Project Info
The REAP (Responsive Evidence System for African Policy Needs) intervention is carried out by the South Africa Centre for Evidence NPC in collaboration with eBASE Africa and aims to develop and test a fully online platform for capacity support to evidence units in Africa. This is to enable them to deliver evidence for policymakers within their respective contexts. In other words, REAP will enable evidence units to provide evidence that responds to policymakers‘ needs. This intervention, which sees things from a new perspective, is a new opportunity that has an instrumental impact on poverty and inequality through the routine use of the best available evidence in policymaking across Francophone Africa.
Implementing Organisations
.png)
Project Background
There is an increasing interest worldwide to ensure evidence-informed policy-making as a means to improve the policy conception and its effective uptake. However, there is a great challenge in the use of evidence by policymakers. Specifically, in French-speaking African countries, such as Cameroon, some policymakers have difficulty using evidence, and others do not have the necessary capacity to use evidence. Thus, there is a major problem of access to and use of French evidence by policymakers. This has a direct negative effect on development projects. Further, it also has indirect negative effects on the population's life because the policies established and implemented do not meet the population's needs and risk being ineffective.
Project Objectives
The project statement will be demonstrated by:
- By the end of 2022, 30 policymakers have improved knowledge on evidence-informed decision making
- By the end of 2022, eBASE has provided at least 3 responsive evidence services to the government of Cameroon
- By the end of 2022, 50 practitioners are able to use the evidence portal
- 5 Researchers and 5 storytellers use a standard approach of translating research evidence
Project Implementation
Given the different activities that eBASE is carrying out, and its experiences in the field of health (EBM Africa Network, etc.) education (a sign of collaboration between eBASE and the Cameroon Ministry of Basic Education, We Attain, etc.), water, sanitation, and hygiene, local governance (the evidence barometer, etc.), and art ( Storytelling), the REAP intervention will a key part of enabling eBASE Africa to achieve its objectives in promoting access to and the use of evidence by policymakers, practitioners and citizens in Francophone Africa.
Project Evaluation
Results for the first phase of the project running from March 2022 to December 2022.
This stage of the project was meant to map our stakeholders, create a collaboration with policy makers, organize stakeholder sessions and run surveys to assess the research needs of policy makers in Cameroon.
Policy Makers from 6 ministries of Cameroon (MINESEC, MINEDUB, MINPROFF, MINAS, MINJEC, MINSANTE) and one regional assembly were engaged this year. Activities were focused on policies on menstrual hygiene management, education, sexual and gender-based violence, environmental protection and women empowerment. We have now termed this the “Hexagon of Ministries”.