CHIP research is intended to be a resource for policy-makers, practitioners and activists concerned about childhood poverty. This page highlights some important elements of policy change for children in poverty and ways in which CHIP outputs may be used.
Achieving change to tackle childhood poverty involves:
• positive action at different levels
• positive change in a range of policy areas
• attention to policy implementation as well as content
• effectively using research findings
• targeting key fora and institutions/departments who make and influence policy
Positive action at different levels
Many decisions about policies to reduce poverty and resource allocation are made locally and nationally. However, in a world of increasing globalisation, available budgets and many policies adopted by national governments are strongly affected by global decisions about trade, aid and investment. Achieving positive policy change for poor children therefore means action at local, national and international levels. CHIP reports and briefings are intended to help design better policy at state/ provincial, national and international levels. Summaries of key country research findings are being fed back to local decision-makers.
Positive change in a range of policy areas
Poverty is complex and multi-faceted. Bringing about change for poor children and their families involves pro-poor, pro-child policy in a range of areas including:
1. Anti-poverty policy, such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and other national poverty strategies. CHIP national teams have aimed to put childhood poverty issues higher on national poverty policy agendas, including engaging with PRSP processes in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.
2. Sectoral policy, including education, social protection, health, water and sanitation and agriculture. CHIP's research in China, for example, has prioritised the social security sector, engaging with key provincial and national government departments on urban social security policy and programmes.
3. Macro policy, involving economic policies and broader policy on the environment or gender, for example. Economic policy is often overlooked by those working for more direct change in children's lives. Yet changes in trade or taxation, for example, can have profound effects on a family's ability to feed, clothe and educate their children, supporting or undermining other anti-poverty policies. In Mongolia, the CHIP/ Save the Children team aims to use research results to lobby the Ministries of Education, and Finance for better resourcing of schools in remote rural or overcrowded peri-urban areas.
Attention to policy implementation as well as content
Reducing childhood poverty requires both positive policies and an ability to implement them. Often impediments to achieving change are to be found in implementation rather than policy content Budgets must reflect policy priorities, legal frameworks and programmes of activities must put principles into practice, and resources must reach the poorest and not reinforce power structures that marginalise the disadvantaged. One way to promote effective implementation is by monitoring policy implementation and its effects. In India and China, CHIP teams have examined the impact of various state policies on poor children, and are communicating findings to those in charge of implementation.
Effectively using research findings
CHIP has sought to ensure that research informs policy change by:
• Setting up well-scoped research that is timely and useful for the policy agenda. For example, understanding more about migration is a priority for the Mongolian government and others who recognise the urgent need to address the negative and far-reaching effects of population movement.
• Securing the interest of influential decision-makers early on. CHIP national teams have all had advisory groups composed of government, donor and civil society representatives, who have commented on research design and content, and on interim results. Research activities have also involved interviews with key policy makers, providing an opportunity to discuss the issues over a sustained period.
• Making research findings easily accessible to people who influence policy and engaging with different stakeholders to motivate action. These include policy makers (governments, donors), civil society organisations, research institutes, the media and other international organisations. CHIP has produced short briefings on key topics in English and national languages and is working with local mass media to communicate research findings and spark public debate on important issues. Internationally, CHIP has used policy briefings on aid and policies to tackle childhood poverty in high level donor meetings.
• Using varied media to reach different audiences. CHIP outputs include reports, policy briefings, case studies and photo images, all of which are downloadable from this website. In Kyrgyzstan, CHIP commissioned a film about children in poverty to complement the research and support its dissemination. The film has been aired on national TV and continues to be used as a resource to draw attention to childhood poverty issues.
Targeting key fora and institutions which make and influence policy
Targets and allies for tackling childhood poverty exist in governments, donor agencies and other organisations and vary from country to country and over time. CHIP outputs may be of use in the following fora to argue for greater investment in children:
• 'Consultative group' meetings - annual donor and national government meetings in aid recipient countries where government departments and donors make commitments to plans and strategies for the coming year and debate current issues.
• PRSP and other policy formulation/review meetings and related preparatory processes which can be key opportunities to influence governments' choices of anti-poverty policies.
• National poverty monitoring systems to ensure they consider the impact of poverty reduction policies on children.
• National budget setting and reviewing meetings such as Public Expenditure Reviews.
• Sectoral planning and review processes where details of education, health, water, agriculture and other policies are decided.
• Focused meetings with key decision-makers, and those who influence them in government departments and donor agencies.
• International policy-setting and dialogue meetings. For example, CHIP briefings on aid have been used in Development Assistance Committee discussions on aid effectiveness.
Case study: Engaging with policy - CHIP research in Kyrgyzstan
From the start, CHIP research in Kyrgyzstan aimed to avoid the fate of many development reports: being ignored. The CHIP team sought the advice of policy-makers and practitioners at the outset and built their suggestions into the research - both the issues examined and the design of the field research. As the research progressed, the team took a three-pronged approach to communicating findings - seminars in Bishkek, the capital, with representatives of government, NGOs and the donor community; feedback meetings in the communities where field research took place, attended by local leaders; and a documentary film and series of 'social advertisements' that aimed to raise concern about children in poverty among the general public. The film was screened on national TV and has been shown in numerous meetings in Kyrgyzstan and in other countries. The CHIP team is confident that this series of activities has raised the profile of childhood poverty issues.
