2.5 The foundations of effective advocacy for policy research

Having developed a relatively in-depth description of the nature of policy advocacy, the role of research and expertise and the challenges of bringing them into the decision-making process in a way that guides the choices and the thinking, it is obvious that the final decision stems from the input of multiple voices from multiple sources through multiple stages. This is true both in the best functioning democracies as well as in most transition countries. Fewer voices and sources, plus the lack of appreciation for policy research and the unpredictability of the process itself make influencing decisionmaking in transition countries even more of a challenge.

Given these realities, it is unsurprising that an approach to policy advocacy where the researcher publishes and disseminates his or her paper, presents the findings once at a conference, and has a meeting with a government official is unlikely to produce much influence. Such a one-way approach, even if it includes great ideas and analysis, is more likely to be ignored and confuses the totally messy and evolving realities of the policy-making process with the traditional processes of academia.

Based on the challenges detailed in this chapter and insights developed though the investigation of multiple cases of research achieving influence in transition and developing countries,¹ the following are the basic principles frame and guide an effective approach to policy advocacy:

• It is a two-way process of negotiation and mediation towards the transfer of ownership of the findings and proposals developed in the research to key target audiences.
• It is messy and normally takes time, commitment, and persistence.
• The most likely target is policy influence, rather than impact.
• It involves the “softening up” of specialist expert audiences and also more interest-based coalitionbuilding and bargaining with more political audiences.
• Context is key, as processes are always specific, evolving, and unpredictable.

In the next chapter, we provide an overview of how to take these principles and operationalize them in your policy advocacy planning process using the Advocacy Planning Framework tool.