Research to
Advocacy:
bridging the gap
Pro-poor Advocacy
Pro-poor advocacy shapes political decisions and
actions that respond to the interests of people
who directly face poverty and disadvantage.
Key drivers of advocacy
- Learning based advocacy (CMS, research, lesson
learning workshops)
- Broad network across the country
- Research: based on real experience and evidence
- Media
- Alliances
- pNGOs, GoB, Donors, Private Sector
What are our strongest drivers?
Research
• A research goldmine:
– 36 projects; 32 partners; country-wide presence
from rural to urban contexts; innovative and
proven interventions
• Research officers and assistants exploring
challenges faced by the extreme poor:
– Gender, khasland, health, Adivasis, old age,
disability, climate change adaptation, slum
evictions, …
Potential Advocacy Challenges
Based on shiree beneficiary experience
• Exclusion from or poor
access to services
• Inability to cope with
external shocks
• Health and Nutrition
vulnerability
• Poor or adverse
engagement with
economic processes
• Gender specific
vulnerabilities and threats
Potential Advocacy Challenges
Based on shiree beneficiary experience
• These categories are all potentially responsive
to policy initiatives
• They all fall within the scope of development
programme design (GoB or donor funded)
• They all show potential for private sector
initiatives
Hence they are all valid subjects for shiree
advocacy activity
Research to Advocacy
• How can the research programme add value
to this advocacy agenda? – leading to greater
relevance and impact  examples?
• 2 similar pieces of research , yielding similar
findings, will not have the same advocacy
impact?
Research to Advocacy
At different stages of the research cycle – looking at
it from an advocacy perspective
•
•
•
•
•
•
Identification of research themes
Validation of research selected
Planning of research processes
Peer review and validation of results
Presentation of results
Follow up
Some questions to consider
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
How to choose research topics?
How to publicise research underway?
Who to choose to undertake research?
What terms of reference?
Who to do the research with?
How big? What scope?
Who validates the research?
How, where and when are results presented?
Ideas to strengthen advocacy
within shiree
• Strengthened link between researchers and
key advocacy issues identified
– Limiting advocacy challenges to current research
topics
– Examples of good practice:
• Khas land
• Slum Eviction
Ideas to strengthen advocacy
within shiree
• Focused advocacy workshops
– Would focus on one advocacy challenge
•
•
•
•
Social protection
Gender equality
Health
Disaster risk reduction
– Bring experts of identified theme to present their
knowledge on the issue – advocate to us
– Endorse advocacy outputs (i.e. policy briefs)
Ideas to strengthen advocacy
within shiree
• New website!
– Shiree has launched a new website with a page
dedicated to advocacy challenges
– Would you use this as a forum to discuss or give
feedback on shiree’s advocacy outputs?
pNGO key advocacy challenges
• Are there any challenges shiree is not
addressing in its advocacy campaign?
• In your experience, which five challenges are
most apparent or relevant?
• What is your organization doing for advocacy?