Strengthening international evidence-informed policymaking: lessons from the Global South

Abstract

This article was born from a policy imperative – to provide recommendations to Member States of the United Nations General Assembly looking to strengthen evidence use within UNGA process. Whilst EBP and EIP literatures are useful, their direct contribution to the practicalities in the policymaking processes in international organisations appears limited by their focus on a discreet and generally local level of governance and administration. This paper seeks to redress this by applying a new analytical lens to existing scholarship. We subscribe to the assumption that policy processes are by nature transboundary, and there are therefore lessons from local and national processes which can be teased out and have relevance at the international level. Furthermore, we identify an acute bias in the literature,
with the majority of EIP studies derived from countries in the Global North. To partially redress this, we produce four new national case studies which reflect upon current, live policy processes in four Sub- Saharan African countries and identify replicable practices that may inform other scales of decision-
making. Insights derived from the case studies emphasise integrating diverse stakeholders in research for policy generation, through a more inclusive approach that would allow more meaningful participation of underrepresented forms of knowledge within national and international EIP mechanisms. The case studies underscore the importance of understanding the political economy and
context of evidence use and the necessity to advocate for structured evidence-demand, communication, and integration practices within both national and international institutions. Strong emphasis is placed on setting guidelines on evidence categories and enabling entry points for more inclusive EIP practices.

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ORCID for Jessica Espey: orcid.org/0000-0002-5140-7463

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