Knowledge To Policy

Investigates the effects of research in the field of international development.. Examines the consequences of 23 research projects funded by Canada's International Development Research Centre in developing countries. Shows how research influence public policy and decision-making and how can contribute to better governance.

This important collection presents a radical reconception of the place of knowledge in contemporary policymaking in Europe, based not on assumptions about evidence, expertise or experience but on the different forms that knowledge takes. Knowledge is embodied in people, inscribed in documents and instruments, and enacted in specific circumstances. Empirical case studies of health and education policy in different national and international contexts demonstrate the essential interdependence of different forms and phases of knowledge. They illustrate the ways in which knowledge is mobilised and resisted, and draw attention to key problems in the processing and transformation of knowledge in policy work. This novel theoretical framework offers real benefits for policymakers, academics in public policy, public administration, management studies, sociology, education, public health and social work, and those with a practical interest in education and health and related fields of public policy.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. This book explores the critical role that local knowledge plays in public policy processes as well as its role in the co-production of policy relevant knowledge with the scientific and professional communities. The authors consider the mechanisms used by local organisations and the constraints and opportunities they face, exploring what the knowledge-to-policy process means, who is involved and how different communities can engage in the policy process. Ten diverse case studies are used from around Indonesia, addressing issues such as forest management, water resources, maritime resource management and financial services. By making extensive use of quotes from the field, the book allows the reader to ‘hear’ the perspectives and beliefs of community members around local knowledge and its effects on individual and community life.

It offers a power analysis perspective on the knowledge policy process, illustrated with rich empirical examples from the field of international development.

This edited volume examines key questions about evidence-informed policymaking in Indonesia. It draws on insights and evidence acquired through the implementation of the Knowledge Sector Initiative, a donor-funded programme that aims to increase the demand for and use of evidence in policymaking in Indonesia. Featuring contributions from academics, policy researchers, policymakers and development practitioners, the volume will deepen readers’ understanding of how knowledge and politics shape the policymaking process in Indonesia. As such, it will be of interest to Indonesian and international researchers, academics, students, practitioners and policymakers concerned with various aspects of evidence-informed policymaking research and processes. In particular, regional and international development practitioners and development partners interested in learning from Indonesia’s efforts to improve how evidence is used to address key development challenges will find this volume valuable.

This book addresses the question of what it takes to develop social indicators that genuinely influence important public decisions. It looks historically at the processes of creating and using three important social indicators in the United States: unemployment rates, standard budgets, and crime rates. It then develops principles for choosing concepts, designing measures, and creating policy processes that institutionalize their use. For this second edition, Innes has provided a major new introductory essay, which reflects on social indicators research and her own and others' continuing work on the role of quantitative and other professionally generated information in policy making. She contends that in practice knowledge is influential as it becomes part of the myths that shape public life, as it empowers some policy actors over others, as it establishes the agendas and frames the problem, as it sets the terms for negotiation and public discourse. For these arguments, she draws on her research on human rights policy, environmental impact assessment, housing policy and local community development. The case studies in the original book have stood the test of time, and remain valid supports for the author's interpretations. The author contends that to understand how knowledge and policy are linked, we need to replace the "scientific" model of explicit knowledge use with a more inclusive, interactive model of knowledge influence. To do this we must rethink both the education and practice of policy professionals. Innes sees indicators as lenses on the world that help define problems and point the way to solutions. It is not surprising that the case studies show that the most influential indicators are developed jointly with policy and theories about the problem. As she says, "there are no facts without theories and the only way a statistician can keep out of politics is to collect only irrelevant data." This new edition will be of immense interest to those interested in the sociology of ideas, policy studies, and the emerging field of knowledge transfer. Judith Innes is a professor in the city and regional planning department of the University of California, Berkeley.

Harvesting Feminist Knowledge for Public Policy brings together 14 essays by feminist thinkers from different parts of the world, reflecting on the flaws in the current patterns of development and arguing for political, economic, and social changes to promote equality and sustainability. The contributors argue that the very approach being taken to understand and measure progress, and plan for and evaluate development, needs rethinking in ways that draw on the experiences and knowledge of women. All the essays, in diverse ways, offer proposals for alternative ideas to address the limitations and contradictions of currently dominant theories and practices in development, and move towards the creation of a socially just and egalitarian world.