IGADweb
Informed decision making in policy analysis and formulation requires decision support in terms of analysis, experience of best practice and reliable, up-to-date information. Many policies in the region have failed because they have been based on assumptions, rather than hard evidence.
A key output of IGAD LPI is the institutionalisation of decision support mechanisms within IGAD member states. The project’s approach to this explained in depth in the document ‘Decision Support. IGAD LPI’s approach’. You can access the document from this page.
Key to this is the development of a network of information users and providers in the region, built around national information nodes. These nodes will be part of the project’s policy hubs. As such they will be encouraged to deepen their understanding of the decision support needs of policy makers, while policy makers will have the opportunity to learn the uses and potential of information.
They will also assist their hubs in packaging and delivery policy messages within government planning structures.
The nodes will compile data on demographics and welfare; livestock and livestock production systems; markets and market access; and other information as understanding of the information needs of policy makers improves.
Many of these data are spatial in nature and the project has been further developing them, through a series of analyses in collaboration with Oxford University and the Environmental Research Group Oxford (ERGO), in particular the mapping of market accessibility and regional poverty mapping.
The IGAD data web portal is a site developed by ERGO for the project to manage and disseminate spatial data relevant to livestock sector and policy analysis in the IGAD region. It also serves as a discussion forum for review of draft documents.