Facilitating Collaborative Partnerships in Education Policy Research: A Case of Multi-Stakeholder, Co-Investigation for Monitoring and Evaluation of Education for Sustainable Development

Robert J Didham,Paul Ofei-Manu

doi:10.3390/su12072787

Robert J Didham, Paul Ofei-Manu

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072787

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Apr 1, 2020
Citations: 4	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences

Abstract

Strengthening the research-policy interface is dependent on conducting good research, as well as the appropriateness and applicability of identified policy options. The involvement of relevant stakeholders in collaborative research efforts to co-produce knowledge and recommendations to advance policies is one approach that can arguably improve this interface. This paper provides a practical instance of a research process on education for sustainable development (ESD) to develop a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework, which was conducted in the Asia region with participants from seven countries. This research process is presented as a pragmatic case study of how a collaborative research partnership was facilitated, and it examines how the interaction between researchers, policymakers and practitioners can be structured to support mutual learning in the field of sustainability education. The paper examines the wider debates regarding the research-policy interface, and it identifies the learning features that were achieved in this collaborative partnership, as well as the benefits this had for the research and knowledge co-generation. The paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges and issues M&E raises about the relationship between research and policy in ESD and suggests ways to address them.

Highlights

Policy research and evidence-based policymaking are essential in the strategic implementation of international sustainability and climate agendas
This paper provides a practical instance of a research process on education for sustainable development (ESD) to develop a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework, which was conducted in the Asia region with participants from seven countries
This section addresses the key objective of the paper by exploring how the collaborative process and multi-stakeholder partnership used in this research project facilitated interaction between researchers, policymakers and practitioners; enriched the outcomes of the research; and led to a more effective interface between the research and policy-decision making. While it forms the core of the paper, its arguments and discussions are based on the experiences and research work summarized in the previous section and the collaborative partnership pursued in research track 3 would not have been possible without the work conducted in tracks 1 and 2

Summary

Introduction

Policy research and evidence-based policymaking are essential in the strategic implementation of international sustainability and climate agendas. In the case of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of education for sustainable development (ESD), it can increase identification of existing gaps when it is designed to “engender a process of both individual and institutional learning by creating an action-reflection cycle that supports the continual review of implementation and practice” [7]. This learning process “takes place both in action and interaction and focuses on the cognition-action relationship” by which the learning entities “assimilate information and update their cognitions and behaviour ” [8]. There are potentials to engage in collaborative research partnerships and knowledge co-production both in the establishment of an M&E framework and in the actual monitoring and evaluation process

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