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)

I work for CIVICUS, the world alliance for citizen participation. CIVICUS is a global alliance of civil society organisations with the very broad mandate of strengthening civil society and citizen action. We have approximately 1000 members in around 120 countries around the world.

What is your experience of using research-based evidence to influence development policy?

Most of CIVICUS' work is rooted in research. Our aim is to base our work in the reality that our members face as well as that of ordinary citizens. We have tried to undertake research to inform all the problematic areas that we have faced. One of our most recent pieces of research was a piece that reviewed the frameworks that exist between civil society and global institutions - in this case, particularly the World Bank. The idea was to understand what constraints and in-house conditions exist and, more importantly, to understand how we can then influence the ways in which the World Bank makes major policies, particularly in the South.

What do you think are the most important tricks of the trade?

Firstly, there needs to be a very clear objective for undertaking the research. Related to that objective, there needs to be a strategic assessment of what would be required in terms of time, environmental factors and resources. This has to be very clear not only to those conducting the research but also in terms of all the other participants who will be involved.

Secondly, there needs to be a credible methodology for carrying out the research, and one which will stand the test of time and stand up to any criticisms. This is extremely important. From my point of view, this would be a methodology which is participatory in nature and which has ownership by those who will be involved in the research.

Thirdly, there needs to be clear knowledge of the critical policy-makers or decision-makers who would have to be influenced if we were to bring about changes. 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.

Do you have any 'good news case studies'?

I think that the work which I described earlier with the World Bank would be our 'good news case study'. We developed a report which has been widely and positively received, not only by civil society organisations but by World Bank staff. The World Bank has requested that the recommendations which came out of that research be implemented, and they have asked that CIVICUS lead the process of getting civil society organisations to discuss what strategies can be put in place to follow-up on those recommendations

Do you have any 'horror stories'?

We did some work in Southern Africa in which we were trying to bring together civil society organisations within the Southern Africa region to turn against the injustices in Zimbabwe, largely focusing on the violations of fundamental human rights in that region. Initially we conducted a scoping exercise to look at the various laws which exist within the region and how these could be used to relate to the Zimbabwe story. The 'horror' in this case was that of Zimbabwe's neighbours did not actually agree with us that there was a major problem in that country and this represented a serious challenge for us in terms of moving forward with it. This was particularly the case for the leaders in the region, who in a sense subscribed to what was happening to the country, particularly in terms of trying to address inequalities and imbalances around land and they refused to accept that there was a problem in terms of the human rights violations taking place in the country. We have not been as successful as we would have wanted there, but this was largely due to the politics in the region.

What three things could CSOs do to increase their policy impact?

Firstly, as I said before, we should have credible methodologies in terms of the research that we do - methodologies which we know can stand the test of time. Secondly, I think we should try to establish partnerships with other actors who might be able to influence either the research methodologies or the policy advocacy agenda that we have. Having strategic linkages and partnerships with academia and research institutions, many of which may not actually be part of civil society, is an extremely important aspect of success. Thirdly, being able to follow-up is very important. Particularly if we are engaging in advocacy, we need to be clear about what benchmarks or landmarks we need to have so we can ensure that we can track what changes have taken place as a result of the research which we do.

What three things could policy-makers do to increase their use of research-based evidence?

I think that policy-makers need to understand that they cannot do it alone; they need help. There is a lot of value in getting other actors to provide information. Unfortunately, I think that many of them have tended to think that developing that kind of information is the domain of a particular type of organisation - at times this is just the state - which has the prerogative of collecting data, interpreting that data and making policy. Many policy-makers really need to recognise that they cannot go it alone and that they need the rich experience that many civil society organisations have.

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