Knowledge-Practice Mobilisation
CEPA believes the generation of knowledge alone is not enough, but that the knowledge generated should to be used to enrich the development process. Over the past year, CEPA brought its extensive knowledge on poverty and field experience together, to work with clients ranging from community organisations and local government authorities to donors and NGOs. The projects and assignments worked on were:
CEPA carried out the Civil Society Organisations – Local Authority Action and Partnership Programme (CLAPP), in partnership with the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) with funding from the European Union. The overall objective of the programme was to promote an inclusive and empowered society in Sri Lanka that is actively involved in development and poverty reduction. Focusing on the Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu, Vavuniya and Mannar Districts over a period of two-and-a-half years, the project targeted local government officials at District, Division and Grama Niladhari levels with the specific objective of enhancing capacities and cooperation among civil society groups and local authorities, to foster good governance and local service delivery.
 In 2014, CEPA led the design and development of Resource Profiles for Mannar and Mullaithivu Districts, training some 180 Grama Niladhari officers on data collection techniques. Resource profile development and training was also carried out in the Kilinochchi and Vavuniya Districts. CEPA also worked with Zonal Education officials and community groups in the Mullaithivu and Vavuniya Districts to carry out a Citizen Report Card assessment on the quality of state education services.
Both initiatives were invaluable in strengthening collaboration with local authorities and community service organisations and increasing dialogue between administrators and the public. CEPA helped to strengthen the capacity of local authorities to obtain rigorous grounded data for development purposes. Following the initial initiative, several district administrations have requested that the Citizen Report Card be replicated in their regions.
Active Citizens' Development Network
 Democracy and good governance depend on citizens' engagement. Simple and practical tools and mechanisms are vital for citizens to become involved in political processes. Often, these tools need to be invented by citizens themselves. The Active Citizens' Development Network (ACDN) was aimed at empowering citizen participation in local government through grassroots citizens' collectives.
ACDN is led by three organisations – the National Fisheries Solidarity, the Centre for Society and Religion and the Uva Community Development Centre, which work in the Uva, Northern, Southern and Eastern Provinces, respectively, focusing on civic engagement in local government. CEPA contributed to enhancing the capacities of local groups through a series of action research workshops, carried out last year in Tanamalwila, Mannar, Anuradapura and Badulla. ACDN is supported by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), a UK-based charity.
Policy Influence Monitoring of 3ie Funded Evaluations
The 3ie Policy Influence Monitoring (PIM) project was a unique opportunity to systematically unpack and test some of the emerging thinking about research uptake, using the experience of over 70 impact evaluations funded by 3ie in South Asia, East Asia, Africa and Latin America. The consultancy was carried out through a consortium made up of the Overseas Development Institute as the managing partner, CIPPEC (Latin America), CommsConsult (Africa) and CEPA. The study required close collaboration with these consortium partners, an enriching experience for the CEPA team which generated substantial cross pollination of ideas and thinking on how to engage in, as well as monitor, policy influence of research.
As the PIM anchor for South Asia, CEPA monitored the communication and dissemination activities of 27 grants, held by various institutions from academia to think tanks and implementation agencies. Through phone interviews, CEPA collected information from over 40 researchers in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and USA. This resulted in two case studies, or ‘Stories of Change,’ which document and analyse how research has influenced policy and practice in relation to ground water metering in West Bengal and mother-tongue literacy in Bihar. In addition, to facilitate the policy influence monitoring, CEPA commissioned a Knowledge, Policy and Power analysis of the state of Bihar, providing a political economy analysis of the use and production of research knowledge in India.
While the 3ie PIM project came to a premature end in December 2014, highlighting the risks associated with such long-term projects, the learning has been vast. The learning from the project confirmed that while the policy influence process is highly complex, there are various strategies researchers can adopt, according to context, to increase the likelihood of influence. Over the coming year, CEPA hopes to build on this knowledge base and further analyse the issue, both for our internal learning as well as to share with a global audience.
Presentations by CEPA’s Researchers
CEPA researchers presented at a number of conferences and seminars during the year, both local and international. These opportunities not only ensured wide dissemination of our studies and policy recommendations, but also confirmed the topical significance and relevance of CEPA’s interventions in development discourse/practice.
Vagisha Gunasekara presented the ‘Life and Debt’ study at the International Housing Conference, ‘Restoring Communities through Homeowner-driven Reconstruction: From Post-Emergency to Development’, organised by UNHabitat, the European Union, AusAid and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Karin Fernando was a panelist at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation / United Nations Development Programme / United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific / Asian Development Bank Consultation Workshop on the Post-2015 Development Agenda – SAARC Perspective in Nepal and at the World Conference on Youth in Colombo. and. In September, Karin made a remote presentation on for the Yale Conference on Environmental Governance and Democracy, organised by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and Yale University. She was a panelist at the main plenary session of the second Small-Scale Fisheries Congress in Mexico.
Following the release of the 2014 Human Development Report, Nayana Godamunne presented on ‘Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience’ at a UNDP-hosted event in October 2014. Four of CEPA’s researchers - Aftab Lall, Gayathri Lokuge, Nayana Godamunne and Geetha Mayadunne - presented at the CEPA 13th Annual Symposium on ‘Post War Development in Asia and Africa’.
Priyanthi Fernando presented on Emerging Social Signs at the 55th LBR LBO Forum in June, and was also invited as a panelist for a session of Sri Lanka’s first national conference on Corporate Social Responsibility in October. Udan Fernando was invited by Transparency International Sri Lanka to deliver the keynote address and review at the launch of the Governance Report for 2013. He was also was invited by the International Center for Ethnic Studies (ICES) to speak on The Role of Civil Society and Presidential Elections in December 2014.
In addition to presentations at seminars and conferences, CEPA staff also presented at other forums: the National Science Foundation (Karin Fernando), the Terre Des Hommes South Asian Regional Strategy Meeting (Karin Fernando), the Futures Social Innovation Forum (Vagisha Gunasekara), the Rice Research Development Institute (Amila Balasuriya), the Soroptimist International 40th Anniversary Forum (Priyanthi Fernando), the Ministry of Environment (Karin Fernando), the Asia Foundation’s Sri Lanka Sub-National Governance Programme (Karin Fernando and Vagisha Gunasekara), and the Sri Lanka Round Table at the University of Amsterdam (Gayathri Lokuge and Udan Fernando).
Innovation Fund
CEPA’s Innovation Fund was set up to encourage initiatives that adopt an original approach to addressing the issue of poverty. The Fund provides CEPA with a space to move out of our core research programmes and services and work with a cross section of stakeholders, thus increasing the visibility of their interventions. If agreed to by the client, 2% of CEPA's fees are directed to the Innovation Fund. The Fund subsidises grants of up to Rs. 500,000 per project per annum to small and medium scale practitioners trying innovative initiatives that address poverty. The Innovation Fund has supported 41 initiatives to date.
CEPA selected seven projects for funding in 2014:
- Pilot Project on Electric Equipment Technician Service for Women's Economic Empowerment
Dahana Participatory Social Development Foundation
- From Slum to Palace
Colombo District Business Development Cooperative Society Ltd.
- Provide Life (Support) to Effort: Formal Training and Equipment for Decent Work Surasa Development Foundation
- Reducing Elephant Attacks through Live Fencing and Beekeeping for Better Economic Empowerment
Public Interest Law Foundation
- Identifying the Implications of Wild Animal Damage on Food Security Poverty Grama Abbiwurdhi Foundation for Environmental Conservation
- Pilot project on Technical Services for Cottage Rush and Reed Crafts to Minimise Rural Poverty
Committee for Peoples’ Rights
- Minimising Poverty among Farming Households through Recommendations for Under-Utilised Lands
Uva Society Coordinating Development Foundation
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