Politics of research-based policy in African policy debates, Synthesis of case study findings.

This paper presents the findings of a year-long research project—‘The Politics of Research
Uptake’—which contributes to the evolving discussion regarding the relationship between
research and policy by considering the role of research-based evidence in African policy
debates. The notion of a ‘policy debate’ in developed countries is directly associated with
debates over evidence and its role in advancing political purposes, as a number of recent
examples demonstrate. Applying this consideration to the African context, this paper takes a
wider view of the policy process—in which policy debates are understood to be an integral part
of policymaking—by examining the role of research-based evidence in four case studies on
diverse policy debates in sub-Saharan Africa:

• The eviction of street hawkers in Accra, Ghana;
• The HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Bill, Uganda;
• The introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Zambia; and
• Reform of the chieftaincy, Sierra Leone.

The objectives of the research are as follows:

• To characterise the policy debates studied in order to provide a reference point
for further work on policy debates in Africa;
• To identify what affects research-based evidence use, including a consideration
of different types of evidence used; and
• To identify the implications for the research–policy discussion and ways to
support the use of research in policy debates.