Strengthening West Africa’s evidence ecosystem for better policymaking

In francophone West Africa, an initiative is harnessing the research community’s expertise to strengthen the region’s ecosystem for evidence-informed policymaking. 

The Evidence-Policy-Action Center of Excellence (EPA Center of Excellence), led by the African Center for Equitable Development (ACED) and the Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rurale (IPAR), is building a collaborative network of researchers and decision-makers to advance evidence-informed policymaking at the national and regional levels. 

“The EPA Center of Excellence aims to stimulate the mobilization and use of evidence to help governments and practitioners formulate and implement better interventions,” explained Rodrigue Castro Gbedomon, director of research at ACED. “We’ve targeted five thematic areas to inform practices and policies: food systems; human development, including health and reproductive health; environment, including climate, energy and low-carbon transition; digital transformation; and social cohesion and gender, equity and diversity as cross-cutting issues.” 

The EPA Center of Excellence is one of three African centres funded by IDRC, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Robert Bosch Stiftung under the Learning Together to Advance Evidence and Equity in Policymaking for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (LEEPS) partnership. It aims to institutionalize evidence use and bring together key actors to synthesize, translate and share research with policymakers and practitioners.  

Closing gaps in the evidence ecosystem 

To advance its agenda, the EPA Center of Excellence is supporting seven West African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. Working to strengthen the evidence ecosystem, the team is convening key actors, reinforcing existing capacities and bridging critical gaps, including:  

• the disconnect between research and policymaking
• limited access to data
• weak capacity to use evidence 
• lack of institutional mechanisms and incentives to promote evidence use 

“Decision-makers see the value of using evidence to navigate decision-making processes. They’ve even gone so far as to set up governmental entities, such as national observatories on gender and national agencies for research valorization, to promote evidence generation and use. But in the end, this ambition fails to deliver concrete actions as the system that connects knowledge with public policies and practices is deeply broken,” Gbedomon said. “Our job is to stimulate this system so it can optimally connect research to policies and lead to better policies and practices.” 

Mapping and building capacities for better collaboration 

To begin this important work, the team started by mapping out capacity needs in the evidence-use ecosystem. The goal was to understand the specific context of each partner country and design tailored capacity-development programs through 

• learning opportunities: short training courses were developed based on participant feedback. These learner-centred sessions are accompanied by free practical guides.
• support for policy processes: through ACED’s helpdesk, the Center provides evidence syntheses and direct assistance to embed evidence into policymaking.
• community of practice: a regional network with national chapters fosters co-learning and knowledge exchange. 

Establishing credibility with governments 

The EPA Center of Excellence’s team recognizes that it takes time and patience to carry out its plans. “We work in a political ecosystem, “explained Gbedomon. “The main challenge we’ve faced is how to establish the Center’s legitimacy and credibility with those who are supposed to be listening to us, so that we can work with them.” 

Establishing credibility with governments has been especially important in areas that have experienced political transition, in particular Burkina Faso, Togo and Niger. “Working with governments in these contexts requires patience, proximity and time. As I always say, the end result is gratifying, because once they’ve got the hang of it, it’s hard to stop the machine,” Gbedomon stated. 

Leading the way: Evidence-based decision-making in West Africa 

The EPA Center of Excellence is making important progress in the region. It has projects underway with various institutions to help foster evidence-led decision-making. These include:  

• Gender observatories and national agencies in charge of gender (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Togo). The Center of Excellence contributed to the development and reinforcement of national gender policies. It co-designed research and knowledge agendas, built individual and institutional capacities, and facilitated knowledge sharing and collaborative learning. 
• Ministry of Energy (Niger). Energy data is often scattered across agencies. To address this issue, the Center of Excellence is setting up an information-gathering system for Niger’s Ministry of Energy to organize data to support decision-making at higher levels. 
• National Institute of Statistics and Economic and Demographic Studies (Togo). The Center of Excellence is helping the country set up a tool called the Visa Statistique that regulates the collection, production and dissemination of data.  
   

What’s next?  

With feedback from the community of practice, the EPA Center of Excellence plans to continue capacity building and supporting new policy processes. “Our vision,” observed Gbedomon, “is to achieve an evidence-policy ecosystem where the various components are well connected and functioning — where policymakers have the reflex to use evidence when they need it. We picture a one-stop shop in the future where they can turn to us for support.” 

With only five years left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals, there is a need to scale up efforts to build and institutionalize a culture of evidence-based decision-making across all sectors. Doing so requires a mindset shift and streamlined systems. Time is of the essence, as is the patience needed to enact such systemic change.