Abstract

This paper is both an analytical and reflective piece on the process of public policy advocacy in global South contexts. It documents the author’s experience advocating with state governments in India to continue funding for the Mahila Samakhya women’s empowerment program. While reflecting on the dilemmas, processes and outcomes of this engagement, the author also discusses the utility and limitations of existing policy advocacy frameworks commonly used and promoted by organisations, looking specifically at the widely popular RAPID Outcome Mapping Approach (ROMA). To better support researchers and organisations engaged in policy advocacy, the author proposes a new framework that improves upon the ROMA by emphasizing responsiveness and evidence- and context-based decision-making to address the experiences and realities of organisations in the global South.

Researchers as Policy Activists: An Experience-Based Framework for Responsive Policy Engagement by Jyotsna Jha has been published as a part of the GrOW Working Paper Series (Produced with support from McGill University and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Jha, J. (2019). Researchers as Policy Activists: An Experience-Based Framework for Responsive Policy Engagement. CBPS.