IDRC

Since 2001, the IDRC has supported TIPS to fulfil the following objectives:

• Serve as a clearing house for policy-makers and researchers:
  TIPS has built strong relationships with all the major universities in South Africa and as such has been able to draw readily on researchers to undertake specific research projects, either funded through another donor or, increasingly, funded directly by government. In the field of trade, TIPS accounts for a substantial portion of the dti’s research needs, and of course we remain a key dissemination channel for researchers wishing to place their research in policy-makers’ view.
• Strengthen capacity outside of government to increase the quality of policy-applied research:
  A key activity under this Programme is the development of analytical courses and summer schools targeted at both researchers and mid-level policy analysts. In addition, TIPS convenes a range of research seminars around specific issues which have resulted in significantly better flows of information about international research methods than previously. Overall, we believe that local research capacity is significantly stronger than before. A monthly seminar series hosted in 2005 and 2006 and funded primarily by DFID has increased TIPS’ reach considerably, with the labour and civil society constituencies specifically being targeted.
• Create absorptive capacity in government for applied research:
  TIPS strives to ensure that training courses/summer schools are attended by a mix of both researchers and policy analysts. Further, TIPS convenes various seminars and policy briefings where the target audience is specifically government officials. We believe that through these two channels, we have achieved our objective of developing a group of increasingly discerning research users within the dti and government as a whole. The project has a significant impact through its policy dialogue function by ensuring greater integration between policy and research.
• Create and support research infrastructure:
  Consistent with our research network approach and by leveraging additional funding, TIPS focuses on developing infrastructure for research, such as new databases and making them accessible online, thereby significantly improving researchers and policy-makers’ access to policy-relevant economic data. Through this, the policy relevance of research has undoubtedly increased dramatically.