Policy Processes and Policy Advocacy

The development process in the present context where economic and governance reforms are emphasized tends at times to by-pass the concerns of the marginalized and the voiceless. It is precisely to bring to notice the concerns of these groups to policy makers that the tools such as advocacy are useful. Policy advocacy is an important tool to democratise the policy making process. In discussing the relation between policy process and policy advocacy this paper delineates the changing context for both. It looks at the nature of policy process, the connections between policy research and advocacy and also examines one method of policy advocacy, multi-stakeholder dialogue.