1. Research and Policy in Development Aim for the bulls eye How to maximise the impact of development research John Young Overseas Development Institute, UK j.young@odi.org.uk

2. Research and Policy in Development Agriculture in Africa The whole life of policy is a chaos of purposes and accidents. It is not at all a matter of the rational implementation of the so-called decisions through selected strategies Clay & Schaffer (1984), Room for Manoeuvre: An Exploration of Public Policy in Agricultural and Rural Development, Heineman, London

3. Research and Policy in Development Chronic Poverty in Uganda Kate Bird et al, Fracture Points in Social Policies for Chronic Poverty Reduction, ODI WP242, 2004 (http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/working_papers/wp242.pdf)

4. Research and Policy in Development Health Policy in Tanzania The results of household disease surveys informed processes of health service reform which contributed to a 43 and 46 per cent reduction in infant mortality between 2000 and 2003 in two districts in rural Tanzania. TEHIP Project, Tanzania: www.idrc.ca/tehip

5. Research and Policy in Development An Analytical Framework The political context – political and economic structures and processes, culture, institutional pressures, incremental vs radical change etc. The evidence – credibility, the degree it challenges received wisdom, research approaches and methodology, simplicity of the message, how it is packaged etc External Influences Socio-economic and cultural influences, donor policies etc The links between policy and research communities – networks, relationships, power, competing discourses, trust, knowledge etc.

6. Research and Policy in Development DELIVERI - Indonesia Decentralised Livestock Services in Eastern Indonesia 5 years (originally 10) Public Service reform (in livestock sector) Action-research + institutional development + policy reform Surprisingly successful: The DELIVERI programme has developed some useful models of institutional change in the context of decentralisation, making a government service more responsive to the needs of local people 1 1 DFID Country Strategy Paper for Indonesia September 2000 For more information see: www.deliveri.org

7. Research and Policy in Development Political context 1963 - 1995 centralised & bureaucratic Policy maintained by senior bureaucrats Services delivered by bureaucrats Services received by farmers Participation & decentralisation in Repelita VI Senior champion Long DFID involvement & successful pilot Gradual budget squeeze 1998 economic crisis Political crisis Sudden decentralisation huge demand for new policies and practice

8. Research and Policy in Development Evidence Radical new idea (in Indonesia) Specific concerns (legal / welfare / corruption / quality / professional) Preference for word-of-mouth or sophisticated visual information Baseline study to illustrate need + evidence from elsewhere Practical action-research + good M&E > 20% investment in communication: hands-on engagement, visits, leaflets, video, multimedia

9. Research and Policy in Development Links Senior internal champion Steering Committee Farmers & Service staff working together Informal networks through peers The K20 Planning Bureau Department of Agriculture Rakontechnis Other Programmes (P4K, SfDM) The media

10. Research and Policy in Development Luck Timing: –REPELITA VI –Financial Crisis Misunderstandings –about implications –about quality management People and personalities –Donor –Dept of Livestock Services –Department of Agriculture

11. Research and Policy in Development Conclusions Policy processes are complex. It is possible to understand enough… to make sensible choices. There are many well-known strategies and tools. It is neither rocket-science nor fine art. But it needs a systematic approach… and work outside the research itself… and enough resources.

12. Research and Policy in Development Further Information / Resources ODI Working Papers Bridging Research and Policy Book Meeting series Monograph Tools for Policy Impact RAPID Briefing Paper RAPID CDROM www.odi.org.uk/rapid