Conference Agenda

Problem Statement and Purpose

Policy research is the heart of government in the delivery of services to the citizens. Policy research involves collecting and analyzing data in order to identify and monitor trends, patterns and emerging issues in the society (Birkland, 2001). Getting research into policy and practice has a great benefit for making evidence-based decisions and government actions. In Uganda, there is a growing concern about limited institutional policy research uptake. To integrate research findings into the policy making process and to communicate research findings to policy makers remains a key challenge in the policy processes. This study investigates the extent of research influence on government public policies. It further unveils the reasons why there is limited use of how research knowledge in policy making, and assesses other determinants of policy decisions and their implication on the policy practice. The findings will inform an integrative framework of multiple knowledge sources for better policy decisions.

Methodology

The study that applies a grounded theory and descriptive research approaches . Data is collected through observation, and key informant interviews for government officers and researchers. Data is also obtained through document analysis of various government reports, anecdotal records and government legal and policy frameworks. Interpretive approach and content analysis is applied to assesses ways of formulating public policies in Uganda and their implication on the policy practice

Findings

The findings present shortfalls of the processes of policy making and consequences such as: persistence of piecemeal public policies, illogical and evidence based public policy analysis, apathy and negative attitudes of some policy actors towards public policies, poor collaboration between policy developers and policy implementers, inability carryout stakeholder engagements and ineffective public outreach resulting into limited awareness on the dissemination of public policies.

Proposals

Some of the study proposed interventions include: Building capacities for policy analysis, carrying out appropriate researches targeting government current agenda; effective engagement of policy actors and researchers ; effective policy advocacy, appropriate policy documentation and communication; Integrative solutions to tackle current "wicked" policy problems

References

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3. Burstein P. (2020). The Determinants of Public Policy: What Matters and How Much. Policy Studies Journal. Volume 48. No.1 2020

4. Cairney P & Kwiatkowski R (2017). How to communicate effectively with policymakers: combine insights from psychology and policy studies. Palgrave Commun 3, 37 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-017-0046-8

5.Landry, R., Moktar, L. and Amara, N. (2003). Extent and Determinants of Utilization of University Research in Government Agencies, Public Administration Review, Vol. 63, No. 2, pp. 192-205.

6. Report of the 8th Meeting Of Directors, Commissioners And Undersecretaries’ Forum Held On 4th March 2020 at Office of The President, Conference Hall . Republic of Uganda, October 2020

7. Report On The 20th Meeting Of The Policy Analyst Cadre Held On 28th November, 2019; Republic of Uganda, March 2020

8. Report on the 22nd meeting of the policy analyst cadre held on 14th July, 2020. Republic of Uganda, October 2020

9. Siddiqi K, Newell J, Robinson M. (2005);Getting evidence into practice: what works in developing countries? Int J Qual Health Care 17:447-53.

10. Weiss, C.H. (1991). Policy research as advocacy: pro and con. Knowledge and Policy. 4 (1- 2): 37-55.

Problem Statement and Purpose

The advancement of scientific and technological innovation policies, as well as inclusive and sustainable economic development, depend on science, technology, and innovation (STI) policy. Though Tanzania and South Africa have acknowledged the significance of science, technology, and innovation (STI) for their social and economic advancement, there have been restrictions on the application of policies regarding STI's specific interface with macroeconomic frameworks. which, despite the fact that both nations seek to incorporate STI policies into their more comprehensive economic plans, may vary.

Policies pertaining to science, technology, and innovation (STI) are developed and carried out by different government departments in South Africa and Tanzania. In order to handle the many opportunities and challenges pertaining to science, technology, and innovation, these departments work in partnership with other government agencies, research institutes, academia, businesses, civil society organisations, and foreign partners. A variety of government agencies, international organisations, and other stakeholders typically work together to collect, analyse, and disseminate data on key indicators related to sustainable development, including those pertaining to science, technology, and innovation (STI), as part of the reporting systems on the indicator processes in Tanzania and South Africa.

This paper evaluates the correlation between science, technology, and innovation policy indicators. The policy evaluation will centre on the following, as there are several important policy considerations and issues pertaining to science, technology, and innovation policy:

Methodology

The design of the study and the methodology.

The study used document analysis, policy evaluation assessment, and foresight methods in an exploratory case study of Tanzania and South Africa. In order to understand the current situation, spot new trends, and find opportunities or obstacles through data collection, a thorough investigation was conducted as part of the research design process. Delphi was used to conduct in-depth interviews with decision-makers.

These included representatives of the government, legislators, academic researchers, business leaders, donors, and civil society organisations. This was carried out in order for the study to investigate their viewpoints, experiences, and insights regarding STI policies, obstacles, and possibilities. Expert consultations were also sought to gather input from practitioners and subject matter experts with specialised knowledge and experience in STI policy analysis and evaluation. STI policies and programmes were analysed based on how they were implemented in their respective countries, Tanzania and South Africa, for the two case studies.

Findings

The main finding of the study is that well-defined measurable indicators for science, technology, and innovation policy are essential drivers of socio-economic development, environmental and ecological sustainability, as well as global competitiveness for South Africa and Tanzania. By formulating and implementing effective STI policies, both countries can unlock their innovation potential, drive inclusive growth, and build resilient, knowledge-based economies capable of addressing complex challenges.

The researcher has examined how innovation, technology, and science indicators relate to the creation and execution of policies in South Africa and Tanzania.

Proposals

a) The contribution of science, technology, and innovation policies to economic growth and competitiveness by fostering innovation, industrial development, and technological advancement.

b) By tackling societal issues including poverty, inequality, health, education, and environmental degradation, STI policies are essential to achieving sustainable development objectives. Through leveraging the transformative potential of science, technology, and innovation,

c) Building a skilled workforce, advancing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, and encouraging a culture of lifelong learning and innovation are the main goals of human capital development as it relates to STI policies.

References

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Problem Statement and Purpose

Citizen participation in decision-making becomes paramount in crises such as natural disasters, pandemics, or socio-political upheavals. This became evident during the widespread coronavirus, where lockdowns, restrictions on certain goods and services, and the prohibition of public or social gatherings became the common measures most governments implemented to deal with the novel disease. However, policies and measures dealing with such crises are often politically, religiously, or economically criticised for not being suitable for the lives of the citizens, thus highlighting the importance of evaluating the extent to which citizens are included in the policy cycle and the impact of such policies. Policy advisors (ad hoc or permanent) have a crucial role in this process, providing evidence-based advice and recommendations to policymakers (Halligan, 1995). However, this field remains understudied and less understood on non-government components of PAS (Hird, 2005). For this reason, this study explores the intersection of policy advisory systems (PAS) and the rights of citizen participation during crises, highlighting their role in promoting informed governance and inclusive policy responses.

Methodology

The study depends on examples of past crises to identify the challenges and opportunities of integrating citizen participation rights into policy advisory processes. The data was collected from secondary literature, government records, and several findings from different institutions. The study makes use of the integrated analytical framework involving the policy cycle to present and discuss findings on the interaction between PAS and citizen rights.

Findings

The findings revealed that the involvement of citizens in the policy process can help increase the legitimacy of policies by adopting policy content that aligns with citizens' preferences and ensuring procedural mechanisms reflect citizens' ideas and suggestions. In addition, the interaction between policy advisory systems and citizen participation rights has the potential to transform governance paradigms, promoting greater democratic legitimacy and social cohesion in times of uncertainty and adversity. Moreover, the study found that research is limited to policy advisory systems available to the local government and how such systems have impacted the internal (administrative and political) policy researchers.

Proposals

A fully-fledged theoretical model incorporating policy advisory systems, citizens, public and private sectors, and civil society is needed to gain a deeper insight into the empirical analysis. Moreover, the study suggests that governments in all spheres (national, provincial, and local) need to capitalise on the information and indigenous knowledge of the citizens particularly in dealing with crises This can foster a culture of informed decision-making, responsiveness and resilience in the face of criticism. In addition, the opportunities and shortcomings of relying on PASs need to be addressed to avoid undermining the work of internal policy researchers and advisors.

References

Halliga, J.(1995). Policy advice and the public sector. In B. Guy Peters & T. Savoide (Eds)., Governance in a changing environment (pp. 138-172). Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Hird J. A. (2005) Power, Knowledge and Politics: Policy Analysis in the States. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.

OECD. (2017). Policy Advisory Systems: Supporting Good Governance and South Public Decision Making. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264283664-en

Problem Statement and Purpose

The analysis and evaluation of the spending process is a flexible tool increasingly widespread in most OECD countries and in some middle-income economies, aimed at identifying saving measures to reduce the growth rate or level of public expenditure; creating fiscal space to finance new programs or address emerging fiscal pressures and/or reduce debt; adjusting to the government’s policy priorities; improving the quality of spending and fiscal outcomes to obtain value for money (Bova et al., 2020; Doherty and Sayegh, 2022). Also, the scope of the spending assessment may vary and depends on whether it is a comprehensive review of a large share of total government spending, generally adopted to address fiscal consolidation objectives, or whether it is selective, focusing on predefined categories of spending and topics; the actors of the process may be internal or external.

The spending review is a permanent topic in the Italian economic and political debate. The high public debt with the related spending for interest payments, the heavy tax pressure and the distortion generated by the widespread tax evasion underlie the constant attention for the control of public expenditure.

Methodology

The paper uses a comparative perspective to overview the objectives, approaches and actors that characterise the various experiences of the spending reviews across cuntries and along time.

As regards Italy, the paper analyses the legislator’s attention and the activism of some governments leading to different approaches (Di mascuio et al, 2018) and evaluates through data the results that have been scored so far pointing out several critical issues.

Findings

The Italian experience suggests that a sound solution for the analysis and evaluation of the public expenditure should rely on several factors such as a strong political commitment, the adoption of the medium-term perspective, the improvement of the technical and economic skills of the internal bureaucracy.

The paper sketches the main steps of the long process of the spending review in Italy to identify its weaknesses and strengths of the different approaches adopted over time.

Proposals

The paper is aimed at addressing the spending review reform introduced by the National Resilience and Recovery Plan (NRRP) to favour a systematic implementation of the evaluation of the expenditure. In this respect the focus of our analysis will be the priority of strengthening the public sector’s human resources alongside the training efforts to qualify the review teams and the design of suitable incentives for line Ministries to monitor their spending review plans.

References

Bova, E., Ercoli, R., Vanden Bosch, X. (2020). Spending Reviews: Some Insights from Practitioners. European Economy Discussion Paper 2015 - 135, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs, European Commission, Brussels.

Di Mascio, F., Galli, D., Natalini, A., Ongaro, E. (2018). Italy: a tale of path-dependent public sector shrinkage. In: Ghin, E. M., Hansen H. F. and Boge M. (Eds.). Public management in time of austerity, New York, Routledge, 71-91.

Doherty, L., Sayegh, A. (2022). How to Design and Institutionalize Spending Reviews. Washington DC, IMF How To Notes.