Research, policy engagement and practice : reflections on efforts to mainstream children into Ethiopia's second national poverty reduction strategy

Working Paper 21 examines efforts to bridge multi-disciplinary research, policy engagement and practice in order to help improve children’s life quality in diverse developing country contexts. This paper highlights the importance of mapping the policy context and of re-conceptualising policy making as a non-linear dynamic process, involving multiple actors with varying perspectives. Attempts by Young Lives Ethiopia to mainstream child-sensitive policies into the second Ethiopian Poverty Reduction Strategy process are examined in detail, and are assessed against five criteria identified in the relevant literature..