The transformation of policy ideas : a challenge for development research

Similar policy shocks have different effects on different groups or societies: while the same experiences lead to change in some societies or states, this is not the case in others. This is because individuals turn to collective ideas when confronted with new information that might affect their thinking and their actions; they do not simply react to the objective external world. As a consequence, knowledge which impacts on collective ideas can provide an important contribution to sustainable development. Under this perspective, the article looks at the connection between development policy and research. It describes challenges linked to this interface, explaining the concept of collective policy ideas used by Legro (2000) and exploring the conditions for their transformation. Feeling pressure to improve and justify their policies, development actors tend to focus their expectations on transformation knowledge, from which they expect the greatest added value. While this is understandable from the point of view described, such expectations are not equally applicable to all types of research. A neglect of other types of knowledge, such as system or target knowledge might prevent appropriate valorisation on the transformation of policy ideas. The argument is illustrated with examples from research on governance and conflict carried out within the NCCR North-South programme.