Editing Development communication (section)

====Between research, development and policy====

It is a complex task to achieve effectiveness in development policy especially in rural areas. It involves a range of stakeholders who need to demonstrate coordinated action. Sunitiyoso et al. (2012) claim that holistic thinking is needed to solve public policy problems which requires collaborative efforts across different organizational boundaries.<ref name="Sunitiyoso, Y. 2012">Sunitiyoso, Y., Wicaksono, A., Utomo, D. S., Putro, U. S., & Mangkusubroto, K. (2012). Developing strategic initiatives through Triple Helix interactions: Systems modelling for policy development. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 52, 140–149.</ref> The government through its administration must show vigor and integrity to implement these programs. Development policy makers must consider providing education and sustained training in order to materialize the programs provided to the beneficiaries.<ref>Bhatnagar, S. (2000). Social implications of information and communication technology in developing countries: Lessons from Asian success stories. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 1(1), 1–9.</ref> Sustained training does not only rely to ICT, it also needs emotional quotient to motivate beneficiaries to get involved and develop a sense of ownership.  President Julius K. Nyerere once stated that the people must participate in considering, planning, and implementing their development (in Tanganyika African National Union, 1971 ).<ref>Rogers, E. M. (1976). Communication and development: The passing of the dominant paradigm. Communication research, 3(2), 213–240.</ref> Therefore, development can only be achieved when people develop themselves. This has been realized by not only socialist and communist nations, but also by capitalist nations such as Singapore and South Korea. Self- development is usually accompanied by social mobilization by political parties, non- government organizations and workers from the academe.

Scholars have proposed categories for the analysis of changes present in the research and policy sectors. What generates lack of accord between the effectiveness of development communication policy is the unrealized link between the importance of research and development to policy making.<ref>Leydesdorff, L. (2005). The Triple Helix Model and the Study of Knowledge-based Innovation Systems. Int. Journal of Contemporary Sociology 42 (1), 2005, 12–27.</ref> As compared to Europe, the United States and Latin America, the challenges of knowledge and technology transfer have been solved in the forefront of attention in economic, social and industrial policy.<ref>Etzkowitz, H., & Ranga, M. (2015). Triple Helix systems: an analytical framework for innovation policy and practice in the Knowledge Society. In Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Exchange (pp. 117–158). Routledge.</ref>

=====Gap between researchers and policy makers=====
The ''praxis'' or the marriage of research and practice, according to Flor (1991)<ref name=":2" /> is needed to address the pressing social issues that are pestering the society. However, there are factors that delay its realization. According to UNCTAD Virtual Institute (2006), there are still a huge communication gap between researchers and policy makers. On the side of the policy makers, the information on ongoing researchers barely reaches to them. The researchers, on the other hand, lack the awareness and the knowledge on the most important policy that could contribute so much in the research. Here are some common reasons for the wide gap between the two:<ref name=":4" />
Policy makers turn primarily to international organizations, international research institutes or their own technical experts or diplomatic missions to obtain information and analysis as policy inputs. Local universities and research institutes may have the capacity but are often not able to engage in cooperation with policy makers.
Policy-makers consider the credibility of researchers and research outputs a key requirement for cooperation.
Governments lack systematic procedures regarding which research institutions to turn to, and when and how to establish contact with researchers.
Data required for informed research may be non-existent or inaccessible.
Hence, the joint UNCTAD-WTO-ITC workshop on trade policy analysis workshop has forwarded these recommendations for both the research institutions and policy making bodies:<ref name=":4">UNCTAD-WTO-ITC (2006). [http://vi.unctad.org/tda/papers/tradedata/tdarecs.PDF Research-based Policy Making: Bridging the Gap between Researchers and Policy Makers], Recommendations for researchers and policy makers arising from the joint UNCTAD-WTO-ITC workshop on trade policy analysis, Geneva, 11–15 September 2006.</ref>

As a researcher:
Try to disseminate information about current research projects as widely as possible:
Invite concerned government officials to conferences or presentations of research, or organize specific events bringing together policy makers and researchers
Send notes and abstracts to relevant ministries
Distribute research to government agencies but also to NGOs, which might also be among its users. Be ready to discuss work in progress with policy-makers after initial contacts have been established.
Try to get in direct contact, for example with negotiators, by providing them with short notes/abstracts of relevant research findings.
Establish contact and build a long-term cooperation with relevant ministries. The start can be facilitated by having a "champion" in the ministry. However, the researcher/research institution may need to avoid being too closely identified with a "champion", and hence, depending too much on the evolution of the "champion's" status.
Access to high-ranked officials at ministries can be facilitated by involving higher-level representatives at universities (deans, vice-chancellors...) in the establishment and maintenance of contacts. However, more decentralized cooperation can also be productive if he procedures within the university tend to be very hierarchical and bureaucratic.
As a policy maker:
Involve policy-makers in research. Policy-makers who are consulted at the initial stages of a research project tend to be more open since they can actively participate and hence have a stake in shaping the research questions, and thereby take "ownership" of the research as well. Regular interaction during the research project can help adjusting the questions researched and the tools used to the needs of policy makers.
Make sure that your research addresses issues of policy relevance to your country by approaching permanent missions in Geneva which can act as facilitators by providing information regarding current policy-relevant research questions.

=====Bridging the gap through collaboration=====

There has been shift of policy-making from academic sources of development relations between government, academia and industry, and scholars often refer this as "triple helix model". Henry Etzkowitz defines it as "a spiral model of innovation that captures multiple reciprocal relationships at different points in the process of knowledge capitalization."<ref name="Sunitiyoso, Y. 2012"/> Etzkowitz and Melo (2004) stated that recognizing that university is the source of new knowledge, industry is where the practice ground for technology and development and the supporting role of government as policy makers. The importance of collaboration is a successful model in any project management. More so when a holistic approach is applied in policy development, it may be a solution to address the complexity of policy implementation as all stakeholders are required to participate beginning from the conceptualization, planning, policy formulation and implementation.<ref name="Sunitiyoso, Y. 2012"/>