Evidence-Based Policy Making Training Course

This course equips participants with practical skills to build and apply evidence in policy making. It focuses on evidence sources, quality assessment, data use, policy experimentation, impact evaluation, and institutional systems that support evidence-informed decisions.

Target Groups

• Policy officers and advisors
• Senior public servants and decision-makers
• Policy research and analytics staff
• Monitoring, evaluation, and planning officers
• Parliamentary and legislative support staff
• Civil society and development partner professionals
• Managers and supervisors seeking to strengthen organizational practice in this field
• Consultants and professionals supporting related organizations

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain evidence-based policy making and its limits
• Identify relevant evidence for policy questions
• Assess the quality and relevance of evidence
• Use data and analytics to inform policy design
• Apply rapid and systematic evidence reviews
• Understand policy experimentation and pilots
• Interpret evaluation and impact evidence
• Combine evidence with values, politics, and context
• Communicate evidence clearly to decision-makers
• Institutionalize evidence use in policy processes

Course Modules

Module 1: Foundations of Evidence-Based Policy Making

• Concept and history
• Evidence versus opinion
• Policy cycle and evidence needs
• Evidence and politics
• Limits of evidence

Module 2: Types and Sources of Evidence

• Research and statistical evidence
• Administrative data
• Evaluation findings
• Stakeholder and experiential knowledge
• Data portals

Module 3: Assessing Evidence Quality

• Hierarchies of evidence
• Appraisal checklists
• Relevance and transferability
• Detecting bias
• Conflicting evidence

Module 4: Using Data and Analytics for Policy

• Data-driven policy design
• Descriptive and predictive analytics
• Dashboards
• Big data opportunities
• Data governance

Module 5: Evidence Reviews and Synthesis

• Rapid reviews
• Systematic reviews
• Evidence maps
• Synthesis methods
• Reporting

Module 6: Policy Experimentation and Impact Evidence

• Pilots and trials
• Randomized and quasi-experimental evidence
• Behavioral insights
• Scaling evidence
• Ethical considerations

Module 7: Integrating Evidence, Values, and Context

• Political and social context
• Stakeholder values
• Trade-offs and equity
• Implementation evidence
• Decision frameworks

Module 8: Communicating and Brokering Evidence

• Policy briefs and summaries
• Evidence presentations
• Engaging decision-makers
• Knowledge brokers
• Media and public communication

Module 9: Institutionalizing Evidence Use

• Evidence units and networks
• Policy processes and incentives
• Capacity building
• Monitoring evidence use
• Learning culture

Module 10: Practical Exercises and Capstone Project

• Identifying and appraising evidence for a policy issue
• Conducting a rapid evidence review
• Designing a policy pilot
• Writing an evidence-based policy brief
• Presenting to a mock decision-making forum