The Research for Policy Change in Southeast Asia and the Pacific grant of AusAID to ODI RAPID is divided in four main work streams. Work stream 4 refers to the strengthening of the participation and membership to the Evidence Based Policy in Development Network (www.ebpdn.org) in SEA through innovative pieces of research implemented in close collaboration with local research institutes/government institutions.

To achieve this objective, country case studies will be conducted in the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam on the knowledge-policy interface in policy development. AusAID country offices will be contacted and involved to provide suggestions as to whether the case studies will focus on one or more core sectors relevant to AusAID's country programme.

In the Philippines, the study will be conducted on the political economy of the use of knowledge and research evidence in the design and delivery of urban reliance measures.

The objective of the political economy study is to understand the factors that favor or hinder the use of knowledge and research evidence in the design and implementation of the urban resilience measures in selected areas of the Philippines that are identified and documented.

The main research question is: under what conditions Local Government Units (LGUs) are constrained from taking disaster mitigation/climate adaptation actions in the face of evidence of hazards and risks in urban areas to protect the citizens?  Conversely, under what conditions do the LGUs use research evidence and knowledge to take mitigation/adaptation measures?

The study has been conducted in collaboration with the Social Development Research Centre of De La Salle University, Manila.