The African Studies Centre (ASC), the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS/EUR) and globalization think tank The Broker are excited to announce that they will be hosting the Secretariat for the Knowledge Platform on Development Policies. The core themes developed in this Platform are productive employment, strategic actors for inclusive development and social protection.

The Knowledge Platform on Development Policies is one of the five Knowledge Platforms that the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched in June 2012. These platforms have  independent Steering Groups and Chairs and bring together the worlds of knowledge, policy-making and development practice on the four priority themes in Dutch development cooperation (water, sexual and reproductive health rights, food security, security and rule of law). The fifth Knowledge Platform focuses on knowledge for development policies.

Aim of the Platform

The Knowledge Platform on Development Policies supports high-quality policy research and stimulates the dialogue on the use of research results, with a focus on the African partner countries of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Best practices from other countries may be relevant as well. In addition, the Platform aims at the involvement of the private sector and civil society in research and policy processes.

The Platform stimulates evidence-based policy-making in both the Netherlands (the policy process at the Ministry itself) and in African (partner) countries. In line with the African agenda and debate on the need to have more inclusive economic growth, the core themes developed so far are:

• productive employment;
• strategic actors for inclusive development;
• social protection.

Platform members

The Knowledge Platform on Development Policies has a limited membership to encourage face-to-face exchanges. Half of the 22 members are African, half are Dutch; members act in a personal capacity. The Platform is responsible for deciding on the core themes, conditions for research and the selection of countries and regions, stimulating policy dialogue on specific themes and monitoring the relevance of research-to-information needs.

Secretariat

Under the guidance of the Platform’s Steering Group, the Secretariat of the Knowledge Platform on Development Policies will act as a knowledge broker and support the policy dialogue initiated by the Platform. The knowledge brokering will be facilitated through a website with an online knowledge exchange function and a virtual network that links existing and new relevant knowledge networks, databases and other sources of information. The Secretariat will also organize meetings and develop a communication and social media strategy.

The consortium of ASC, AERC, ISS and The Broker is committed to building a facilitating Secretariat that will encourage informed policy debate on inclusive development in the Netherlands, Africa and beyond.

The first activity of the Secretariat is to report on the Policy Research Seminar “Achieving inclusive Development in Africa: policies, processes and political settlement” jointly organized by the Platform and the Oversees Development Institute (ODI) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 13 and 14 May 2014.

Members of the Secretariat

• Ms Marleen Dekker, coordinator, African Studies Centre
• Ms Karin Nijenhuis, Knowledge Manager, African Studies Centre
• Mr Witness Simbanegavi, Knowledge Manager, Africa Economic Research Consortium
• Mr Peter van Bergeijk, Knowledge Manager, Institute of Social Studies
• Ms Daniëlle de Winter, Knowledge Manager, The Broker

More information

For more information, please contact Marleen Dekker, secretariaatkpd@ascleiden.nl,  071-527 6602.