Between Knowledge and Power: A Review of the Research-Policy Nexus in Africa’s Social Policy

Evidence-based policy (EBP) has emerged as a crucial approach in shaping public policy. Originating in the health sector, EBP has tremendously expanded into various social policy domains. In contexts like Africa, the research-policy interface (RPI) should play a pivotal role in driving evidence-informed policy processes -not merely in the making of policies- for addressing the continent’s most pressing challenges such as illicit politics, poverty, and the expanding inequality. Based on critical desk review, the study assessed research-policy nexus within the social policy domains in Africa. The analysis resulted into four interrelated themes: the emergence of EBP in Africa, the nuances of the research-policy interface, the potential for enhanced research utility in social interventions, and the structural barriers impeding meaningful engagement between research outputs and policy demands. The analysis yielded three key findings. First, in the context of Africa, the significance of a strong research-policy interface is underscored as a pathway for targeted interventions and equitable resource allocation. Secondly, collaborative networks, knowledge brokering, and the establishment of national policy observatories are perceived as pivotal in bridging gaps between evidence producers and policy actors -designers, makers, evaluators etc.- thereby promoting a more substantive evidence-informed governance framework. Thirdly and most importantly, entrenched challenges persist, including political dynamics that prioritize survival, entertain poverty, and provide public goods based on patron-client models. Consequently, the paper arrives at the conclusion that the realization of a truly evidence-driven policy architecture in Africa will depend not only on the strengthening of technical capacities of supply side actors and concerted donor demands, but, even more critically, on the political will of ruling elites to prioritize public welfare over political expediency.