Evidence-Based Policy in Development Network (EBPDN)
The South Asia Evidence-Based Policy in Development Network (SA-ebpdn) is the regional arm of the global ebpdn. The SA-ebpdn is coordinated by the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA) and brings together think tanks, research institutes and similar organisations working in international development across South Asia to promote more evidence-based, pro-poor development policy making in the region.
As a part of facilitating the network CEPA works with a Core Group of organisations working on evidence based policy research in the South Asia region. Some of these organisations have been partnering CEPA since February 2009 and have engaged in a number of activities including a needs assessment, popularising the platform in each country, running discussion threads and consolidating the discussion.
Overall objectives of facilitating the South Asia regional platform are to:
- Capture region-specific lessons learnt on how evidence can be used more effectively to influence policy
- Strengthen research communication capacity
- Establish a sustainable mechanism to facilitate knowledge sharing between organisations committed to evidence based policy in development
- Endorse regional efforts on bridging research and policy
As at September 2010 the Core Group comprises the following members;
- Centre for Poverty Analysis, Sri Lanka
- Centre for Rural Technology (CRTN), Nepal
- Catalyst Management Services, through the Vrutti Livelihood Resource Centre, India
- Institute for Development Studies and Practices (IDSP), Pakistan
- DRUK Associates, Bhutan
Core Group Meeting, Colombo – January 2011
The Core Group for South Asia held its first meeting in January 2011 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The meeting was organized and hosted by the platform facilitator, CEPA. As facilitator, CEPA had constantly stressed the importance of holding this event so that team members could be able to meet face to face, network and discuss network activities in a more structured manner. This was a first step to consolidate the learning thus far of being a part of the network and discuss future plans.
More particularly the meeting had multiple objectives of sharing, learning and planning ahead.
Sharing objectives
- Experiences that are specific to networking and evidence based policy in the South Asian region are shared and consolidated.
- Members have clarity on basic concepts of evidence based policy and networking and are committed to building a community of practice.
Learning objectives
- All partners are on the same page and are aware of the linkages of the regional platform and its activities to the global platform
- Partners devise ways that the linkages between the global, regional and the local can be encouraged.
- A strong network that is committed to advocating for evidence based policy in South Asia is established.
Sustainability
- Core group members come together to develop a plan of action for the next three years that can be used to mobilize new funding for the platform.
- A clear set of activities and related outcomes are identified by the Core Group.
In conclusion, it was a productive meeting whereby a number of meaningful activities were carried out such as, presentation and discussion on the key terms and concepts of evidence based policy and networking, reflections from the practitioners, sharing of policy maps and experiences of networking, reflections on the past engagement and future planning.
