The first national seminar of ODI's new Civil Society Partnerships Programme's (CSPP) Regional Consultation was held in Lilongwe, Malawi,on the 10th February 2005, in collaboration with the Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN). The seminar provided a forum for representatives from policy research institutes and non-governmental agencies to discuss the opportunities and challenges for CSOs to use evidence to inform policy, learn about the latest worldwide research and practice in this area, share experiences about ongoing activities and identify opportunities for collaborative work.

Professor Wiseman Chirwa from the University of Malawi opened the seminar and invited Collins Magalasi to introduce the Malawi Economic Justice Network and John Young to introduce the ODI, the Research and Policy in Development Programme (RAPID), and the purpose of the CSPP, and each participant to introduce themselves and their work.

After introductions there were three presentations (click on the links or icons to view powerpoint slide shows):

• Collins Magalasi: Evidence: Civil Society Undoubted Tool for Effective Advocacy The case for Malawi (Powerpoint 241kb)
  
• Edson Musopole: Bwalo Discussions - A Tool for Civil Society Consultation on Policy Issues (Powerpoint 156kb)
  
• John Young & Naved Chowdhury: An Introduction to evidence-based policy and the ODI Civil Society Partnerships Programme (Powerpoint 1.5mb)

Click on the links below if you would like further information.

• Full Workshop and Seminar report:
  • complete report with presentations images in Annexes (pdf 1.4mb) or text only (pdf 97kb)
• The Programme (with links to powerpoint presentation slideshows)
• List of Participants (pdf 15kb)
  
• Background information materials provided to participants:
  
  • Civil Society Organisations Partnership Programme - 2 page summary (pdf 44kb)
    
  • ODI Research and Policy in Development Programme - 2 page summary (pdf 46kb)
    
  • Bridging Research and Policy in International Development - RAPID Briefing Paper 1 (pdf 118kb)
    
  • RAPID Publications list (pdf 38kb)

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