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.
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 Four Steps to Policy Change
Plan
Research
Implement
Evaluate
1. Leading by Example
REAP converts successful interventions into social enterprises that demonstrate to government stakeholders how proven solutions can be scaled sustainably. Currently, we have two established social enterprises:
- Smart Focus secures cost sharing agreements with governments in dozens of counties across three provinces to provide affordable vision care to over a hundred thousand rural school children per year.
- REAP’s Online Computer Assisted Learning (OCAL) social enterprise partners with rural school districts to deliver remedial tutoring software to thousands of classrooms each year.
With time, we hope China’s government will adopt and expand the social enterprises to a national level.
