Training: Writing effective policy papers to influence decision-making, 25 – 26 October 2013

On the 25th and 26th of October 2013, the Centre for Political Courage (CPC), supported by the Regional Research Promotion Programme (RRPP), organized a training seminar on “Writing effective policy papers to influence decision-making”.

The training seminar, which took place in Prishtina, Kosovo, gathered researchers from public and private higher education institutions, think tanks and other research institutions from Kosovo.
The training seminar was organized solely for Kosovan researchers and was led by Lidija Dimova from the Macedonian Centre for European Training (MCET).

The overall aim of the seminar was to equip participants with the knowledge and resources necessary to develop their skills in writing effective policy papers as tools to influence decision-making.

The lectures during the two-day period focused on:

  1. Developing insights into the nature of effective, evidence-based communication within public policy environments;
  2. Fostering participants’ skills and knowledge of the writing and use of two common types of policy papers, namely the policy study and the policy brief;
  3. Developing insights into effective approaches to advocating policy positions, using the policy brief as a key supporting tool;

The two main aspects addressed during the training seminar were: the purpose of the policy paper as a decision-making tool, and the development of a coherent policy paper.  In addition, the participants learned about the similarities and differences of the two main types of policy papers: the policy study and the policy brief.

Moreover, during the course of the training seminar, participants discussed the most pressing problems that Kosovan researchers face in their efforts to influence decision-making processes in Kosovo.