REAP Policy Impact

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Policy Change through Results

Research to Affect Change

At REAP, our goal is policy change. Once we know which interventions work and which ones do not, we share our results with local, regional, and national policymakers across China, who can take steps to ensure successful strategies are picked up and implemented more broadly. That way our work touches lives of children and families far beyond our project area.

What makes us different?

REAP designs all projects with the goal of adoption and upscaling by China's government. This means that we work with government officials from project conception to the last day of data collection and beyond. We design the project collaboratively, working hand-in-hand with local authorities, to ensure that it aligns with government priorities and local needs.

Who we work with

REAP works with local and national-level policy-makers depending on their interest and compatibility with respective government agendas. Depending on project needs and government interest, we either take a top-down or bottom-up approach.

Top-down approach

Working from the top-down with the support of the national government typically means quick policy impact on a large scale. National support may come with funding and directives for initiatives the provincial governments can then implement locally.

Bottom-up approach

The bottom-up approach allows us to work directly with local policy makers to identify and refine initiatives that target a specific need in the area. Once we know what works, our local government partners can share the findings and successes with national decision makers who can advocate for policy change at the national level.

Our Five Steps to Policy Change

Step 1. Plan

We work with local and national-level policy-makers to identify proven solutions and adapt them to rural China. We plan every step of the research project with our partners and use it as a guiding framework for the duration of the project.

Step 2. Research

After we identify the problem and make a plan to address it, we conduct research through trial interventions and collect data to analyze and refine the project. This phase can take several years and can lead to multiple intervention iterations.

Step 3. Implement

Once we have an intervention that works, we work with other organizations and government partners to scale it up and implement the interventions across a broader network than REAP can reach alone. This is often when policy is written or revised to reflect our findings.

Step 4. Evaluate

We are constantly evaluating and modifying our interventions based on the data we collect. Broader implementation means we now have a larger pool of data to analyze. We believe an intervention is never finished, there is always need for adaptation as society evolves.

Young Chinese students sit in classroom wearing, several children are wearing glasses.

Step 5. Upscale

We convert successful interventions into social enterprises that demonstrate to government stakeholders how proven solutions can be scaled sustainably. We build coalitions with notable companies, media outlets, and contacts to focus the attention of policymakers on key issues. But sometimes the direct approach is the most effective. REAP has written more than twenty evidenced based policy briefs to national and provincial governments to present our research and inform policy change.