ISS staff members and PhD graduates participated in the conference ‘From research to practice: inclusive development for future prospects in Africa’ that was organized last week by the knowledge platform INCLUDE.
The International Institute of Social Studies finds it increasingly important to engage in dialogues with the wider public on discussions of development policies and their impact.
Several ISS staff members and PhD graduates were involved in the conference ‘From research to practice: inclusive development for future prospects in Africa’ that was organized last week by the knowledge platform INCLUDE that supports research for evidence-based policymaking with the aim to promote inclusive development in Africa.
While Africa has experienced high rates of economic growth in the past decades, inequality is increasing, the absolute number of poor people is growing and many Africans are being left behind. For Africa’s development to be inclusive, investments in productivity and the sectors driving economic growth need to be complemented by inequality reduction through redistribution and access to basic services.
The discussion at INCLUDE was inclined towards evidence-based decision making, asking “how can we use existing information and let it be the backbone of our policy?”. It was argued that researchers, knowledge brokers and practitioners need to keep finding different ways to contact policymakers and create civic space. And in order to do so, it was stressed that there is a need to continue making strategic alliances across and between Africa and the Netherlands.