DELIBERATIVE DIALOGUES AS A

TOOL FOR KNOWLEDGE

MOBIL IZATIONREFLECT IONS FROM OUR EXPER IENCE IN

AFR ICACHRISTIAN DAGENAIS, Ph.DESTHER MC SWEEN-CADIEUX Ph.D (cand.) & VALÉRY RIDDE,

Ph.DKM FORUM, TORONTO, 28 06 2016

« T h e d e l i b e r a t i v e d i a l o g u e s a r e u s e d t o e x a m i n e r e s e a r c h d a t a i n p a r a l l e l w i t h t h e p e r s p e c t i v e s , e x p e r i e n c e s a n d t a c i t k n o w l e d g e o f t h o s e i n v o l v e d i n m a k i n g d e c i s i o n s o n a h i g h p r i o r i t y t o p i c , o r t h a t a r e a ff e c t e d b y s u c h d e c i s i o n s . »

- L AV I S , B OY KO , OX M A N , L E W I N ( 2 0 0 9 )

The ultimate goal of deliberative dialogue according to all definitions is,

To inform policy

Policy dialogue should be seen as an integrated part of the policy-

making process

CONSULTATION ON HEALTH EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

• More than a hundred representatives from 23 countries attended the francophone consultation

• The two-day consultation was structured around five themes included in the scope of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High Level Commission

• Participants had to identify key messages across the spectrum of these themes to transmit to the Commission

Lessons learned from our experiences

What works &What needs to be improved to

promote the use of knowledge?

KAYA’S WORKSHOP

C O N T R O L L I N G M A L A R I A I N B U R K I N A FA S O

KAYA’S WORKSHOP

• Research program on malaria in the Kaya region • Objective of the workshop: Sharing

implementation challenges and see how interventions can take into account these results to improve

• Format: 2 days. 16 presentations by researchers on different components of the research program.

• Policy briefs (10) distributed to participants at the workshop.

• Participants: 40 people (DRS, NGOs, health workers, CSOs)

WORKSHOP IMPACT

• Research confirmed their own beliefs or field observations

• Acquisition of new knowledge for all participants

• No change for policy makers, but local actors have identified some changes in their practice

• Intends to share the research results in district committees or meetings with health professionals ...

POSITIVE POINTS• Credibility of the results presented and high quality

of the studies

• Friendly context allowing exchanges and comments from participants

• Bringing together several categories of stakeholders appreciated: researchers, NGOs, practitioners

• Clarity of recommendations and proposed solutions to problems

NEGATIVE POINTS

• Too many details on the scientific approaches and methods for the uninitiated

• Language too specialized for the actors of the public administration, the general public and local health

workers

• Absence of senior decision makers perceived as a limit

• Lack of concrete discussion on actions to be taken

Very limited impact of a traditional feedback workshop

Need to develop the skills of researchers to share their knowledge to an audience beyond academic

Strategic analysis of key players to involve in the process

OUAGADOUGOU’s

WORKSHOPIMPROVING ROAD SAFETY IN BURKINA FASO

• Research program on road accidents injuries in the capital Ouagadougou (mapping of accident sites, care of the wounded …)

• Workshop’s goal: involve stakeholders in order to propose an action plan and recommandations for road safety improvement

• Format: 1 day, 5 presentations by researchers; Policy briefs (3) distributed to participants

• Participants: approximately 70 people (police departments, health professionals, CSO)

IMPROVED ASPECTS since Kaya’s workshop

• Emphasis on the involvement of participants for developing an action plan during the workshop

• Very few scientific presentations (without jargon) and more time granted for sub-group work (PM)

• Policy briefs were distributed in advance and revised in order to make them accessible

• Preparing a policy brief that is distributed in advance

• Provide a common ground to start a dialogue based on evidence ...

A POLICY BRIEF SHALL BE USED TO PREPARE THE DIALOGUE

CONTENT OF A POLICY BRIEF

-Description of the problem or issue under consideration

-Proposal of different options to solve the problem according to the latest evidence

-Identification of potential barriers to the implementation of these options and propose strategies to overcome these

barriers

-Recommendations for actions

GET EVERYONE'S COMMITMENT

Focus on commitment to undertake concrete actions ...

Set well-defined roles and responsibilities for each actor

Propose a timetable for concrete actions

Ensure that all commitments are described in detail

(WHO DOES WHAT? AND WHEN? )

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PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM THE EVALUATION

• The workshop had many positive consequences: learning new knowledge about road safety,

behavior awareness, creation of post-workshop collaborations and opportunities to

learn from one another

• Main obstacles mentionned : limited presence of political figures, lack of committment from

participants for the action plan and difficulty to form a follow-up committee

IMPORTANCE OF THE DELIBERATIVE ASPECT

• First time that all actors were sat together to discuss: creation of a desire to collaborate

• Actors on the field want this type of event to reoccure: need to be trained and supported to pass knowledge to

the community

• To make this kind of event useful: need for a follow-up committee and involvement of local leaders for

implementation of actions

Appreciation of the participatory aspect of the

workshop

BURKINA FASO’S CONTEXT

• Participants were not expecting to take decisions/having to commit for any kind of follow-up; regular research presentations usually being

limited to presenting results

• The majority of participants mention that restitutions are useless and that this deliberative

process should be repeated

IF WE HAD TO START OVER…

A knowledge broker would have been useful to conduct the follow-up committee and other needs

Starting the discussions between groups of stakeholders (eg Police, CSO) before the workshop would help

Improve the preparation and process of the plenary deliberations