Networks and Policy Processes International Development

Publication date: Thursday 01 September 2005

From the realm of the Group of Eight (G8), to anti-globalisation protests, to Al Qaeda, ‘networks’ is the latest buzzword. We hear that networks represent the most effective organisational model. So too in the field of international development: researchers on social capital, organisational management and globalisation all talk of networks. Practitioners are setting up numerous networks and showing that they can improve policymaking processes – and particularly the use of information in them.

Networks are structures that link individuals or organisations who share a common interest on a specific issue or a general set of values. When they work, networks are particularly good at fulfilling some key functions – the three ‘Cs’:
• Communication: across both horizontal and vertical dimensions;
• Creativity: owing to free and interactive communication amongst diverse actors;
• Consensus: like-minded actors identifying each other and rallying around a common issue.
There is a considerable body of evidence suggesting that networks can help improve policy
processes through better information use. They may, for example, help marshal evidence and increase the influence of good-quality evidence in the policy process. They can foster links between researchers and policymakers; bypass formal barriers to consensus; bring resources and expertise to policymaking; and broaden the pro-poor impact of a policy.

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http://www.odi.org.uk/Rapid/Publications/Documents/WP252.pdf