News & events

News

27 January 2025

HSRC team appointed to develop a policy advocacy framework for the National Development Agency

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)

A research team in the HSRC’s Equitable Economies and Education (EEE) division has been appointed to develop a comprehensive policy advocacy framework for the National Development Agency (NDA). While the NDA widely shares its research, the uptake and use of its research aimed at poverty eradication and sustainable development in practice are unclear. Therefore, it commissioned the HSRC to craft an evidence-informed advocacy framework and implementation tools to support its strategic vision and mission.

Impactful advocacy for evidence-informed policy change is multifaceted and fluid, a space of intense contestation. Policy formulation, for instance, has evolved beyond the exclusive domain of policy planners and senior decision-makers. Policies are products of competing interests and conflicting priorities, often characterised by blind spots, contradictions, and loopholes that can be leveraged in advocacy and for self-sustaining change.

Figure 1 summarises the tailored Advocacy Framework that foregrounds interactions between evidence, advocacy, policy change and societal impact. It depicts how research findings and recommendations can be translated into concrete advocacy actions. Effective advocacy needs policymakers, practitioners in all spheres of government, and civil society organisations that are foundational to the strategic agenda of the NDA.

Figure 1: Policy advocacy for self-sustaining change

Note: Figure 1 – schematic overview of macro and technical processes in policy advocacy

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)

Related Articles