O PPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN N EPAL ROUNDTABLE ON POLICY RESEARCH - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

L INKING R ESEARCH AND PUBLIC POLICY O PPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN N EPAL ROUNDTABLE ON POLICY RESEARCH IN “N EW N EPAL ” O PPORTUNITIES FOR N ETWORKING AND COLLABORATION Hari Dhungana, PhD Nepal Policy Research Network www.nepalpolicynet.com

P OLICY ENVIRONMENT : THE POLITICAL SCENE  Significant political change www.nepalpolicynet.com  Problematisation of polity, economy and society  Celebration of “New Nepal”  Just, prosperous, peaceful, democratic, ....  Erosion of legitimacy of societal institutions  Who is policy maker? 2  Links between citizens and decision-makers?

P OLICY RESEARCH CONTEXT  Framing of policy agenda: donor-domination  Research priorities  Civil society mobilisation & movements  Hospitality: privileging of the Western mind www.nepalpolicynet.com  Fatalistic interpretation  Politics is given — “we can do nothing”  Politics everywhere ?  Emphasis on Critique  Oppositional/activist posturing  Politics of blaming — zeal of counselling others  Constructive involvement: Actionable 3 opportunities?

U SING RESEARCH FOR POLICY : THE LINK Knowledge www.nepalpolicynet.com Brokering Politics & Academic societal research aspirations 4

P OLICY THINKING  Historic craving of intellectuals:  Examples: Plato, Kautilya, Machiavelli www.nepalpolicynet.com  “Policy science” and think -tanks  Post-World War II phenomenon  limitations of ‘pure’ social science  Second-order interpretation of science research  Value-mediated  Politically committed  Vernacular discourse 5

P OLICY - MAKING COMPLEX Epistemology/paradigms www.nepalpolicynet.com Social problems/issues Information Values Institutional Producers-- Ideologies — structure researchers ought to be done Formal structure- Purveyors — Legislative, judiciary, executive Beliefs — causal advocates assumptions Informal — Knowledge policy brokers, Interests — stake-holders rewards Persuasion 6 Policies Source: Lomas, 2000

W ORKING OF POLICY RESEARCH  3000+ think tanks, globally  Institutional formation of think-tanks www.nepalpolicynet.com  Government/party-controlled/intelligence-gathering  Semi-autonomous; University centres  Private firms; Non-profit NGOs  Basis of funding —  corporate,  foundation,  competitive grants;  government-commissioned  Wide variety of actions:  Research; publications; training;  Dialogue; lobbying 7  Linking the state, private sector, civil society

K EY TRENDS  Trans-nationalisation of policy brokering —  Trans-national think-tanks www.nepalpolicynet.com  Movements,  Cultural diplomacy / people-to-people contacts  Alumni connections  Governmental control over policy knowledge:  Crisis of ‘modern’ nation  Autonomous existence of think-tanks  Non-state funding: donors, foundations, project bidding, training fees  Greater demand for domestically-led policy 8 innovation —“feel the soil”

POLICY STUDIES IN N EPAL  Started with the nation-building zeal of King Mahendra  TU Centre: CEDA www.nepalpolicynet.com  Pa.Ni.Ja.Bu.Sa. Etc.  Government-funded research on social science and humanities  Post-1990 context: constraints on publicly-funded research  Academic NGOs/research-focused NGOs  Think tank groups — security, conflict, economics areas  CONSULTING work 9

R ESEARCH O RGANIZATIONS IN N EPAL -- EXAMPLES SN Organization Address Specialized Area 1 Administrative Staff Jawalakhel, Kathmandu Public College http://www.nasc.org.np/ administration 2 Health and Population Center for Research on P.O. Box : 9626 Kusunti, http://www.crehpa.org.np Environment Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) 3 Population and Health Central Department of Tribhuvan University, Population Studies Kathmandu http://www.cdps.edu.np/ P.O. Box 2161, Balkhu, 4 Education Centre for Educational Kathmandu Research, Innovation http://www.cerid.org/ and Development (CERID) 5 P.O.Box 797, Kirtipur, Economy, Centre for Economic Kathmandu Planning, Development and http://www.ceda.org.np/ Administration (CEDA) Development 6 G.P.O. Box 5752, Kathmandu Centre for Environmental Agriculture and http://www.ceapred.org.np/ Livestock and Agricultural Policy Research, Extension and Development (CEAPRED)

PO Box 3757 Kirtipur, 7 Language, Centre for Nepal and Kathmandu Asian Studies Culture and Social http://www.cnastu.org.np/ (CNAS) values 8 P O Box 2708, College of Development Development policy Old Baneshwor, Kathmandu Studies and practice http://www.cds.edu.np/ 9 Land Community Self Reliance P.O.Box: 19790, Dhapasi, Centre (CSRC) Kathmandu http://www.csrcnepal.org/ 10 ForestAction Nepal PO Box: 12207 Satdobato, Natural resource, Lalitpur environmental http://www.forestaction.org governance and livelihood 11 P. O. Box: 11840, Kathmandu Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Sanepa, Lalitpur http://www.fesnepal.org 12 Public policy Himalayan Institute of GPO Box 6052 Ram Shah Development (HID) Path, Kathmandu http://sites.google.com/site/hid onlineorg/

13 Institute for Socio-economic P.O. Box 2254 Mandikhatar, Kathmandu situation Integrated http://www.iids.org.np/ Development Studies (IIDS) 14 Institute for Local G. P.O. Box 21098,, Kathmandu Local Governance http://inlogos.org Governance Studies (Inlogos) 15 Institute for Policy G.P.O. Box 8975-EPC 994 Development MaitiGhar, Kathmandu policy Research and http://www.iprad.org.np/ Development (IPRAD) 16 Institute for Social POBox 397, Maharajgunj, Natural Resource, Kathmandu and Environmental Environment and www.isetnepal.org.np Transition in Nepal Social (ISET Nepal) Development 17 Institute of Foreign Tripureshwor,Kathmandu Foreign policy http://www.ifa.org.np Policy

18 ISER Nepal P.O. Box. 57, Bharatpur, Population Chitwan Education, ttp://isernepal.org.np/ Environment, Social Justice and Governance 19 Law Kathmandu School of Law Po Box: 6618 Dadhikot-9, Bhaktapur (KSL) www.ksl.edu.np 20 Jawalakhel, Lalitpur Local development Local Development Training Email: ldta@wlink.com.np Academy http://www.ldta.org.np 21 PO Box 324 Gairapatan, Local Initiatives for Natural Resource, Pokhara, http://www.libird.org Livelihood Biodiversity, Research and Development (LIBIRD) Post box 13470, Kathmandu 22 Martin Chautari Media, Governance http://www.martinchautari.org. and Democracy np/

23 Nepal Health Research P.O.Box 7626,Ramshah Path, Public Health, Council Kathmandu Environmental http://www.nhrc.org.np/ Health 24 Public Policy Nepal Institute for P.O.Box. 14352, Baneshwor, Policy Studies (NIPS) Kathmandu http://www.nipsnepal.org/ 25 Public Health PO.BOX 19624, 1085, Kathmandu Nepal Public Health Foundation http://www.nphfoundation.org 26 New ERA (P.) Ltd. P.O. Box 722 Kathmandu Socio-economic and http://www.newera.com.np/ Development research 27 Social Science Baha GPO Box 25334, Kathmandu Social science http://www.soscbaha.org research, Publication and Social & policy dialogues 28 South Asia Policy P.O. Box 13670 105/3, Kathmandu South Asia Centre for http://www.saceps.org/ Policy Studies (SACEPS)

29 South Asian Network PO Box: 8975, EPC: 1056, Development Kathmandu for Development and Economics, Poverty http://www.sandeeonline.org and Environment Environmental Economics (SANDEE) 30 The Nepal Research GPO Box: 910 Kathmandu Development, Group http://www.nccr-nepal.org/ Environmental Governance, Peace and Conflict

Journal Publisher Nepal Administrative Staff College Administration and Management Review http://nepjol.info/index.php/AMR TU, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Dahulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Mahendra Multiple Campus, Birgunj http://nepjol.info/index.php/DSAJ TU, Department of Economics, Economic Journal of Development Issues Patan Multiple Campus, Lalitpur http://nepjol.info/index.php/EJDI Economic Journal of Nepal TU, Central Department of Economics, Kathmandu http://nepjol.info/index.php/EJON TU, Department of Sociology and Anthropology Himalayan Journal of Sociology and Anthropology PrithviNarayan Campus, Pokhara http://nepjol.info/index.php/HJSA Journal of Nepalese Business Studies TU, Faculty of Management, Prithivi Narayan Campus, Pokhara, http://nepjol.info/index.php/JNBS Journal of Political Science TU, Department of Political Science and Sociology of Prithwi Narayan Campus http://nepjol.info/index.php/JPS

Journal Publisher Local Initiative Promotion Trust, Nepal Nepalese Journal of Qualitative Research Methods http://nepjol.info/index.php/NJQRM TU, Central Department of Sociology and Occasional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology Anthropology, Kathmandu http://nepjol.info/index.php/OPSA HARD-Nepal and Pro-Con Socio-Economic Development Panorama http://nepjol.info/index.php/sedp Tribhuvan University Journal Research Division, Tribhuvan University Kathmandu, Nepal http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/TUJ Contribution to Nepal studies TU/Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies (CENAS) http://www.cnastu.org.np/pub.html TU/ Public Administration Campus Nepalese Journal of Public Policy and http://njpg.pactu.edu.np/ Governance Nepal Centre for Contemporary Study Nepali Journal of Contemporary Study http://www.nccs.org.np/index.php?option=com _content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=64