We believe people directly impacted by policy change must participate in its design. Women — and groups representing women — have an important role to play. (Resources below.)

Benefits of a participatory policymaking process

At UNCDF, we believe that we can’t create inclusive policies without engaging the people directly impacted by those policies.

Benefits include:

• Increasing accountability and transparency

• Ensuring ownership by all stakeholders

• Creating a common understanding between regulators and stakeholders

Examples of participatory activities

Participatory activities can take many forms and can work well whether you’re seeking input from private companies, representatives from civil society, or other regulators. Here are three activities that we use regularly in our work with policymakers and regulators:

Consulting with stakeholders

When developing regulatory reforms, it’s essential to create a shared vision and structured discussion with those most affected. These stakeholders can help policymakers and regulators understand the challenges facing actors in the market, provide feedback on the potential impact of proposed regulation, and share relevant data.

For example, in November 2020, the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) conducted a public consultation process on their draft financial consumer protection guidelines. With a modest budget for travel, venue hire, face masks, stationery, and other odds and ends, the BSL met with a range of participants such as market women, students, academics and civil society over two weeks in four regions: Bo, Freetown, Kenema and Makeni.

Together, the BSL and stakeholders reviewed the contents of the draft guidelines and made recommendations for revisions and next steps.

Convening an advisory panel

An advisory panel is an important mechanism by which civil society can have a direct say in the policymaking process over a longer period of time. External organisations can support the infrastructure of the panel, make introductions to regulators, and support regulators in taking civil society recommendations forward.

For example, in early 2021, UNCDF convened a group of nearly 40 women and men in the six countries in the CEMAC economic zone to share their expectations, concerns, and recommendations regarding the financial inclusion of women. These participants represented consumer rights groups, financial organisations, telecommunications operators, entrepreneurs, and other organisations working on issues related to women’s economic participation in the CEMAC region.

While in previous engagements we may have convened the group in person, the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to rethink our approach. As a result, we met virtually with panelists over the course of several months, which enabled representatives from across the region to come together. Meeting virtually also ensured that the opportunity was accessible for a wider range of participants.

Since our initial meetings, the panel has presented their recommendations to regional and national regulators and several participants have been invited to contribute to the regional financial inclusion strategy.

Hosting “public-public” dialogues

Another role that external organisations can play is bringing policymakers and regulators together across departments or ministries within the same government.

Sometimes, policymakers are working on similar issues in parallel without realising it — and their work would be stronger and if they collaborated. External organisations often have a different perspective and can help discover new opportunities for collaboration. For example, an entity like UNCDF Policy Accelerator can host a meeting or a working group to bring teams together and help them align their work.

Other times, a key decision depends on speaking with the right person — but it’s not clear who that person is. A development partner can leverage their relationships throughout the government to help figure out who to speak with and to make introductions where appropriate.

In some cases, the government may want to bring different departments together and welcomes the logistical and technical support of an external partner.

Next steps

Policymakers and regulators can add consultation to just about any stage of the policymaking process. Early on, it may help to identify high-potential focus areas; later on, it may useful to solicit feedback on specific technical issues. Personal relationships and strong connections are critical at every point.

We encourage you to use our resources, reach out if you have questions, and start talking to people, especially those most likely to be excluded from the policymaking process.

Additional resources

Authors

Alexis Ditkowsky