Kategoria: Who trusted us
In April we played a game with MPA students at Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration, The George Washington University. Thanks to the workshop students could experience real life challenges faced by the personnel of government evaluation units.
In November 2016 we have opened with our game session an elite study program developed by EUROREG – University of Warsaw and Ministry of Economic Development. Mission of the Academy is to educate Polish civil servants to be knowledge brokers who improve our public polices based on research evidence. Game was used as an introduction to the study program. Following the game experience students will have a whole year to explore in-depth the different aspects of knowledge brokers craft.
This summer, as in previous years, The University of Warsaw has used our game-based workshop at the Academy of Regional Development. This is the 11th edition of the post-graduate studies for public managers from the Polish regions responsible for development policies. They have learnt about role of research-based evidences in running public development programs.
In February 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland used our game as part of the project „Assessment of monitoring and evaluation system for Rural Development Program 2014-2020”. The workshop brought together leaders of local action groups from all around Poland. They were able to network, exchange experiences, and develop shared understanding of how research results can help improving local communities.
In February 2017, we visited Cracow. Polish National Science Centre has been working with EGO s.c. on developing an evaluation system for NSC scientific grant delivery activities. Thanks to the workshop NSC staff was able to develop ideas on the architecture of the evaluation and monitoring system that could support grant decision-making.
In November 2016 The National Coordination Authority’s Evaluation Unit in the Czech Ministry of Regional Development organized international conference on Evaluating European Structural and Investment Funds. We run the workshop with conference participants – professionals specialized in evaluating Cohesion Policy. We were finding strategies for making evaluation more timely, accurate and useful.
In June 2016, we conducted a workshop with the Marshall Office in the Silesian Voivodeship. The goal was to bring together staff of evaluation units and their colleagues from strategic and management units. Together they were learning how they could cooperate in order to improve the effectiveness of public programs based on research insight.
In May 2016, we were invited by the Marshall Office of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship to conduct a one-day workshop with the evaluation unit in Torun. During the sessions, players and experts shared their experiences and knowledge about the best evaluation and brokering practices that could be implemented in every-day work.
Exploring policy labs with the Public Health Agency of Canada – the next frontier of policy design and evaluation
In March 2016 we were invited by PHAC to conduct in Ottawa a one-and-a-half day workshop with public policy professionals from the Office of Audit and Evaluation. On the first day, we explored dynamics of effective knowledge brokering. During the creative session on the second day, we designed a sample regulation using behavioral insight and discussed implications for evaluation business resulting from this new approach.
The American Evaluation Association had chosen Knowledge Brokers for a professional development workshop at their annual conference: „Exemplary Evaluations in a multicultural world”. The conference was held in Chicago, from 9 till 14 of November 2015. Over five thousands participants came to share their experience in evaluation of public programmes and policies. Use of evaluation findings by decision-makers has been always a challenge for the community of evaluators. Thus, our workshops aimed at exchanging experiences of effective knowledge brokering strategies that increase evaluation use. Participants were experienced evaluators and professional staff of evaluation units from all around the world. During the dynamic full day session we learnt about credible research designs and methods of feeding evaluation findings into policy practice. A surprising finding that emerged from our discussions was that challenges we face in evaluation field are similar across the globe. Also ways of dealing with challenge of evidence use are similar across different cultural and organizational contexts. For more information about conference see: [click here] If you are interested in workshop follow-up materials and access to reader – please contact us at: k.olejniczak@evaluation.pl
On 24 of October 2015 we conducted a workshop with Marshall Office of Sub-Carpathian Region. Office has been preparing for the implementation of regional development program, worth almost 2,5 billion EUR. They decided that management of such a huge investment scheme should be evidence-based.
The goal of the workshop was to bring together analysts from different departments and develop with them knowledge-management system and list of possible research topics for the program. During the workshop participants designed research and learn the principles of knowledge management in public policies. An unexpected discovery for analysts who traditionally work alone was the value of communication and team work.
Our game-based workshop was chosen as an exemplary workshop for the opening of the 11th Polish Evaluation Conference, Cracow, September 27, 2015. The conference is a joint undertaking of the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Development and the Polish Agency of Enterprise Development. It brings together practitioners of applied public policy research from academia, research consultancies, ministries and Polish regions. A key challenge discussed this year on number of sessions was use of research results for the better implementation of Cohesion Policy programmes (investment package worth 77 billions EUR for years 2014-2020) Our workshop brought together practitioners from Polish ministries, regional government and academia. Together we have been testing effective knowledge brokering strategies for the better implementation of Cohesion Policy interventions. For more information about conference see:http://www.konferencja-ewaluacja.pl/2015/
