Multidisciplinary Research Week 2013 at the University of Southampton. #MDRWeek. World Water Day and International Year of Water Cooperation 2013. ‘Research-policy Linkages: Lessons from DFID’, Presentation by Dr Yvan Biot Senior Scientist, Department for International Development (DFID). See the latest videos, interviews, pictures, tweets and views from the floor at: www.southampton.ac.uk/multidisciplinary

1. World Water Day: Water Cooperation
Multidisciplinary Research Week 2013
‘Research-policy Linkages: Lessons from DFID’,
by Dr Yvan Biot Senior Scientist, Department for International
Development (DFID).

2. Research-policy linkages
Lessons from DFID
Yvan Biot – Senior Scientist
March 2013
Office of Chief Scientific Advisor

3. Science-policy interactions
on environmental issues

4. Three messages
• Science needs to be believable
• Science needs to offer solutions
• Policy makers need to use evidence

5. BELIEVABLE
SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF ENQUIRY

6. It’s complicated …
Source: Peter Head, The Ecological Sequestration Trust

7. Ask the locals!

8. But are they always right ?
Rainfall
Maize yields
Rao, K., et al:, 2011. Climate variability and change: farmer perceptions and intra-seasonal variability in
rainfall associated risk in semi-arid Kenya

9. Priors, interests and biases …
Doucouliagos, H. and Paldam, M., 2009: The aid effectiveness literature: the sad results of 40 years of research

10. OFFER SOLUTIONS
WE ALREADY KNOW WE ARE DOOMED
…

11. Find out what users want!
• The policy cycle
– Formulation, delivery and accountability
• NERC: http://www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/corporate/policy.asp
– recognise the relevance of science to policy-makers;
– identify available opportunities, routes and best practice
– communicate science in an appropriate way

12. Example: likelihood of early rains in Africa
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/csrp/

13. What works, what doesn’t …
• Theory of change
• Impact evaluations
• Randomised Control Trials
• Systematic reviews

14. USE THE EVIDENCE
POLICY MAKERS MUST PLAY BALL
…

15. Evidence in DFID’s Business Cases
• DFID’s BC cycle
– What’s the problem
– What are the options to solve it
– Theory of change and logical framework
– Management arrangements, VFM, M&E
• Quality assurance
– Strong evidence about nature of the problem
– Poor evidence about feasibility of proposed solution

16. Assessing the strength of the evidence
Principles of Associated principles
quality
Conceptual Does the study acknowledge existing research?
framing Does the study construct a conceptual framework?
Does the study pose a research question?
Does the study outline a hypothesis?
Openness and Does the study present or link to the raw data it analyses?
transparency Does the author recognise limitations/weaknesses in their work?
Appropriateness Does the study identify a research design?
and rigour Does the study identify a research method?
Does the study demonstrate why the chosen design and method
are good ways to explore the research question?
Validity Has the study demonstrated measurement validity?
Is the study internally valid?
Is the study externally valid?
Reliability Has the study demonstrated measurement reliability?
Has the study demonstrated that its selected analytical
technique is reliable?
Cogency Does the author ‘signpost’ the reader throughout?
Are the conclusions clearly based on the study’s results?

17. … and of a body of evidence
• quality of the studies constituting the body of evidence
– high, moderate, low;
• size of the body of evidence
– Large, Medium, Small
• consistency of the findings
– Consistent, Inconsistent
• context of the evidence
– Global, Context Specific

18. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS …
AND LIMITATIONS …

19. Main messages
• Summary
– Science needs to be believable
– Calibrate, validate, check for priors and biases…
– Offer solutions
– Talk to policy makers
– Help us find out what works, what doesn’t
– Policy makers need to use the evidence
– And adjust designs to strengths and weaknesses
• Growing set of tools
– Theories of change, impact evaluations, systematic reviews, …
• Examples of success
– Climate change: IPCC

20. THANK YOU

21. World Water Day: Water Cooperation
Multidisciplinary Research Week 2013
See the latest videos, interviews, pictures, tweets and views
from the floor at:
Website: www.southampton.ac.uk/multidisciplinary
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