Policy research in sub‐Saharan Africa: An exploration
| Author | Norman Clark,Calestous Juma |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.4230150204 |
| Date | 01 November 2006 |
| Published date | 01 November 2006 |
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT. VOL.
15,
121-137
(1995)
Policy research in sub-Saharan Africa: an exploration
CALESTOUS JUMA
African Centre
for
Technology Studies
and
NORMAN CLARK
University
of
Sussex
SUMMARY
This article argues that
a
major problem with contemporary policy analysis is that it has
difficulty coming to terms with complex economic change. This in turn
is
probably influenced by
a
view of socioeconomic systems that still harks back to the classical mechanics of the nineteenth
century and
a
relatively stable world in which social action could reasonably be informed by
disinterested scientific research of
a
traditional kind. By means of a review
of
some recent policy
analysis literature and by focusing on issues relating to development issues in contemporary
Africa, the article maintains that a more realistic approach would recognize the evolutionary
nature
of
modern socioeconomic systems and base policy interventions accordingly.
In
particu-
lar, there is
a
need to see ‘policy’ as
a
process of complex change requiring innovative insti-
tutional contexts and novel managerial capabilities.
INTRODUCTION
Recent political and socioeconomic changes in Africa have brought into sharp focus
the role of policy reform in creating a suitable environment for change since it is
becoming clear that the implementation of sustainable development programmes will
depend on the degree to which African countries reform their policies to facilitate social
innovation.
As
Chapter
8
of Agenda
21
states:
‘Prevailing systems for decision-making in many countries tend to separate
economic, social and environmental factorp at the policy, planning and
management levels. This influences the actions of all groups in society,
including Governments, industry and individuals, and has important im-
Calestous Juma
is
Director
of
Research at the African Centre for Technology Studies, Nairobi, Kenya.
Norman Clark
is
Reader at the Science Policy Research Unit, University
of
Sussex, Mantell Building,
Falmer, Brighton, BN
1
9RF, UK. The article is also part ofalarger study being preparedin conjunction with
Tom Fox of the World Resources Institution (Washington, DC). The research has been supported at various
stages by the Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries (SAREC); the Govern-
ment
of
Norway; the World Resources Institute (WRI); and the Pew Scholars Program
in
Conservation and
the Environment based at the University
of
Michigan. We are grateful
to
Mark Sagoff and Teresa Chandler
of
the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy
at
the University
of
Maryland (College Park) for providing
much inspiration and research support
for
this
article.
CCC
0271
-2075/95/020121-17
0
1995 by John Wiley
&
Sons, Ltd.
122
C.
Juma
and
N.
Clark
plications for the efficiency and sustainability of development. An adjust-
ment or even a fundamental reshaping of decision-making, in the light of
country-specific conditions, may be necessary if environment and de-
velopment is to be put at the centre of economic and political decision-
making, in effect achieving
a
full integration of these factors.’
(UN,
1993,
P. 95)
But the prospects of introducing such reforms need to be considered against the
background of recent efforts to introduce policy reforms in Africa. For example, in an
assessment of the current situation, Steedman (1990, p.
6)
has argued that
‘despite the several external macroeconomic shocks of the last 15 years,
African governments have not accorded political priority to adjusting their
economic policies along rational lines. Nor have they shown much interest
in exploiting their own capacity to formulate or implement economic
policies or in improving their local analytical capacity. Policies have often
been imposed by donors with the leverage accorded
by
a crisis; given a lack
of economic data and analysis within government, donors have at times
been forced to make rapid appraisals and to suggest measures on the basis
of their own understanding of the situation. In many cases, such policies
risk having little chance of success over the long run, based as they are on
analyses carried out
by
foreign agencies with little local involvement in their
production or commitment to their implementation.’
He further notes that in many African countries ‘erratic or mercurial policy making
has prevailed despite the presence and development of considerable local policy
making capacities.’ He concludes that ‘donors, who have usually been responsible for
the maintenance or development of such capacity, need to ensure its continued and
improved supply, despite the erratic nature of demand, in the hope that eventually
policies will change and local talents will be used effectively’ (Steedman, 1990, p.
7).
Steedman’s eloquent diagnosis, though too generalized and seemingly antagonistic,
provides a useful starting point in the search for strategic ways of enhancing endogen-
ous
public policy management. The issue of policy management
is
not merely a matter
of the supply and demand of policy analysts, although capacity building in this area is
certainly needed. The problem is more that little has been done to analyse the processes
typical of policy-making in Africa and to identify ways that would improve the use of
analysis in policy-making. Moreover, ‘policy research’, i.e. the provision of intelligence
to policy-making communities, is not offered as a specialized area of study in African
universities despite a widespread recognition that the presence and use
of
policy
research capacity lies at the very heart
of
a country’s ability to manage socioeconomic
and political change, to steer through the difficult times, to anticipate changes in the
external environment, to adapt
to
at least some of the changes and finally to move
towards sustainable development.
Following two recent contributions in this journal by authors who have raised
similar issues of methodology and metaphor (Angelides and Caiden, 1994; Bell, 1994),
the central theme of this article is that an essential ingredient in enhancing the capacity
for effective policy-making is the recognition of the evolutionary nature
of
social
systems. For far too long the prevailing metaphor of the ‘policy sciences’ has been that
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