Linking research and policy or If a research paper is published and no one is around to use it, does...

Linking research and policyor

“If a research paper is published and no one is around to use it, does it make a sound?”

Lawrence HaddadDevelopment Studies Association of UK

and Irelandand

Institute of Development Studies

connecting and promoting the development research community

Outline1. Development studies is a normative

discipline2. No necessary conflict between

“fundamental” and “use orientated” research

3. How to create demand4. How to meet demand5. Getting research into use6. Learn about impact7. It can make a differenceconnecting and promoting the development research community

connecting and promoting the development research community

1. Normative Goals

Beliefs: survey of academics working in the US, 2003

Adapted from Coyle 2007

Ratio of Democrats to Republicans

Anthropology and Sociology 21:1

Political and Legal Philosophers

9:1

Historians 9:1

Political Scientists 6:1

Economists 3:1

connecting and promoting the development research community

Beliefs: survey of 69 economic faculty members-40 top economics departments, US Universities

Fuchs, Krueger and Poterba, 1997

Values=views on: • redistribution

• equity vs. efficiency• social vs. individual

responsibility

connecting and promoting the development research community

connecting and promoting the development research community

2. Fundamental vs. Use?Not use orientated Use orientated

Fundamental relationships explored

Bohr Pasteur

Fundamental relationships not explored

Edison

Source: D. Warsh: 2006 Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations

3. Creating Demand

connecting and promoting the development research community

India is an economic powerhouse but a nutritional weakling, says economist

‘India can achieve Millennium Development Goals only in 2043'.

The Hindu Business Line September 4, 2010

Commitment Indices

Creating Demand

Creating DemandMentions of Nutrition 2005-2007

• In Speeches– DFID: 0/50 – EC: 0/28

• In Press releases– DFID: 0/197– EC: 0/239

• In policy documents– 0 in G8 2005 and 2006– 0 in European Consensus on Development

Source: Sumner, Lindstrom and Haddad 2007. IDS Sussex

connecting and promoting the development research community

Immersions

connecting and promoting the development research community

4. Meeting Demand1. Understand your audience– listen, understand incentives, anticipate issues

2. Don’t do bad research– your reputation is your key

3. Communicate well– tappers and listeners

4. Don’t lapse into advocacy– dispassionate about research,

passionate about communicating5. Don’t get into policy based evidence making– systematic reviews protect everyone

connecting and promoting the development research community

5. Getting it into use: get a model

connecting and promoting the development research community

Opportunity to influence

Source: Kingdon 1984 Streams model

Getting it into use: Credibility

connecting and promoting the development research community

Getting it into use: Persist

connecting and promoting the development research community

researcher

6. Learn about Impact

connecting and promoting the development research community

Assessing Impact of Research: attribution

connecting and promoting the development research community

Assessing Impact of Research: lags

connecting and promoting the development research community

7. It can make a difference

connecting and promoting the development research community

Research papers in

Lancet 2008

Food price crisis 2007-8

IDS/Save UK report 2008

UK Parliamentary

committees 2008-9

DFID Nutrition Strategy 2010

Irish Hunger Task Force

2008

Solution stream

Political stream

Problem stream

Vision: Accelerated Global Poverty Reduction

Mission: To connect and promote development research and

teaching to increase its impact

connecting and promoting the development research community

Development Studies Association