INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGY DESIGN FOR ENHANCING THE INFUENCE OF NORDIC-AFRICA RESEARCH ON POLICY
Development of an institutional Theory of Change, Strategic Plan, and MEL Framework with the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI)
Client
Nordic Africa Institute (NAI)
Period
2020 - 2022
Services
Strategy and Learning
Locations
Nordic Region, Africa
Areas
Research to Policy and Practice
From November 2020 to September 2022, Collaborative Impact colleagues worked with the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI) to develop an institutional Strategy, Theory of Change, and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) plan for the 2022-2026 strategic period.
A highly interactive, iterative, and essentially forward-looking process and approach was adopted that integrated strategy review and strategy design. Design workshops engaged all NAI staff and managers in a collective visioning and imagining of the Institute’s future work and change pathways.
Three interlinked impact pathways were identified (i.e. the knowledge-generating pathway, the policy-influencing pathway, and the organisational pathway), and exemplary cases or practices were selected as ‘signposts of the future’ that would generate solid insights into the new strategy’s priorities and contribution claims. Mixed cross-unit and cross-programmatic teams engaged in a series of pathway-specific and cross-pathway workshops to reflect on NAI’s achievements and future pathways, drawing on evidence from the selected cases.
An institutional Theory of Change (ToC) was constructed and investment priorities were agreed for the 2021-2026 strategy period. Through stakeholder interviews with NAI partners and stakeholders (incl. African and Nordic Nordic research outfits, think tanks, policy makers, funders, libraries, journalists, activists, etc.), additional views and reflections on the Institute’s value/mandate, shifting policy context, and future direction were collected and triangulated.
Through an extended period of facilitated engagements, Collaborative Impact supported a core group of NAI colleagues to develop and articulate the Institute’s Strategy and outcome-focused monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) framework.
NAI is a Swedish research-led public agency that acts as a regional knowledge hub for countries in the Nordic Region (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) seeking to support African countries in addressing their challenges and opportunities. It conducts research that aims to create deeper understanding amongst Nordic funders and decision makers and associated change-makers of contemporary African perspectives, challenges and opportunities for sustainable development.
