Linking research to policy in Vietnam: how can complexity concepts help?

Vietnam Academy of Social Science

• 1000 researchers• 29 research institutes• Link to Central Communist Party

Committee• Hierarchical structure• Not linked to a specific ministry

UNDP/VASS support for capacity development

(2008-11)

Research management (PRINCE2/MSP)

Link research evidence to policy makingProduce a National HDR

Which concepts from complexity thinking could be use to implement the project and document lessons learned?

What do specific complexity concepts suggest?

(1) Interconnected and interdependent systems

• The idea of interconnected and interdependent systems can be of use in thinking about how the "research system" and the "policy system" currently link to each other

• In the Vietnam context, it could be seen as loosely coupled, so that changes in research system only diffusely influences the policy system. However, when it does, change happens very quickly.

What do specific complexity concepts suggest?

(2) non-linearity

• On what areas / issues are research and policy already interconnected to the degree that a little input can lead to large outcomes?

• Which other actors should be engaged in order to bring about such change (e.g. media, international researchers, etc)

What do specific complexity concepts suggest?

(3)adaptive, self-organising, co-evolving agents

• How to link to researchers own adaptive capacities, and work around resistance?

• How to become accepted?

• What balance between classroom-based capacity development or support to “learning by doing”?

• How to avoid resistance from policy communities?

What do complexity concepts suggest

(4) how to make sure the three elements are greater than the sum of the whole?

• Evidence-based policy is just one element of the project

• How to make the programme itself a complex adaptive system, rather than a collection of disparate parts?