Designing evaluation and communication for impact for cyber policy centres – DECI-4

Numerous strategic evaluations have found that learning and communications are key to research for development interventions. However, strategic learning and communications for development is challenging, and projects need adaptive strategies tailored to complex and changing contexts to ensure that research contributes to positive change in policy ecosystems. There is no blueprint for effective research for development, but it requires agility and forward thinking. This project provides organizational capacity building to help cyber policy centres (CPCs) improve their research impact by enhancing their capacities in evaluation, research communication, and adaptive management.

The CPC initiative supports organizational strengthening for a set of regional “think and do tanks” that specialize in public policy research at the forefront of artificial intelligence, data, and internet societies. Designing evaluation and communication for impact (DECI) is the principal mechanism for strengthening this group of institutions. The DECI-4 project combines evaluation, communication, and learning methods with mentoring throughout the project cycle. External evaluations have demonstrated that IDRC grantees benefit from having a learning partner and mentor who supports reflection, strategic planning, and adaptive management practices to help strengthen organizational development.

DECI-4 will also conduct a program-wide evaluation of the CPC modality to help IDRC assess the impact and effectiveness of the approach. As per its own approach to change, the CPC program has a set of assumptions that merit review and confirmation. The review will help IDRC understand how the support has led to organizational strengthening and it will identify expected and unexpected outcomes.