In order to fulfill its mandate, the International Center for Evaluation and Development (ICED) needs to design and deploy a dynamic Policy Engagement, Knowledge Management and Communication Strategy. As the first Africa-based international think-tank that seeks to leverage on ongoing research and evaluation projects, the institution needs to design and implement a strong stakeholder engagement strategy and aggressively go out to market its vision and strategy in order to secure support for its agenda by various stakeholders.
As a Africa-based and Africa-led Think and Do Tank ICED is obligated to keep all Africa stakeholders informed of its progress, achievements, and lessons learnt against investments made into the institution. The ICED Policy Engagement and Communications (PEC) strategy will therefore incorporate a strong knowledge management focus and will aim to enhance the understanding of the organization by its stakeholders and position the organization as a though-leader at the regional and global level. Aside from enhancing visibility and brand positioning of the organization, an aggressive communication, policy engagement and knowledge management strategy will seek to help the ICED management and its partners influence policy and practice change within the African continent.
Positioning ICED as a strong brand requires a clear understanding of the organization’s stakeholders and the development of clear messages targeting specific audiences. Our Policy Engagement strategy y will also include a strong advocacy agenda and will involve a proactive rather than reactive approach. Further, the strategy will seek foster accessibility and transparency for ICED by clearly demonstrating to its stakeholders that the organization is managing resources prudently and that its products and services offer value for money.
In summary the PEC strategy is expected to achieve the following: