3ie Grantees Communication for Policy Influence Clinic

1. 3ie Grantees Communication for Policy Influence Clinic Negombo 16th – 18th July 2012

2. How to communicate impact evaluations…

3. A short clip to watch How science can not only predict but also mitigate the effects of natural disasters http://blip.tv/ictkm-program/how-science-can-not-only-predict-but-also-mitigate-the-effects-of-natural-disasters-4114862

4. ILRI Peter Ballantyne

5. ILRI Peter Ballantyne 2011

6. Communication channels

7. Brainstorm: Communications channels • Make a list of different formats and outputs you could use for communication of research within your assigned channel(publications, media, events, online) • For each format or output, try to identify: • Which audience it best serves? • When it may be best to use it within a research process? • Any costs or resourcing? 10 mins in your groups

8. Policy briefs:A research communication tool

9. Evaluating policy briefs Exercise 1

10. Evaluating policy briefs • Each group has a Policy Brief. DON’T LOOK YET! • When we say ‘GO’, you will have THREE MINUTESto read through the policy brief (you may want to take notes) • And then hide the Policy Brief again…

11. It’s like being a policy-maker… • In your groups, note down the answers to the following questions - you have 5 minutes and no peeping at the briefs!: • What issue is the policy brief aiming to change, validate or inform? • Who do you think is the audience for this brief? • What recommendations are made? • Is there any specific piece of evidence that sticks out in your mind? • Each group will have two minutes to present your answers

12. What does a good policy brief look like? • Clear headline (IDS) • Good summary of the context (IDS) • Key points (CDKN) • Good use of simple graphics (CGD) – but be careful… • Too much space? (CDKN) • The methodology is not that important (CERGE) • It’s got to have a point! (AAAS)

13. Experience sharing

14. So what is a policy brief?

15. What is a policy brief? A concise, standalone document that focuses on a particular issue requiring policy attention: • Explains and conveys the urgency of an issue • Presents policy recommendations or implications • Gives evidence to support these recommendations • Points the reader to additional resources

16. What is a policy brief? • Policy Briefs are the most popular form of publication in think tanks. Why? Because they can help bring together the research and policy communities Source: CIPPEC and GDN’s Comparative study of policy research institutes in developing countries

17. Different types of policy brief • Policy Briefs as a memo • Policy Briefs as a publication – print and/or online • Policy Briefs as a marketing tool / hand out • Policy Briefs as a targeted research summary • Policy brief as part of a presentation

18. Types of policy briefs • Often internally focused • Demand-driven • Narrow audience • A general overview of the subject showing multiple opinions or view points • Might give multiple, and even competing, solutions • Externally focused • Supply-driven • Often broad audience • Targeted research summary that supports a main argument • Gives strong, clear and coordinated policy recommendations or implications • Often used as a marketing tool

19. Types of policy briefs The type of policy brief depends on: • the objectives and messages of the research • the specific context within which your research takes place • the audience identified • the author(s) • other communications activities that are being planned alongside your policy brief

20. Planning your policy brief

21. Considering the objective(s)

22. Cabinet Donors Policy Formulation Parliament Agenda Setting Decision Making Civil Society Ministries Monitoring and Evaluation Policy Implementation Private Sector Context-driven

23. The shoes of your audience

24. Audience-driven • Who is your brief aimed at? • Does the audience know you? • How much does your target audience know about the issue? • How do they perceive the issue? • What questions do they need answers to? • How open are they to your message(s)?

25. Audience-driven Policy-makers views: • Do present evidence-informed opinions • Don’t shy away from opinion and value judgements • But signpost which content is subjective and which is objective

26. Considering the authors • Contextualise your evidence within existing research • Consider institutional factors • What are our areas of credibility? • The writers • The organisation

27. Policy briefs as one part of your communications strategy • Timing is important • Where does your policy brief sit alongside other activities in your strategy? Source: Jones and Walsh (2008), Policy briefs as a communication tool for development research.

28. What does an effective policy brief look like?

29. Structure and content • Potential sections of a policy brief: • Title • Executive Summary • Introduction (10-15%) • Background and methodology (10-15%) • Results or policy options (30%) • Implications or recommendations (30%) • References and useful resources (10%) REMEMBER: Policy briefs are two, four or a maximum of eight pages in length (approx. 1,200, 2,500 or 4,000 words)

30. Structure and the role of design • Format & design can: • Engagepeople • Highlightcrucial information • Separatecontent and signpost your narrative • Conveyauthority • Show information in different ways

31. Some design ideas… • Photographs • Graphs and charts • Text boxes • Pull quotes • Side bars

32. Outlining policy briefs: where to start

33. Brainstorming for policy briefs

34. An example to use in the online toolkit…

35. Example: objective The objective for this policy brief is to encourage national governments around the world to embed impact evaluations in government decision-making processes by setting up independent evaluation departments.

36. Example: Recommendations • All government programmes should be evaluated using rigorous impact evaluations. • Governments should institute capacity development programmes for bureaucrats to help them design evaluable programmes. • These processes could be supported through the establishment of an independent evaluation department in each country.

37. Example: Line of argument • Many policy makers do not understand what an impact evaluation actually is • This means they have limited understanding of the benefits and constraints of IEs • Many programmes and policies are currently not evaluable Governments should institute capacity development programmes for bureaucrats to help them design evaluable programmes. With the global financial crisis, many gov’t budgets have been cut and many programmes are losing funding. It is therefore important to make sure funding for programmes that work is not cut. In South Africa, the gov’t announced a policy on subsidies for companies who employ young workers, but they don’t know if this is an effective way to reduce youth unemployment. In the UK, there were budget cuts amounting to x% of the annual budget.

38. Example: Hooks (entry points) • An ‘age of austerity’ is sweeping through governments as the medium term impacts of the global financial crisis start to be felt. • Budgets are being cut, but usually on an ideological basis rather than because a programme is ineffective.

39. The views presented here are those of the speakers, and do not necessarily represent the views of ODI, or our partners. www.odi.org.uk c.cassidy@odi.org.uk