IDRC Projects and Policy Impact: Some Perspectives to Consider

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IDRC Projects and Policy Impact Some
Perspectives to Consider

• Evert Lindquist, Director
• School of Public Administration
• University of Victoria
• June 2001

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Purpose of this presentation

• To provide an overview of different ways
  academics have sought to conceptualize the impact
  of research on policy-making
• To tap into the experience, knowledge and
  contacts of IDRC staff on the following
  questions
• What are the implications of these frameworks for
  understanding the nature of policy influence
  associated with IDRC-supported research projects?
• To what extent do these frameworks help to
  capture your experience with IDRC projects?
• How might we adapt these frameworks to make them
  more appropriate for understanding our work?

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Overview of Presentation

• Some Cautionary Observations
• Relevant Frameworks Literature
• Levels and Types of Policy Influence
• Implications of the Frameworks
• Questions for Discussion

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Some Cautionary Observations

• Understanding causal influence is difficult in
  the best of circumstances for any activity it is
  an especially complex task to demonstrate how
  outputs such as research affect outcomes and
  policy impacts
• Assessments of the effectiveness of the funding
  of research are generally difficult due to the
  multiplicity of actors and the dynamics of policy
  processes
• These assessments are further complicated when
  one seeks to adapt precepts developed for
  analyzing Northern contexts to diverse Southern
  experiences
• Requires appropriate expectations, developing the
  right methodologies, and careful/subtle
  observations

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Several analytic frameworks might inform how this
study is approached

• There are pertinent literatures on
• knowledge utilization
• policy communities and networks
• values, conflict, and policy-oriented learning
• different modes of policy inquiry
• routine, incremental, and fundamental decisions
• agenda-setting and policy-making processes

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1. Knowledge Utilization.
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Chart 1
The Two-Community Formulation
The World of Action
The Academic Worlds
?
Engineering versus the enlightenment function
of research
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The Decision Community
The Third Community Network of Policy Actors
The Academic Worlds
Access to Policy Inquiry
Departments Professional Schools Research Centres
Private
Public
Commissions Councils Legislative committees
Policy shops Task Forces Centre
Private Sector
Sectors of Organization
Int. Groups Associations Think Tanks

• Consultants
• big firms
• boutique

Public Sector
Producing policy inquiry often proceeds in a very
competitive environment
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2. Policy Communities and Networks.
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Extent of Government Organization Coordination
and Capacity
Low
High
Low
State Direction
Pressure Pluralism
Extent of Societal Organization
Corporatism
Clientele Pluralism
Concertation
High
Sub-governments or policy networks have different
patterns of power, including capacities
distributed across levels of government
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3. Values, Conflict, and Policy-oriented
Learning
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• RELATIVELY STABLE PARAMETERS
• Basic attributes of the problem area (good)
• Basic distribution of natural resources
• Fundamental socio-cultural values and social
  structure
• Basic constitutional structure (rules)

Sabatiers Advocacy Coalition Framework
Constraints and Resources of Subsystem Actors

• POLICY SUBSYSTEM
• Coalition A Policy Brokers Coalition B
• Policy beliefs a. Policy beliefs
• Resources b. Resources
• Strategy A1 Strategy B1
• re guidance re guidance
• instruments instruments
• Decisions by Sovereigns
• Agency Resources and
• General Policy Orientation
• Policy Outputs
• Policy Impacts

• EXTERNAL (SYSTEM) EVENTS
• Changes in socio-economic conditions
• Changes in systemic governing coalition
• Policy decisions and impacts from other subsystems

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Are IDRC-supported researchers serving as policy
brokers or are they aligned with particular
advocacy coalitions?
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4. Modes of Policy Inquiry
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Publication Activities
Think Tanks Place Different Emphases on Policy
Inquiry
Memos Reports Articles Books Briefs
Information Generation Activities
Research
Analysis
Convocation Activities
Workshops Seminars Conferences Briefings Speeches
Data
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5. Decision Regimes and Implied Demands for
Information
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Table 1 How Consensus on the Policy Base, Number
of Actors, and Type of Information Should
Logically Change for Different Decision Regimes
Decision Regime Routine Incremental Funda
mental Status of Consensus Intact Policy base
largely Core principles of on the Policy
Base intact but marginal policy base
open issue arise. to scrutiny. Number of
Actors A few actors with A few policy makers All
policy makers involved in Decision responsibility
with a stake in the potentially Process to
implement marginal issue. Affected or
concerned policy by policy makers about a
significant change.
Type of Information Sought
Data that can inform existing routines, and
analysis to determine when to switch to other
routines.
Analysis on selected issues the method of
successive limited comparisons for the issues at
hand.
Information on fundamental variables, and that
probes underlying assumptions. Will also require
analysis, data of considerable scope.
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6. Agenda-Setting Policy Windows
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Agenda-Setting Public Policy
Decisions!
?
Policy windows or critical junctures
Problems

People Governments
Policy Ideas Rolling Conventional Wisdom
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Implications..
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Types of Policy Influence

• Improving the knowledge/data of certain actors
• Supporting recipients to develop innovative ideas
• Improving capabilities to communicate ideas
• Providing opportunities for networking/learning
  within the jurisdiction or with colleagues
  elsewhere
• Introducing new concepts to frame debates,
  putting ideas on the agenda, or stimulating
  public debate
• Stimulating quiet dialogue among decision-makers
• Modification of existing programs or policies
• Fundamental re-design of programs or policies
• Educating researchers and others who take up new
  positions with broader understanding of issues

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Implications of the Frameworks.

• Identify the relevant policy domain and key
  issues
• Map the government agencies, business and labour
  organizations, NGOs, university and think tank
  experts, international organizations, and other
  organizations who contribute to those debates
• Discern the broad competing coalitions of
  interest on key issues over the years (usually
  there is no more than two to four such clusters
  of actors)
• Identify the trajectory of debate, policy shifts,
  and key events over the last 10-20 years flowing
  from changes in government or other factors and
• Identify the specific contributions of
  organizations sponsored by IDRC project funding.

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Questions for Discussion

• What are the implications of these frameworks for
  understanding the nature of policy influence
  associated with IDRC-supported research projects?
• To what extent do these frameworks help to
  capture your experience with IDRC projects?
• How might these frameworks be adapted in order to
  make them more appropriate for understanding our
  work?

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Thank you! Ideas and comments are
welcome. evert_at_uvic.ca