CIPPEC « GDNet Blog

“Spaces for engagement” at the International Conference on Evidence-Informed Policy Making

May 13, 2012 by Zeinab Sabet Leave a comment

The program “Spaces for engagement: Using evidence to improve public decisions”, a GDNet initiative implemented in Latin America by the Center of Public Policies promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC), was presented at the International Conference on Evidence-Informed Policy Making, held in Ile-Ife, Nigeria on February 27-29, 2012.

Organized by the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP), the conference brought together researchers with an interest in the use of evidence in policy making, as well as decision makers from different policy making institutions in an effort to understand both the incentives which drive policy makers to look for research information and their capacity to find and evaluate it.

CIPPEC was invited by INASP to present the different strategies and lessons learned from this five-year program, aiming at strengthening the capacity of Latin American Policy Research Institutes (PRIs) in influencing public policies and promoting South-South collaboration between them and African and Asian organizations.

To learn more about the program, check out the full presentation:

Spaces for Engagement: Using knowledge to improve public policies

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Filed under Capacity Building, Conferences and Events, Research Tagged with CIPPEC, gdnet, INASP, policy makers, policymaking, public policies, research, South-South

GDNet to develop a series of How-to-Guides on “Communicating Research Effectively”

February 27, 2012 by Zeinab Sabet Leave a comment

I just came back from a two weeks mission in Buenos Aires and thought of writing this short story to share with you not only the purpose of my mission, but also the next steps that GDNet is planning to undertake to better build the capacity of its researchers in terms of research uptake in policy.

While being hosted by CIPPEC (Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth) – GDNet’s strategic partner in Latin America – I had the opportunity to work closely with the Civil Society Directorate staff on developing a GDNet resource pack on research communications to be launched online by mid 2012. The resource pack is intended to compile a series of toolkits addressing the required steps for effective communication of research findings, together with the material produced during the research communications capacity building workshops; it includes PowerPoint presentations, handouts, as well as recommended readings.

Following an introduction on research communications, the resource pack will include a guide on how to develop a communication strategy; communicating effectively with target audience; media and how to make research newsworthy; effective tools for communicating research, including how to write an effective policy brief and how to best use Web 2.0 tools; presentation skills; and monitoring and evaluation of the communication strategy.

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Filed under Capacity Building Tagged with Capacity Building, CIPPEC, communication strategy, gdnet, media, Monitoring and evaluation, online courses, research, research communications, toolkits

Some lessons learned by Latin American think tanks

August 16, 2011 by Zeinab Sabet Leave a comment

Think thanks and the challenges they face when influencing policy were addressed in the opening session of the workshop “Using knowledge to improve policy influence”, which was held in Lima, Peru, on August 11th and 12^th. Four Executive Directors and one Director of an Economic Program from Latin American institutes presented and discussed their experiences, organizational structures and lessons learned in the field of policy influence.

“Using knowledge to improve policy influence” Workshop

Moderated by the Peruvian journalist Mirko Lauer, the speakers of the session “Lessons learned by think tanks of the region” were: Leopoldo Font (Executive Director of CLAEH, Uruguay), Eugenio Rivera Urrutia (Director of the Economic Program of Chile XXI, Chile), Javier Portocarrero (Executive Director of CIES, Peru), Roberto Steiner (Executive Director of Fedesarrollo, Colombia) and Fernando Straface (Executive Director of CIPPEC, Argentina).

After presenting the work and experiences in their institutions, the speakers answered many questions of an audience that came from a great diversity of think tanks of Latin America.

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Filed under Conferences and Events Tagged with CIPPEC, fedesarrollo, latin america, policy influence, think tanks

Using knowledge to improve policy influence

August 11, 2011 by Zeinab Sabet 1 Comment

The new buzzword around the world is ‘evidence-based policymaking’. But how does this actually happen in practice? How receptive are policy makers to using research evidence in both designing and implementing their policies? And how good – and willing – are researchers at understanding and engaging with policymaking processes? What is the role of strategic communication in influencing policy, and what are the results?

CIPPEC Think Tanks Workshop, Lima 2011

“Using knowledge to improve policy influence” is a workshop that is currently taking place, August 11^th-12^th, in Lima, Peru. It is aimed at Executive Directors of Think Tanks in Latin America, as well as professionals involved in the research-action in those institutions, interested in learning about tools for policy influence. The main objective is to strengthen capacities of think tanks in the region to influence public policies, through the strengthening of relationships between Executive Directors and the presentation and discussion of tools, strategies and concrete experiences of research communication and engagement with policy makers.

This workshop is framed by the joint efforts of the following organizations: Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) and the Consortium for Economic and Social Research (CIES). It also has the valuable collaboration of GDNet, Grupo FARO, and the Think Tank Initiative from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

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Filed under Conferences and Events Tagged with CIPPEC, development, gdnet, networking, policy influence, policy makers, research

GDNet-TrustAfrica Policy Workshop

June 20, 2011 by Zeinab Sabet Leave a comment

On 7-8 June 2011 GDNet, in collaboration with Trust Africa, CIPPEC and CommsConsult, organised a two-day policy workshop for the researchers involved in the Investment Climate and Business Environment Research Fund (ICBE-RF). The workshop, held in Kampala, Uganda, gathered 22 participants from different African countries such as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

GDNet-TrustAfrica Policy Workshop

The Investment Climate and Business Environment Research Fund (ICBE-RF) is a joint project of TrustAfrica and Canada’s International Development Research Center initiated in 2006. It seeks to strengthen policy research that can help improving the investment climate and business environment in Africa, through grant making, capacity strengthening, and policy dialogues. During its first phase, the project supported a cohort of 54 research teams from 33 institutions in 16 African countries and more than 150 individual researchers who are conducting cutting-edge research on a diverse range of issues impacting the investment and business environment in Africa.

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Filed under Capacity Building Tagged with africa, CIPPEC, CommsConsult, communication, gdnet, media, policy, TrustAfrica