The PASGR initiative is primarily concerned with increasing the capacity of African academic institutions and researchers to produce research that can directly contribute to social policy and governance and ultimately to poverty reduction. The Partnership will bring together key funders of development research to support programmes such as new research in selected “thematic areas” in the social sciences in which governance is a major dimension.  ODI will contribute to the initiative through strategic inputs to the project management board and will work in particular on the stream of work of the initiative which seeks to increase demand for high quality, research-based evidence.