Networks and Policy Processes in International Development: A Literature Review

This paper from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) was written as part of the Civil Society Partnerships Programme, which aims to improve the capacity of Southern civil society organisations to influence pro-poor policy. Based on a literature review of over 100 texts, it has three main objectives. First, it outlines why networks matter. Secondly, it identifies how networks can influence policy - focusing on their impact on four key components of policy processes: agenda setting; policy formulation; implementation; and monitoring and evaluation. Thirdly, the paper identifies lessons - for capacity building, communications and policy influence activities - as well as areas for further study.

The paper defines networks as 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; and
• Consensus: like-minded actors identifying each other and rallying around a common issue.

According to the paper, networks are designed to play a number of functions. The following six non-exclusive functions are emphasisied:

• Filters - which ‘decide’ what information is worth paying attention to, and organise unmanageable
  amounts of information.
• Amplifiers - help take little known or little understood ideas and make them more widely
  understood. Advocacy or campaigning non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as the Jubilee Campaign, are amplifying
  networks. The FairTrade Foundation, for example, works though a network of those licensed to use
  the brand to amplify the fair trade message.
• Convenors
• Facilitators
• Community builder networks
• Investor/provider networks

According to the paper, 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.

The authors identify 10 commonly cited ‘keys to success’, which provides a basic checklist of ways
in which networks may overcome their numerous associated problems and capitalise upon their
potential to influence policy:

• Clear governance agreements: setting objectives, identifying functions, defining membership
  structures, making decisions and resolving conflicts.
• Strength in numbers: the larger the numbers involved the greater the political weight.
• Representativeness is a key source of legitimacy and thereby influence.
• Quality of evidence affects both credibility and legitimacy.
• Packaging of evidence is crucial to effective communication.
• Sustainability is vital, since persistence over a period of time is often required for policy
  influence.
• Key individuals can facilitate policy influence.
• Informal links can be critical in achieving objectives.
• Complementingof official structures rather than duplication makes networks more valuable.
• ICT: New information and communication technologies (ICT) are increasingly vital for networking.

The research proposes that networks may influence the policy process by four key ways:

1. increasing the influence of good quality evidence throughout the policy process;
2. building consensus amongst diverse actors;
3. bringing civil society resources and expertise into the policy process; and
4. broadening and sustaining the pro-poor impact of a policy.