It is imperative that this knowledge is accessible to, and is used by parents, clinicians, and governments in making evidence-based decisions that are translated into clinical practice and governmental policy development.
Moreover, weak institutional capacity to absorb (external) funds and too few trained researchers to support mechanisms to sustain capacity built up through the projects hamper the catering of research to governmental policy development.
However, it is argued they will also present an opportunity for greater participation by local actors and for increasing the level of co-operation between governmental institutions in policy development.
The methodological procedures and proposals presented can help in the design and management of production systems, for governmental and corporate policy development, for implementing and monitoring CP Programs, prevention and mitigation strategies, and evaluation of the outcomes of CP initiatives in the production and service sectors.
In addition to his scholarly work, Orfield has been involved in the development of governmental policy and served as expert witness in several dozen court cases related to his research, including the University of Michigan's U.S. Supreme Court case, which upheld the policy of affirmative action in 2003.
Therefore, recent expert panels and governmental policy have recommended that the development of effective and easily disseminable interventions for depression is a priority (e.g., Hollon et al., 2002; Layard, 2004).
Several studies however show that scientific knowledge only plays a modest role in the policy development process and governmental decision making [ 27].
Ideally provision of such services should be embedded throughout the health care system to the extent that cultural competency is apparent from the individual provider-patient interface through to policy development at the governmental level.
To reach this end, strong relationships between health ministers and other governmental bodies should be established to develop a unified strategy for effective policy development.
In South Africa, the policy drafters had expected the South African Federation for Mental Health, a national mental health non-governmental organization to provide service user input for policy development, however the input they provided was based solely on provider views.
This includes contributing to inter-agency processes of policy development and advocacy within the UN Security Council and other inter-governmental fora to strengthen international law and policies in relation to children and armed conflict, sexual violence in armed conflict, women, peace and security, and the protection of civilians.
