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Policy engagement for poverty reduction : how civil society can be more effective

COURT, Julius
June 2006

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This briefing paper draws on a report by Julius Court and others entitled 'Policy engagement: how can civil society be more effective', also published by ODI. It examines the role of civil society organisations in poverty reduction strategies and looks at ways to enhance their influence on the policy making process. Inadequate knowledge about the policy making process, lack of resources, insufficient capacity and policy makers' mistrust of CSOs are the main obstacles to their full engagement in policy making. Effective approaches should entail: campaigning and implementation of pilot projects aimed at improving adverse political contexts; rigorous mapping and assessment of political contexts; identify critical policy stages; provide relevant and objective evidence; use effective communication methods and strategies; apply network approaches; engage in systematic capacity building

Bridging research and policy : an annotated bibliography

HOVLAND, Ingie
DE VIBE, Maja
YOUNG, John
2002

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An extensive annotated bibliography of 100 documents relevant to 'bridging research and policy'. Mainstream literature is supplemented with alternative viewpoints. The bibliography has been divided into three key themes ('bridging research and policy: the political context', 'the actors: networks, organisations, individuals', 'the message and the media'), including 'new' subject areas that may be useful (eg social psychology, media studies, marketing and communication). The entries are listed alphabetically by author, and then cross-indexed by theme, and by academic discipline

Bridging research and policy : context, evidence and links

CREWE, Emma
YOUNG, John
2002

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An exploration of the links between research and policy-making with the aim of finding some simple research tools to promote evidence-based policy that contributes to poverty reduction.
Recommends a historical, contextual and comparative methodology to consider the real-life links between institutional settings, a range of political and contextual influences, and power relations.
Identifies a range of bureaucratic pressures such as: the urge to simplify, due to resource shortages; ‘giantism’ - the bigger the budget, the greater the status; inflexible long-term project planning; fierce competition for funding - discouraging collaboration.
Also considers the role of different communication channels, their effectiveness and credibility, and the chains of accountability and legitimacy that link NGOs, researchers and policy makers.
Concludes that research is more likely to have an influence if it fits the political and institutional limits and pressures of policy makers; if researchers and policy-makers share networks in particular policy areas; outputs are based on local involvement and credible evidence and are communicated via the most appropriate communicators.
Finally advocates more research to track some historical examples of key policy decisions and the influences upon them

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