Analysing key influences over actors' use of evidence in developing policies and strategies in Nigeria: a retrospective study of the Integrated Maternal Newborn and Child Health strategy

Background Evidence-informed policymaking has been promoted as a means of ensuring better outcomes. However, what counts as evidence in policymaking lies within a spectrum of expert knowledge and scientifically generated information. Since not all forms of evidence share an equal validity or weighting for policymakers, it is important to understand the key factors that influence their preferences for different types of evidence in policy and strategy development. Method A retrospective study was carried out at the national level in Nigeria using a case-study approach to examine the Nigerian Integrated Maternal Newborn and Child Health (IMNCH) strategy. Two frameworks were used for conceptualization and data analysis, namely (1) to analyse the role of evidence in policymaking and (2) the policy triangle. They were used to explore the key contextual and participatory influences on choice of evidence in developing the IMNCH strategy. Data was collected through review of relevant national documents and in-depth interviews of purposively selected key policy and strategic decision makers. Thematic analysis was applied to generate information from collected data. Results The breadth of evidence used was wide, ranging from expert opinions to systematic reviews. The choice of different types of evidence was found to overlap across actor categories. Key influences over actors’ choice of evidence were: (1) perceived robustness of evidence – comprehensive, representative, recent, scientifically sound; (2) roles in evidence process, i.e. their degree and level of participation in evidence generation and dissemination, with regards to their role in the policy process; and (3) contextual factors such as global agenda and influence, timeline for strategy development, availability of resources for evidence generation, and lessons learnt from previous unsuccessful policies/plans. Conclusion Actors’ preferences for different types of evidence for policy are influenced not only by the characteristics of evidence itself, but on actors’ roles in the evidence process, their power to influence the policy, and the context in which evidence is used

Robust image analysis with sparse representation on quantized visual features

10.1109/TIP.2012.2219543IEEE Transactions on Image Processing223860-871IIPR

National and transnational strategies of LGBT civil society organizations in different political environments: Modes of interaction in Western and Eastern Europe for equality

This article focuses on the national and transnational strategies of five European Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender civil society organizations (CSOs) pressing for equality and non-discrimination. We present three modes of interaction between CSOs and their political environment. The first mode we label 'morality politics'. Arcigay in Italy and the Campaign against Homophobia in Poland are seemingly locked in this mode because they are confronted with a hostile and organized opposition, both in terms of public opinion and elite opinion. A second mode of interaction we label an 'incremental change' mode and is the strategy pursued by Stonewall in the United Kingdom and the Hatter Society in Hungary, marked by discreet elite level lobbying. Finally, we introduce a third mode of interaction we label 'high-profile politics'. This mode is marked by highly visible public events, coalition seeking, cooperation with government, and transnational activity at the European level and abroad. This is a strategy possible by CSOs where there is a high degree of public support for equality and minimal partisan or religious opposition to the goals of the movement. The Dutch COC has been pursuing this 'high-profile politics' mode of interaction in their political environment over the past few years. Comparative European Polities (2012) 10, 23-47. doi:10.1057/cep.2010.21; published online 3 October 201