This policy research brief draws on presentations and discussions from the 'Practical Approaches to Participation' workshop, held in October 2003 at the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen. The aim was to facilitate a critical dialogue on participatory approaches to environmental decision-making by bringing together practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and experienced participants.

This paper is about analyzing labor markets in developing countries, searching for both improved understanding and greater policy relevance. Following a five-part policy evaluation framework, the highlights of labor markets in developing countries are presented. Theoretical models with multiple sectors and segments and empirical analysis using different kinds of data are then reviewed. A brief ...

Background The Institute of Medicine recommends changing organizational policy as a key element of evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation; however, policy change alone may be insufficient to change provider practice behavior [1,2]. Engaging key organizational stakeholders in the policy change process may foster buy-in, particularly if the policy is piloted and refined alongside the new pr...

John Williamson, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute, has been associated with the Institute since 1981. He was project director for the UN High-Level Panel on Financing for Development (the Zedillo Report) in 2001; on leave as chief economist for South Asia at the World Bank during 1996–99; economics professor at Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (1978–81), University of W...

The first section contains web links for practitioner resources for generalized and specific interventions mentioned in the policy brief, as well as further information regarding evaluations of program efficacy. The intervention may have been evaluated by What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), a division of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). These evaluations are indicated by the title “IES WW...

III LIST OF TABLES VIII LIST OF FIGURES VIII ACRONYMS AND INITIALISMS IX RACIAL CLASSIFICATIONS AND NOMENCLATURE XI PREFACE XIII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS XVII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND THESIS OUTLINE 1 SETTING THE SCENE: BIOFUELS (POLICIES) AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN BIOFUELS STRATEGY 3 Hype, Mobilising Metaphors and the Meta-narrative of Biofuels to the Rescue 7 Confronting Complexities: Policy Perspecti...

Background There is increasing interest globally in the use of more rigorous processes to ensure that maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) care recommendations are informed by the best available research evidence use. The purpose of this study was to engage Nigerian MNCH policy-makers and other stakeholders to consider issues around research to policy and practice interface and to assess ...

This brief commentary discusses a recent paper by Speed and Mannion that explores "The Rise of post truth populism in liberal democracies: challenges for health policy." It considers their assertion that through meaningful democratic engagement in health policy, some of the risks brought about by an exclusionary populist politics can be mediated. With an overview of what participation means in ...

The article will begin by aiming to make sense of history through a brief identification of factors which distinguish one policy phase from another, identification of their interrelatedness and factors leading to their transition. In the process it will ascertain whether identifying and discussing such phases is a useful way of describing and analysing policy changes and whether the preand post...

Until recently, when anthrax triggered a concern about preparedness in the public health infrastructure, U.S. health policy and health spending had been dominated by a focus on payment for medical treatment. The fact that many of the conditions driving the need for treatment are preventable ought to draw attention to policy opportunities for promoting health. Following a brief review of the det...