The regional workshops provide the opportunity for dialogue and networking between ODI and possible partners. The discussions are generally focused around the experience of different CSOs in policy processes which will help to understand practical application and necessity of evidence for policy making and how ODI can help to strengthen the capacity of CSOs to be engaged in policy processes.

More specifically the workshops provide a forum for participants 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 what works
  
• Identify gaps for future work

Active participation is the cornerstone of the approach in the workshop, with emphasis placed on participants' own knowledge and experience.

Target audience
The workshops aim for a maximum of 15-20 people from organisations supporting CSOs to build their capacity to use research and evidence in the policy processes in support of poverty reduction. These might include policy research and advocacy departments of national and international NGOs, development research institutes and think tanks, policy research departments in universities, support and umbrella organisations and others. Of these, roughly half come from regional organisations based in the country where the workshop is being held, and half from organisations in neighbouring countries (mainly, but not exclusively from those that will be visited after the regional workshops).

Expected outcome
The workshops contribute towards:

• Better understanding of how CSOs work in local policy and development context
  
• Awareness regarding the expectations of the local partners from the partnership programme
  
• Identifying CSO needs for capacity building
  
• Identifying specific opportunities for small scale collaborative projects with southern organisations
  

The first phase of workshops was held in Africa in early 2005, followed by the South East Asia consultation. Click on the links below for more information:

• Summary of Malawi workshop - 9th & 10th February 2005
• Summary of Tanzania workshop - 21st & 22nd February 2005
• Summary of Ghana workshop - 14th & 15th March 2005
• Summary of Indonesia workshop - 14th & 15th June 2005
• Summary of Cambodia workshop - 21st & 22nd June 2005
• Summary of Sri Lanka workshop - 5 & 6th July 2005
• Summary of Bangladesh workshop - 24th& 25th July 2005
• Workshop outline
• Workshop presentation slides (ppt 1.73MB)
• Background documents (as provided in the workshop information packs)
  • Civil Society Organisations Partnership Programme - 2 page summary (pdf 44kb)
  • ODI Research and Policy in Development Programme - 2 page summary (pdf 46kb)
  • CSO Partnership Programme: Key Terms and Definitions (pdf 43kb)
  • CSPP Call for Case Studies (pdf 44kb)
  • CSPP Summary Case Study form (pdf 30kb)
  • Organisations involved in research on research-policy links (pdf 115kb)
  • Bridging Research and Policy in International Development - RAPID Briefing Paper 1 (pdf 118kb)
  • RAPID Publications list (pdf 38kb)
• Regional Consultation Index
• Information on National Seminars
  

For further information on this project contact Naved Chowdhury