Evidence and Lessons from Latin America (ELLA)

The content of the programme will be structured around emerging policy issues: those for which there is a demand for lessons from Latin America, from policy makers, practitioners, and researchers in the development community across Africa and Asia; and those where a number of Latin countries have had particularly successful experiences.

ELLA will open up access to knowledge about Latin America's development experiences through the collation and synthesis of evidence and lessons on emerging policy issues in the fields of growth, governance, environment, and the social sectors. It will develop guides to key sources of research evidence and practical experience. ELLA will work with several "centres of excellence" in Latin America to bring this material together. Much of the output will be web-based. Visit the ELLA website for access to this information.

ELLA will also strengthen the knowledge networks linking Latin America with Africa and Asia through support for the exchange of knowledge and collaboration on a core set of policy issues of common interest to researchers and networkers across the 3 continents. Both virtual and face-to-face collaboration will be used to support networking, using web 2.0 technologies, supported by learning alliances and knowledge-sharing activities.

Knowledge Exchange, Policy.

According to organisers, Latin America is a rich source of knowledge about development policies and practices that work, and those that don't. But geography, cultural context, and language barriers mean that accessing and using that knowledge can be difficult - all the more so when the evidence is dispersed and knowledge links with Latin America are weak. It is this challenge that ELLA seeks to address.