most best practices are context specific. However, their lessons
can be replicated in different processes. The following examples
include the use of several communication products, using the media,
linking grassroots and policymakers and taking advantage of the
formal channels of participation.
Click on the links below for more on each example:
Communication strategies
Communication strategies among the networks interviewed are relatively
similar; with different levels of specialisation and sophistication.
These depend more on the resources available to them than on their
understanding of communications or of their value for their objectives.
And their main resource constrain in this area is the lack of funding
'for communications' from their traditional donors. Nonetheless,
resource constraints have not hampered the proliferation of communication
material, among which it is possible to include:
- Newsletters (and e-newsletters): Newsletters are
often directed to both members and non members as a means of communication.
Successful cases, however, try to design differentiated versions:
one for members which includes network governance issues and another
for non-members. When possible, convening networks must attempt
to differentiate within members and non-members considering their
key interests and the use they can give to the information provided.
- Specialised or trade magazines: most of the times, these
magazines allow networks to present a summary of a long term project
or programme. La Mesa, for instance uses this format to bring
together some of the key conclusion of an annual conference.
- Books: Most networks publish books regularly. However,
books need to address different objectives. In the case of Foro
Salud, they have used this format as a way of documenting the
network's birth and development process. They use them as well
to disseminate its research and policy agenda. Books are an expensive
means of communication; often demanding a significant initial
investment for a minimum number of copies. Therefore, it is important
to consider who will read it and what it is for. Presentation
is crucial when trying to convey a message using this particular
medium.
- Academic papers (working paper series): Academic papers
are directed at academics, researchers or specialists on a particular
subject. These, alone, cannot be expected to affect changes on
policymakers' behaviours as it is unlikely that will be read by
them.
- Policy briefs: Policy briefs, on the other hand, are
designed as 2-4 page summaries of academic papers, research programmes
or expert knowledge. They intend to convey very practical information
about a particular issue; not set out the theoretical explanations
of a problem or debate the alternative views or options.
- Web-sites: Not all the networks interviewed had a functioning,
interactive web-site. ICTs are not yet available for everyone
and, in some users' opinion, no web-site is better than a bad
one. However, web-sites are excellent tools for affordable publishing
of any type of format and can offer networks with a very important
institutional image. Most research users and policymakers in the
country do have access to the internet and this is relatively
cheaper and far more efficient than public or private libraries.
Hence the web has become a first point of call for information
searches.
- Interviews and articles in the media: Being
interviewed in the media or publishing articles in newspapers
is not an open process. Usually through personal contacts, researchers
gain access to radio and T.V. programmes. The same is true for
the print media. Working with news editors is important in all
cases as they are who decide what is newsworthy and deserves a
space (in the airwaves or paper).
- Newspaper supplements: Peru 2021 and Participa Peru have
successfully designed and published their own newspaper supplements
in national and regional newspapers. This by-passes the long process
of engagement with the media as these are often paid for. It also
allows them to convey a complex message without the risk of being
oversimplified by the media.
- Conferences, workshops and seminars: These are not organised
as often as would be desirable but the networks participate of
them nationally and internationally.
Unfortunately, only a few have communication strategies that integrate
these products. They rely on the expert knowledge of communication
practitioners (such as journalists, marketing or media officers)
to develop and implement their communication strategies. Although
expensive, a well designed strategy will surely raise the network's
profile, strengthen it and even reinforce its sustainability.
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 Tuesday
with the grassroots and Thursdays with the policymakers
Policy impact strategies are varied. A good practice is CONVEAGRO's
attempt to influence policy using both direct and indirect means.
Every Thursday, members of the network's steering committee or governing
board have a working breakfast with the Minister of Agriculture
and other key policymakers and advisers. This gives them the opportunity
to inform policymakers about the position of the network on various
issues as well as to discuss the evidence developed by the network's
technical team and members.
Every Tuesday, the steering committee meets to discuss the running
of the network as well as to report on the technical team's research
findings. During these meetings members of the network from all
over the country attend to learn about the latest findings and to
ask for specific information that will help their institutions'
decision making processes. It is not strange, for instance, for
union leaders to ask the network's technical team for answers to
specific questions that will determine whether they will stage a
protest or not.
This process of grassroots and policymakers' meetings ensures that
the network's research is both relevant to both. The network acts
as a facilitator of participation processes (even if they do not
formally exist), amplifier and convener (even when both sides do
not actually meet).
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Meeting of CONVEAGRO's Steering Committee
(Tuesday meetings)
The SC meets every Tuesday to discuss issues
concerning the governance of the networks and learn about
new research and debate other issues of political or practical
interests to their members. The meetings are open to non-members
and often external experts are invited to actively participate.
Members from producer associations from all over the country
often participate of the meetings -in representation of their
organisations.
The meetings begin with the network reporting
on the main activities carried out by the secretariat, including
meetings, conferences and workshops attended, research done,
etc.
The Technical Team is asked to report on its
work; often in response to research questions put forward
by the members of the networks during previous Tuesday meetings.
For instance, what will be the impact of the US-FTA on rice
producers? They are also asked more direct questions about
the performance of particular public policies or their assessment
of ongoing processes.
The SC also reports on inter-institutional relations
and important discussions held with government officials.
The Tuesday meetings are also an opportunity
for members to debate the network's as well as their own strategies.
For instance, one representative of a producer organisation
asked the Technical Team about the effects of a particular
policy on their livelihoods. The association would then use
the evidence provided by the network to debate and decide
over a possible protest.
Tuesday meetings are, above all, an opportunity
for members to discuss strategies, identify opportunities,
voice concerns and needs and report conflicts in their internal
and external relations. These issues are taken into consideration
by the secretariat's research, capacity building and communications
strategies. And most importantly, they are communicated to
the authorities through the periodic meetings the network's
officials hold with them every week.
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Experts' takeover (going after
the candidate)
Foro Educativo has developed an original strategy to influence
long term educational policy in Peru. As a result of the high turnover
of policymakers, 'políticas de Estado' (long term policies)
are almost impossible to develop -let alone implement. Foro Educativo
has therefore gathered most possible credible candidates for any
important education policy positions as its members. This means
that even with high turnover, the likelihood that the new Minister
or vice minister will be a member is also high. Hence, the policy
agendas developed within the network can potentially become long
term policies.
In recent years, one of the leading opposition parties and a strong
candidate for the upcoming April 2006 elections has systematically
approached researchers and policy analysts. Participa Perú
has taken advantage of this eagerness and extended its policy impact
strategy to engage with political parties whose influence in the
policy process is stronger at the regional level. In that sense,
their regional partners organise a series of meetings and capacity
building initiatives with the party's regional bodies, which in
some cases include the regional government itself. In this way the
network hopes to provide a bridge between current and future regional
administrations thus minimising the unnecessary and politically
driven policy changes that often occur.
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Promoting and supporting debate
In a relatively small research community as the Peruvian one, meeting
series are a potentially powerful tool for building a strong and
better coordinated development community of practice. These meetings
allow network members to meet each other (something that does not
often happens in networks with institutional membership) as well
as experts and policymakers who are often invited.
CONVEAGRO's Tuesday meetings constitute a similar mechanism that
brings together members and policymakers. It differs in that it
is also a management mechanism for the network. This method, however,
awards transparency to the deliberative process of the network,
allowing those they seek to influence to witness the relations that
exist among the members and the central role that robust and credible
research plays in the process.
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Using the system
Most networks try to participate of the government's invited spaces.
This gives them the opportunity to keep their members up to date
with the information used by the government; which then informs
their policy impact strategies. For Foro Salud, working the 'room
next door' has been one of their main policy impact strategies.
Similarly, they are currently working on a research agenda to prepare
for the Budget Allocation negotiations at the Ministry of Economy
and Finance. Although few, there are a number of public processes
in which CSOs can use evidence to influence policy and these networks
consider their use important.
Other, better funded and more policy oriented, CSOs have been more
successful in engaging with the policy process. Reflexión
Democrática, is a spin-off of a Peruvian lobby that brings
together the main corporations involved in international trade.
Over a long process of engagement it has successfully inserted itself,
both physically and virtually, in the deliberative process of the
National Congress. Their political connections (to a leading opposition
party) and location (they are inside the Congress) but also their
capacity to provide simple, relevant and prompt answers to the politicians
questions have guaranteed them a place in the policy arena.
In this process they have learned how to take advantage of the
system, prepare for policy windows and identify and exploit strategic
partnerships. Using the system does not mean, as it is sometimes
wrongly understood, that policy actors should not develop their
own communications and lobbying strategies. Precisely, Reflexión
Democrática's success rests on its ability to transfer its
lobbying skills to the newly opened spaces for democratic engagement.
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Media savvy
Using the media requires particular skills within the institution.
Peru2021, for instance, has recently hired a communications specialist
to develop and implement the network's communication strategy. Peru2021's
communications strategy considers two key stakeholders: the general
public and corporations in Peru. The former is reached by a series
of means including the internet newspapers and other mass media
formats. Corporations (members and non-members) are targeted through
personal or social networks and face to face meetings.
CIES has developed a series of media related strategies. For instance,
its researchers and executive members regularly appear on TV and
radio shows. They also use policy and research briefs to inform
the media on specific issues. They have developed a unique colour-coded
format to make them easily recognised by the press. In a recent
action-research IDRC funded programme that aims to develop a policy
agenda to be debated during the current presidential campaign (April
2006 elections). CIES is carrying out a series of workshops with
the media sector to build the capacity of journalists on the key
issues and on methods to cover often complex and controversial issues.
CONVEAGRO's technical team includes a journalist who is charged
with the developing of press releases and media friendly material.
This expert's role is particularly important for a network whose
stand on some key issues is diametrically different from that of
the government's official position.
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Creating networks: networks beget
networks
In line with pareto equilibrium and social networks theory, a best
practice among networks in Peru is that of fostering the creation
of new networks. There are many examples of this. Foro Educativo
has helped create RECREA, FLAPE and CEAAL; Foro Salud was promoted
by CIES; and the Mesa created TIEMPOS.
CIES' case is interesting (and comparable to that of Bolivia's
PIEB). As an investor network,
it organises several calls for papers and research projects through
out the year. These are designed to be carried out by groups or
networks rather than individuals. This is similar to the way HAI
helped create the Mesa; they transform rather vertical relations
(patron-client) between them and the members into horizontal (colleagues)
ones between the latter. Once the learning curve that implies working
in networks has been surpassed, it seems that people find it easier
to work with networks but most importantly they appreciate the value
of networked work.
What is also very interesting is that in the cases of Foro Educativo
and the Mesa, the networks created are 'networks of networks'; of
which they are members. This is a bottom-up approach in which national
networks create regional networks. CEAAL, for instance, associates
195 organisations from 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean
and Tiempos brings together national Mesas and other CSOs from the
region. This key 'best practice' suggests that successful scaling
up of networks is possible; even at the supra-national level. It
also highlights the importance of bottom up approaches when it comes
to networks' development. In these cases, and in the HAI and the
Mesa's, the roles and shape of the network was intrinsic to the
process which was, in turn, motivated by its future members. Another
regional network coordinated from Peru is the IFRTDAL. This Latin
American forum is part of a global network on rural transport and
development (IFRTD). Originally designed to be a 'forum of fora"
the network was supposed to be made up of national forums or groups.
These national networks would then come together in IFRTDAL. This
has not yet happened.
IFRTD's national forums are 'one man shows' (in Latin America and
elsewhere) who are finding it very difficult to create national
networks. This difficulty probably stems from the fact that they
are themselves not members of strong networks or not used to working
in a networked manner. The top-down approach followed in this case
shows contrasting results to the bottom up success of the previous
cases.
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