Itoca Research Policy Linkages In Agriculture Sector

Slide 1: Challenges and cases in research-policy linkages in the agriculture sector: reflections from the early days of the e-agriculture initiative Gracian Chimwaza Executive Director gracian@itoca.org ITOCA- Information Training & Outreach Centre for Africa ITOCA Locating the power of in-between – Pretoria July 2008

Slide 2: Research-Policy Linkage • Research plays a major role in policy-making process (1) – Can provide communities and policy-makers with useful info to make informed relevant recommendations to solve problems – Systematic collection and presentation of info – Informs individuals, communities, researchers • Access to relevant up-to-date information • Manner in which info is gathered and presented is important • Understand & identify key issues that impact the policy – Alternatives are considered and best recommendations are effectively communicated to the policy-makers 1. “Understanding the Link Between Research and Policy” Rural Communities Impacting Policy Project 2002 By Steven Dukeshire & Jennifer Thurlow Locating the power of in-between – Pretoria July 2008

Slide 3: Research Plays Important Role • Research informs policy making – Helps in formulating pragmatic, action oriented policies: research to action paradigm – Sound policy decisions can be made – Solid foundation of expertise ad knowledge – Caters for differing levels of knowledge depending on situation and policy Locating the power of in-between–Pretoria July 2008

Slide 4: Challenges: Weak linkages • Different types of research can be done depending on the need/intended outcome (2) – Focused Synthesis; Secondary Analysis; Field Experiments; Qualitative Methods; Surveys; Case Studies; Cost-benefit Analysis • Major sources of Information – Media; Official statistics; Polls; Think tanks and Specialized Policy Analysis Units; Traditional knowledge; Academic community 2. “Understanding the Link Between Research and Policy” Rural Communities Impacting Policy Project 2002 By Steven Dukeshire & Jennifer Thurlow ITOCA –Information Training & Outreach Centre www.itoca.org

Slide 5: Many Challenges in the Research –Policy linkage • Recognizing problems and identifying them • Understanding Key issues • Supporting a selected Plan of Action • Monitoring and Evaluating Impact Locating the power of in-between–Pretoria July 2008

Slide 6: Challenges: Weak linkages • Inadequate research done – Identify important issues and gain better understanding of the issues before making any policy recommendations • Poor access to research output, governments docs by rural poor and communities • Limited discussion and communication with policy-makers • Access to published literature/peer-reviewed literature prohibitively expensive for many researchers in Africa Locating the power of in-between–Pretoria July 2008

Slide 7: FREE Access to Published Literature • April 2000 - WHO meeting - researchers identified as one of their highest priority needs – access to high quality up-to-date research • Scientific information is essential to development – Economic growth depends on healthy people, food security, viable environment – Direct access to scientific information empowers researchers, practitioners & policy makers • Free/Low cost access vital Locating the power of in-between–Pretoria July 2008

Slide 8: Journal Access Initiatives • TEEAL, www.teeal.org Mann Library, Cornell University • HINARI, www.who.int/hinari WHO/ Yale Library • AGORA, www.aginternetwork.org FAO/Mann Library • OARE, www.oaresciences.org UNEP/Yale Library • PERI, www.inasp.info INASP • eIFL, www.eIFL.net AND Kronos • AJOL, www.ajol.org INASP/NISC • Others • Hundreds of publishers offering thousands of full-text journals (free/low cost to low income countries) • Agriculture, health, medicine, environment; social sciences, etc • Multiple languages; multiple delivery systems

Slide 9: Objectives of these journal programmes • Better Research • Updated Curriculum • Research based policy decisions • Connections to international scientific community • Reduced “publishing gap” & improved locally produced journals • Ultimately – improve Research; policy; food security; health, environment; MDGs GPM Washington DC 28 July 2008

Slide 10: E-agriculture promoting access & sharing experiences • Partner initiative led by FAO • Improved information and communication processes through sharing – Experiences – Best practices – Innovations – Informing policy making ITOCA –Information Training & Outreach Centre for Africa www.itoca.org

Slide 11: ITOCA-Info Training & Outreach Centre for Africa • Outreach and Promotion of ICT in Research and education in SSA – 25-30 missions annually • Training in access and use of e-resources – Information literacy courses – TEEAL, AGORA, HINARI, OARE – 32 train-the-trainer workshops in 28 countries held since Apr 2004 – 1200 faculty, policy-makers, researchers, librarians, information specialists trained – 15,000 trained downstream ITOCA –Information Training & Outreach Centre for Africa www.itoca.org

Slide 12: Thank You