Effective Policy Advocacy: An RNRRS Synthesis

Abstract

This synthesis paper is one of a series that has been developed to assist research managers use the key lessons learnt between 1995 and 2005 from natural resource research and implementation under the Renewable Natural Resource Research Strategy (RNRRS), funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The aim of these papers is to provide practical guidance to enable institutions and research projects to incorporate these lessons into their current and future programmes.

The major lessons learnt were:

  • Policy Engagement: research teams need to identify and gain access to the right political decision makers, which are problem specific, at the most opportunistic times.
  • Policy Communication: one size does not fit all; promotion processes must be carefully targeted.
  • Interdisciplinary and Intersectoral Requirements: natural and political scientists should be included at appropriate stages of project planning and implementation, as determined by local contacts within the policy domain.
  • Culture and Policy: the variety of cultural dynamics means that local political scientists must be included in the project team.
  • Long Term Nature of Policy Shaping: policy advocacy should not finish at the same time as the fieldwork to achieve maximum policy reform.

Citation

20 pp.

Effective Policy Advocacy: An RNRRS Synthesis

Published 1 January 2007