Research dialogue platforms in the context of institutional reform in the East African water sector

An important recommendation of SPLASH studies on enhancing the efficiency of water for development research is the involvement of research dialogue platforms. In these platforms researchers communicate in a structured manner with policy makers, practitioners and civil society representatives about demands-led research, and the dissemination of research findings. Unfolding reform processes in the East African water sector, which are based on IWRM and SWAP principles, create a new institutional landscape. The paper analyses implications of these institutional reforms for research dialogue platforms in Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The paper recommends to: link research dialogue platforms to RBOs at suband supranational level, which has scale and ownership advantages; and to develop the national research dialogue platform for bridging the gaps between researchers and RBOs at various administrative level and between the Ministries of Water Resources and of Science and Technology.