Progress in most areas has been slower than expected and following wide-ranging discussions with staff, and the internal Advisory Group, there is general agreement to extend the first year activities, to allow more time to complete them properly and to reflect on what we have learned and the implications that might have for the longer term programme.

It is also becoming clear from the mapping exercise and regional consultations that while there are many national policy research institutes or think tanks working within specific sectors, there are few regional, broad-based organisations with which it would be possible to establish the sort of relationships described in the original CSPP document. Also, many of the CSO players involved in using evidence to influence policy are small NGOs who rely on field-work based evidence and informal networks. It may be necessary to re-think the long term strategy to identify six or seven regional organisations with which to develop long-term collaborations more substantially than envisaged. Plans for the second year therefore include a thorough review (called the "Big Think") in late 2005, to clarify the strategy for subsequent years.

The emphasis in the second year will therefore be to:

• ensure on-going year 1 activities are completed and deliver their planned outputs;
  
• recruit additional communications staff as planned;
  
• involve a range of northern and southern stakeholders in the process of developing the revised strategy;
  
• maintain contact and engagement with southern organisations involved in the first round of consultations in Africa;
  
• undertake a systematic analysis of capacity needs among Southern CSOs;
  
• capture, learn from and publish the lessons so far;
  
• develop a strategy for the next phase with broad support among stakeholders within and outside ODI.

More details on specific activities are provided below.

Outcome 1 - Research
Ongoing and new research during the second year will include:

• ODI case studies of episodes where CSOs have successfully influenced policy and reviews of CSO involvement in different policy areas, including CSOs contribution to PRSPs and the role of CSOs in Pro-poor budget reform.
  
• A study of how campaigning organisations use research-based evidence.
  
• A series of external case studies illustrating how CSOs use research-based evidence.
  
• A Note on 'Pro-poor policies' and 'pro-poor policy processes': A background note to define and illustrate what the CSPP means by 'Pro-poor policies' and 'pro-poor policy processes' - and what this means for the CSPP.
  
• 'Infrastructure' options for the CSPP: A study to systematically compare the functions and structures of other programmes with similar objectives eg IIED, GDN, USAID's policy project, ACBF, CIVICUS and others (this will build on some of the existing work including the ongoing CSO and supporting agencies mapping exercise and the studies on partnerships and capacity-building
  
• Systematic Survey of CSO and Evidence Use: Additional systematic work to clarify (a) the types of evidence CSOs use evidence for policy influence, (b) the extent of success they feel they are having; (c) the incentives and disincentives for CSOs to use evidence; (d) how types of context affects all this; and (e) what they feel their needs are. This will be done through i) an online survey and ii) a systematic review of existing case studies.
  
• Networks: Function and Form: A Study of the Function and Form of Networks to better understand their potential for linking evidence and policy influence. Based on analysis and case studies of CSO networks in developing countries, the study will identify the characteristics of successful policy networks, generate practical guidance for CSO networks in developing countries, and inform the CSPP approach.
  
• Evidence-based policy in the UK: Issues and Lessons: A study to identify lessons from evidence-based policy-making (EBP) in the UK which may be valuable to CSOs from developing countries.
  
• Context Mapping Toolkit: The "Political Context" seems to be the most determinant in the process of using research-based evidence to inform policy processes.

Outcome 2 - Regional Capacity

• Continued development of knowledge-base of CSO's (which use research-based evidence to promote policy) and the organisations that support them. This will be developed into an on-line information system on the intranet (by September 2005 - a development site has been established on the intranet. This will be further improved over the next few months).
  
• Small-scale opportunistic collaborations work with ODI partners (up to September 2005).
  
• Southern workshops: Further workshops, and meetings with regional organisations will be held between July and September in Asia, South-East Asia and Latin America as follows:
  
  • Jakarta, Indonesia, a workshop on 14-15 June organised in collaboration with YAPPIKA followed by other meetings;
    
  • Phnom Penh, Cambodia, a workshop on 21-22 June organised in collaboration with MediCam, followed by other meetings;
    
  • Bangkok, Thailand, between 27th June and 1st July, meetings with regional organizations working in Asia, and South-East Asia;
    
  • Colombo, Sri Lanka, a workshop on 5-6 July organised in collaboration with CEPA, followed by other meetings;
    
  • Dhaka, Bangladesh, a workshop on 24th-25th July organised in collaboration with Unnyan Onneshan, followed by other meetings;
    
  • La Paz, Bolivia, a workshop on 29-30 August organised in collaboration with CEPAD, followed by other meetings;
    
  • Buenos Aires, Argentina on 12-13 September organised in collaboration with CIPPEC, followed by other meetings;
    
  • Lima, Peru, between 19th-22nd September, meetings with regional organizations working in Latin America.
    
• Follow-up of the Africa workshops: Participants to the Africa workshops will be kept in touch with the programme through a regular newsletter, involvement in some of the surveys, and will be invited to any other CSPP activities. Some follow-up activities are already planned:
  
  • A capacity-building workshop with Trochaire partners in Kenya
    
  • An awareness workshop in Cross River State in Nigeria
    A small grant fund of £20,000 will also be established to fund follow up activities organised by workshop participants.
    
• Capacity-building review: An approach paper for ODI capacity-building work.
  
• Support to UK-based CSOs: Support will be provided to UK-based CSOs with partners in developing countries who wish to improve their capacity to use research-based evidence to influence policy. A number of activities are already planned:
  
  • A one-day workshop for staff from FARMAfrica to present and discuss a number of case studies of their work;
    
  • A series of workshops/seminars for Africa Diaspora organisations and professionals.
    
  • Workshop for World Vision
    
  • Collaborative work with HelpAge
    
• Dialogue and consensus-building with other actors: This will be done through a series of 1:1 meetings with UK-based organisations, a one-day workshop (part of the "big think" informal discussions 24th October - 4th November, and the 2-day conference on the role of CSOs in development policy during the week of the 14th November.

Outcome 3 - Information for CSOs

• A survey of existing ODI information users and possible new CSO users (by June 2005).
  
• Implementation of the KM strategy throughout ODI (from June 2004).
  
• Establishment and test new intranet/information system (June 2005).
  
• Production of information materials based on ODI knowledge for Civil Society (throughout).
  
• Develop and launch new website (September 2005).
  
• Preparation of ODI Communications Strategy (by September 2005)
  
• Preparation of pilot materials based on results of survey (September 2005).
  
• Active marketing of new information products with regular reviews (from September 2005).

Outcome 4 - Collaborative Action

• Continuation of the initial joint-action projects.

Management

• Continue to developing internal KM and communications.
  
• Continue to develop internal management systems.
  
• Continue to develop the intranet and web site.
  
• Recruiting new Comms staff: Three new staff will be recruited. A Head of Communications will manage all communications staff in P&C and provide leadership to communications activities across the Institute. Two Communications Officers will be based within Groups, one in RPGG, the other shared between PPPG and IEDG. All should be in-post by Sept 2004.
  
• Establishing the external Steering Committee: A small group of external experts covering the range of issues within the CSPP will be identified to form an external advisory committee. Their first meeting will form an important part of the "Big Think" process in October / November 2005.
  
• Establishing the M&E system: While initial M&E work focuses on the log-frame in the programme agreement with DFID, a new approach will be developed for discussion during the Big Think. This is likely to build on the Outcome Mapping approach (more information about Outcome Mapping is available on the Intranet) (by September 2005).
  
• Collecting baseline data: This will be based on the existing programme log frame (before September 2005).
  
• The "Big Think": The process for developing phase 2 plans for the CSPP will involve the following steps:
  
  1. Assembling, summarising and synthesising key lessons from research and commissioned studies (By the 7th October)
     
  2. An internal workshop for CSPP-funded project holders in the UK to synthesise and capture the lessons so far (Tuesday 11th October)
     
  3. Programme management team retreat / write-shop to prepare a programme options paper (Week of the 17th October)
     
  4. Meetings and discussions with UK-based and overseas "partners" (24th October to 4th November)
     
  5. A two-day "conference" on the role of CSOs in development policy and how ODI could help with participants from the south and the UK, followed immediately by: (Week of the 14th November)
     
  6. A one day meeting for Internal and External Advisors to review the options paper in the light of the conclusions of the conference.
     

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