CSPP Regional Workshop & Seminar

The eastern Africa workshop of ODI's new Civil Society Partnerships Programme's (CSPP) Regional Consultation was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on the 21st and 22nd February 2005, in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF) - Tanzania. The workshop 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. See the Regional Consultation index for more information on the consultation process.

This two day event included a regional workshop session followed by a national seminar. The regional workshop involved 22 participants from CSOs within Tanzania and from Uganda and focused mainly on the issues of CSOs and policy influence cutting across both countries. The national seminar generally focused on issues pertinent to the Tanzanian CSO environment and involved participants from various CSOs in the country and representatives from donor communities.

Two presentations were made on Policy in Tanzania: (i) Use of Evidence in informing Policy Process in Tanzania: The Case of ESRF (powerpoint 68kb); and (ii) Research-based Evidence and the Policy Process: The Case of Tanzania (powerpoint 84kb). These case studies presented by ESRF staff demonstrated the policy making process in Tanzania, the challenges in bridging research and policy, the necessities involved in the policy process, and the efforts and challenges of ESRF as a research and policy analysis institution. The workshop activities included country-wise group discussions on policy processes, the contribution of CSOs in informing policy and discussions based on the presented case studies.

The main discussion points raised following the presentations were:

Attribution to a particular research for any policy change is a major issue in Tanzania;
Networking among research organisations is a very important way to learn lessons;
People involved in policy making in Tanzania can be grouped as Technocrats, Politicians and CSOs. Unfortunately although the CSOs are invited to participate in the policy forums in Tanzania, frequently these can termed as 'Politics of Presence', meaning their presence is to rubber stamp an already decided policy;
The policy process is highly political in Tanzania and CSOs need to know the dynamics and players behind the policy process to have an influence;
The research findings should be presented to the community and they should be encouraged to demand for change based on the findings. Frequently communities are forgotten after the research is completed;
CSOs need to work at every level to have substantial impact on the policy process;
There needs to be stronger links between advocacy/lobby groups and researchers and research institutions so that the process of engagement with the government is proactive rather than reactive;
There are other types of evidence similar to research which can also have an impact on policy processes: visual and audio documentary, case histories for example. Researchers need to be clear about who the work is targeted towards;
Researchers are too expensive so smaller CSOs cannot afford them to be involved in research they commission.

Issues raised to take forward from the workshop include suggestions on capacity building, publications and communication, funding, networking, research and joint action:

ODI initiate capacity building through arrangements for in-depth training programmes and conferences on policy analysis and tools, research methodologies, management and financial skills in CSOs;
The need for exchange of information and knowledge through electronic and other forms of communication, together with the creation of a web link/electronic list that would be used in forging a strong and informed coalition among CSOs in Tanzania in providing evidence to influence policy;
The need to build and strengthen existing networks among institutions working to influence policy, together with enhanced south-south initiative to facilitate stronger influence on policy processes;
The need to form collaborations through joint research with people or organisations with relevant experience, inclusion of policy makers in research and involvement of communities in collection and dissemination of research objectives and outputs.

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