Thursday, April 15, 2010

[EQ] Knowledge to Policy: Making the Most of Development Research

Knowledge to Policy: Making the Most of Development Research

Fred Carden, currently the Director of Evaluation at the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, Canada
International Development Research Centre 2009 - Sage/IDRC  ISBN 978-81-7829-930-3

e-ISBN 978-1-55250-417-8 - 224 pp.

Available online at: http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-135779-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

Disponible en français - -  Disponible en español

 

“…….Does research influence public policy and decision-making and, if so, how? This book is the most recent to address this question, investigating the effects of research in the field of international development. It starts from a sophisticated understanding about how research influences public policy and decision-making. It shows how research can contribute to better governance in at least three ways: by encouraging open inquiry and debate, by empowering people with the knowledge to hold governments accountable, and by enlarging the array of policy options and solutions available to the policy process.

 

Knowledge to Policy examines the consequences of 23 research projects funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre. Key findings and case studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America are presented in a reader-friendly, journalistic style, giving the reader a deeper grasp and understanding of approaches, contexts, relationships, and events. . …”  from summary

 

“…….The message of evidence-based policy was: Decision makers at every level should attend to the findings that emerge from research, data series, evaluation, and analysis. They should discard hoary old shibboleths when evidence demonstrates that they are misguided. They should undertake the kinds of activities that, according to research, yield positive outcomes. They need to pay attention to the evidence that researchers produce in order to improve the calibre of the policies they enact. Those are the taken-for-granted assumptions.

 

As we have already noted, such assumptions are overly optimistic, particularly in developing countries without a tradition of analyzing the consequences of research. But if one could not expect policymakers to base policy on evidence, one could at least take account of the facts in the situation. Some of the original proponents of evidence-based policy backed off to ‘evidence-influenced policy’, and later to acknowledge the value of the even less ambitious ‘evidence-informed policy’. To many people, research seems an eminently worthy endeavour. It brings the fresh wind of reality into the councils of policy. It shows new relationships and concepts at work. But there is virtue in setting expectations at a reasonable level…..”  from Carol H. Weiss Professor Emerita, Harvard University



Content:


Foreword Carol H. Weiss, Professor Emerita, Harvard University

 

Preface
Maureen O’Neil, President & CEO, Canadian Health Services Research Foundation, Past-President International Development Research Centre

 

SECTION I: THE FINDINGS

1. Making Research Count

2. Policy Matters

3. What Works, What Doesn’t

4. Managing Research, Exploiting Contingencies

5. Research and the Politics of Policy

6. Conclusion

 

SECTION II: THE CASE STUDIES

7. Introduction

8. Poverty Monitoring

    Bangladesh, the Philippines, Senegal, Vietnam

9. Trade and Finance

10. Resource Management

11. Water Management

12. Health and Education Reform

13. Networks and Innovation

14. Information and Communication Technologies for Development

 

SECTION III: TECHNICAL NOTES

15. The Multiple Case Approach: A Methodological Overview

16. Changing Practice: A Note on Using Evaluation for Organizational Change

Acronyms

References

Annotated Bibliography

 

*      *     *
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[EQ] Narrowing socioeconomic inequality in child stunting

Narrowing socioeconomic inequality in child stunting:
the Brazilian experience, 1974–2007


Carlos Augusto Monteiro,a Maria Helena D'Aquino Benicio,a Wolney Lisboa Conde,a Silvia Konno,a Ana Lucia Lovadino,a
Aluisio JD Barros b & Cesar Gomes Victora b
a School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

b Post-Graduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil

Bull World Health Organ 2010;88:305–311 | doi:10.2471/BLT.09.069195

Available online at: http://www.who.int/entity/bulletin/volumes/88/4/09-069195/en/index.html

"…….Optimal child growth requires adequate energy and nutrient intake, absence of disease and appropriate care. Poor living conditions, including household food insecurity, low parental education, lack of access to quality health care and an unhealthy living environment are among the main determinants of stunted growth. Poverty has a more detrimental effect on linear growth than on body weight.1 Child stunting is associated with higher morbidity and mortality, shorter height in adulthood, lower educational achievement, and reduced productivity in adulthood.

Child growth patterns are therefore strong predictors of future human capital and social progress and of the health of future generations…."

Objective
To assess trends in the prevalence and social distribution of child stunting in Brazil to evaluate the effect of income and basic service redistribution policies implemented in that country in the recent past.

Methods
The prevalence of stunting (height-for-age z score below −2 using the Child Growth Standards of the World Health Organization) among children aged less than 5 years was estimated from data collected during national household surveys carried out in Brazil in 1974–75 (n = 34 409), 1989 (n = 7374), 1996 (n = 4149) and 2006–07 (n = 4414). Absolute and relative socioeconomic inequality in stunting was measured by means of the slope index and the concentration index of inequality, respectively.

Findings Over a 33-year period, we documented a steady decline in the national prevalence of stunting from 37.1% to 7.1%. Prevalence dropped from 59.0% to 11.2% in the poorest quintile and from 12.1% to 3.3% among the wealthiest quintile.
The decline was particularly steep in the last 10 years of the period (1996 to 2007), when the gaps between poor and wealthy families with children under 5 were also reduced in terms of purchasing power; access to education, health care and water and sanitation services; and reproductive health indicators.

Conclusion
In Brazil, socioeconomic development coupled with equity-oriented public policies have been accompanied by marked improvements in living conditions and a substantial decline in child undernutrition, as well as a reduction of the gap in nutritional status between children in the highest and lowest socioeconomic quintiles. Future studies will show whether these gains will be maintained under the current global economic crisis.


*      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]

"Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Equity List - Archives - Join/remove:
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IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended
recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or
confidential information. If you are not the intended
recipient or a person responsible for delivering this
transmission to the intended recipient, you may not
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any action in reliance on it. If you received this
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email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and
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