politics

Ten years have passed since the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change: how are we doing?

Listening to a lecture of Nicholas Stern feels like being on the USS Enterprise travelling at warp speed, such is the scale of the consequences linked to climate change and global warming he describes. This is how I felt when listening to his LSE public lecture The Stern Review +10: new opportunities for growth and […]

Ten years have passed since the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change: how are we doing? Read More »

What does data innovation mean for traditional social science research?

Pulse Lab Jakarta posted today on Medium a blog I have written with Andrew Thornley about the implication for social science research of data innovation. Hope you enjoy reading it. Data innovation and data analytics offer an unprecedented opportunity for expanding the sources of evidence that can inform policy-making. But is data innovation threatening traditional

What does data innovation mean for traditional social science research? Read More »

Tolkien\’s words from the past are still today\’s words.

In the evenings I am reading few pages of J.R.R. Tokien\’s Lord of the Rings to my daughters. We are into Book  I: The Fellowship of the Ring. Frodo and his friends have just arrived at the village of Bree and are spending the night at the Prancing Pony. Tonight they have joined other travellers in the pub to hear their stories.

Tolkien\’s words from the past are still today\’s words. Read More »

‘Are We Policy Analysts?’. Evidence, Policy Analysis and the Knowledge Sector in Indonesia

There are many ways for knowledge and research evidence to reach policy makers and inform policy decisions. One important channel is the analysis by policy analysts in government organizations. In January 2014, the Indonesian Parliament passed a landmark law to modernize the civil service on principles of merit and professionalism (Law No. 5 on Civil

‘Are We Policy Analysts?’. Evidence, Policy Analysis and the Knowledge Sector in Indonesia Read More »

The elusive search for a knowledge to policy framework

Last week I published a blog on Research2Action where I discuss whether a Knowledge-to-Policy framework to better inform  policies actually exists. \’Knowledge to policy (K2P) is a popular term to describe the way research and other types of knowledge inform policy-making. K2P processes and systems aim to support decision-makers to create good policies that make

The elusive search for a knowledge to policy framework Read More »

Interesting things I heard and read during the week linked to demand and use of evidence

I have joined a group of people interested in the topic of innovation and development. We meet once a month. Here is the blurb of the meeting we had this week: \’One message emerging from the ongoing DDD discussion is that development is about taking many small bets. Some will succeed, get traction and can be

Interesting things I heard and read during the week linked to demand and use of evidence Read More »

Just published: Establishing Government Think Tanks

I contributed with Widya Sutiyo to this review written  by Jessica Mackenzie of different models of government think tanks. Key points from the paper: Government think tanks have several benefits over external think tanks, including their strong understanding of government programs and priorities (which helps them to tailor advice to actual needs) and an ability to coordinate across government departments. There is

Just published: Establishing Government Think Tanks Read More »