The results of household disease surveys in two rural districts in Tanzania informed a process of health service reforms that contributed to over 40% reductions in infant mortality between 2000 and 2003.

The evaluation evidence from Mexico’s Progresa/Opportunidades cash transfer programme has inspired governments around the world to invest in social protection for children and their families.

Examples like these show the critical importance of knowledge in strengthening policy and practice in development circles. While there is considerable value in academic knowledge in terms of shaping the thinking of policy actors and practitioners over time, policy research can also have far-reaching impacts on programme design and budget allocations, with tangible impacts for the poor and marginalised.

At this event,  Dr Nicola Jones introduced new thinking about the role of knowledge in development policy and practice undertaken by the Overseas Development Institute’s (ODI’s) Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) programme. Recent research has focused on six key factors that contribute to or limit the ability for knowledge to translate into action: types of knowledge, political context factors, policy sector dynamics,  policy actors, innovative frameworks and the knowledge translation process.

Dr Naya Sharma Paudel discussed his recent work on the forestry sector in post-conflict Nepal, exploring the contested nature of knowledge production and tensions that are often present between technocratic expertise and community sources of knowledge.