Strengthening the Use of Evidence for Development Impact (SEDI)

Partner/Donor: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

Duration: 2 years

Starting Date: 2019

End Date: 2021

Team Members: Dr Abid Q Suleri, Dr Vaqar Ahmed, Dr Sajid Amin, Mr Qasim Shah, Mr Ahmed Awais Khaver, Ms Mahnoor Arshad, Ms Samavia Batool and Hassan Murtaza Syed
Introduction:

SEDI is a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) supported programme that will work to increase the use of evidence by policymakers in Uganda, Ghana and Pakistan, which will contribute to more efficient and effective decision-making by partner governments.

SEDI seeks to:
Increase the use of robust evidence directly informing policy or programme decisions by policymakers during policy design and implementation. (referred to as instrumental use of evidence) by policymakers during policy design and implementation.
Increase the use of evidence in processes, systems and the working culture in government decision-making structures during policy design and implementation (referred to as the embedded use of evidence)
To achieve this, SEDI will work with policy makers, public servants and other key demand-side stakeholders to design, pilot and implement a number of interventions in a politicall informed, locally-led, demand-driven and adaptive manner.

SEDI begins with an analysis phase, undertaking PEA+ exercises to analyse the political economy, evidence ecosystems and organizational potential of different sectors in Pakistan, Ghana and Uganda in order to identify sectors and political spaces conducive to improved evidence uptake in policy-making - where certain minimum capacities, institutions and incentives are in place.

Based on the findings of the analysis phase, and building on learning from BCURE and other programmes like it, SEDI will identify and respond to entry points to achieve change at three interlinked levels: individual level (understanding and awareness of evidence use among public servants and other actors); organizational level (systems and processes within government agencies) and systems level (connections between supply and demand).

Interventions will be piloted and rigorously tested in the first year, and scaled up or scaled back in response to findings. During the following years of implementation, interventions will be further adapted, monitored, improved, and scaled up or down in line with findings from our monitoring, learning and adaption system, in order to deliver sustained and sustainable improvements in national systems.
National lead organisations provide programme leadership and coordination in each country  Sustainable Development Policy Institution (SDPI) in Pakistan; Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) in Uganda and Africa Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) in Ghana. These country leads are authoritative voices in national policy processes, and will ensure effective engagement and sustainable legacy for the programme. They will engage with cross-sectoral stakeholders and, working with sectoral partners, will pool knowledge, learning and relationships across sectors.

Sector partners in each country bring specialist knowledge and relationships within each of the pre-defined sectors. They are working to understand the analysis for their sector and, if the sector is selected, they will contribute to the design, supervision and delivery of sector interventions as appropriate.
International workstream leads - OPM, ODI, INASP and 3ie - work with and support the work of national organisations, providing strategic direction and oversight, technical leadership of workstreams, and help to facilitate cross-sector and cross-country learning.

SEDI also benefits from a pool of national, regional and international experts able to provide responsive, short-term inputs of the highest quality. They will provide specialist sectoral technical assistance, drawn down in response to needs identified in the diagnostic process and through ongoing monitoring and learning. Regional expertise will be an important element to this, with the African Centre for Evidence (ACE) and AFIDEP providing insights and capability in supporting evidence use and capacity development.

OPM provides overall management, supporting effective coordination and partnership, and ensuring that SEDI meets its commitments to DFID, and contributes to learning in the wider sector on how to strengthen evidence informed policymaking.

Objectives:
To increase the use of robust evidence directly informing policy or programme decisions (referred to as instrumental use of evidence) by policymakers during policy design and implementation. In addition to this, increase the use of evidence in processes, systems and the working culture (referred to as the embedded use of evidence) in government decision-making structures during policy design and implementation
Methodology: Based on research, the project would adapt and deliver according to the needs identified in the sectoral report.

Impact: Increase the use of evidence by policymakers in Uganda, Ghana and Pakistan, which will contribute to more efficient and effective decision-making by partner governments.

Outcome: Embedded use of evidence. Instrumental use of evidence. Transparent use of evidence.
Status:  Completed