In recent years, the central place of knowledge in Dutch development policy has been re-emphasised, fuelled amongst other by a critical report of the Advisory Council on Government Policy. It was recognised that development policy becomes increasingly complex, as a result of the expanding global agenda, the growing differentiation of country situations and the importance of knowledge-driven innovations. Hence the need to invest more not only in knowledge to make donor policy more effective but also in knowledge within developing countries. This, in turn, requires different ways to organise research (so as to tap both academic and field knowledge of a diversity of actors) and to ensure a more effective uptake and use by policy-makers. Against this background, several ‘knowledge platforms’ were created to facilitate partnerships for the development of knowledge, based on the pooling of various sources of expertise in North and South.

To read more, download the full-text PDF version of the concept note ‘Strategic actors for the implementation of inclusive development policies’.