JRC-SAS-INGSA Evidence and Policy Summer School

In a world flooded with information from a multitude of sources, collecting, managing, making sense of and communicating knowledge, or evidence, is highly challenging.

Procuring, producing and using relevant evidence in policymaking is an even more complex task. It demands a set of distinct skills and additionally a mutual understanding between researchers and policymakers.

To help researchers to have more impact and policymakers to use evidence for policy solutions, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), together with the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) and the Slovak Academy of Sciences, organise the third Evidence and Policy Summer School in Senec, Slovakia.

The thematic topic of the 2017 Summer School is migration and demographic changes – a key strategic area for the future of Europe. However, the workshop will not present either the latest science or specific policy solutions in this domain, but will focus on the tools and approaches to inform the policymaking process through evidence.

Who is this Summer School for?

• Early to mid-career scientists interested in how to achieve impact on policy and
• Early to mid-career policymakers interested in how to commission and use research to support them in their daily work
• Both having at least 2 years of work experience within the themes of migration and demographic changes (producing science or policy tackling them, using related data in their work on other topics, interested in the implications of these societal challenges on other fields, etc.) and
• Working primarily in Central and Eastern Europe;
• Having citizenship in EU countries and the EU neighbourhood countries Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine
• Being proficient in English and committing to participate for the whole duration of the seminar is mandatory.

What is unique about the professional development training?

• Policymakers and scientists meet and together develop skills in using evidence for creating policy solutions;
• Participants will learn how their respective professional worlds operate;
• Leading thinkers and practitioners producing science and policy around migration and demographic changes engage closely with participants through participatory, interactive masterclasses;
• The thematic focus stimulates cross-policy dialogue and interdisciplinarity.

The programme is co-designed with the Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography, and will be of particular interests to scientists and policymakers working in this thematic and regional context.

/jrc/en/file/document/172447programme

programme

/jrc/en/file/document/172680Masterclass descriptions

Masterclass descriptions

What will you gain?

• New knowledge on how to better integrate scientific evidence into policy-making;
• Scientists will learn how to better communicate and visualise their results, tackle uncertainty and align their projects with policy needs.
• Policymakers will learn how research can support policy, which science can be relevant to their field, where to find it and how to interpret it, and what can be expected from researchers.
• New insights on how 'the other side' operates;

• Enlarged network of likeminded professionals, working on migration and demographic changes with ambition of using evidence in policymaking;
• Access to a global community of practice, exchanging top resources and expertise.

Application

The initial call for applications is now closed and submissions are currently under review.

A limited number of places are still available to

• policy officers from all eligible countries.
• researchers from Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovenia.

For those groups the application remains open until 31 July 2017.

The selection process strives to achieve a balanced representation of qualified candidates, including by gender and country.

Accomodation, funding

Accommodation (three nights), meals and airport transfers (from Vienna to Senec, SK) is offered to all participants.

Full funding (including travel to Slovakia) is offered for 25 spots for participants coming from EU Neighbourhood countries: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Contact

For any questions about the event, please contact: JRC-KM-GEOGRAPHIC@ec.europa.eu

Updates on the call for applications will be available on this website and on our Twitter account.

Register as a member in the Evidence for Policy Community of Practice to access resources relevant to evidence-informed policymaking.

Check the Summer School 2016, focused on the use of evidence to address challenges of the water-energy-food nexus.