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Home   >   Analysis and Use of Evidence

Analysis and Use of Evidence

This is an in-house and an open programme seminar. For details or to discuss any aspect of the seminar, please email David Leakey on [email protected] or phone on +44 20 7661 7817.

Overview

For governments to achieve their strategic objectives, policy officials need to be able to give excellent advice on how to the intended outcomes can be delivered. Officials need to analyse evidence in order to understand the policy problem and to analyse the different options for addressing it. They also need to be able to present the results of their analysis so that decision-makers and stakeholders can understand it. They need to be open to challenge, for example on whether they are making over-pessimistic or over-optimistic assumptions.

Who is this Course For?

This course is for people working in policy and related areas of work, in government and elsewhere, who need to improve their understanding of evidence, how to analyse it, and how to communicate the results.

How You Will Benefit from Attending?

The course aims to equip people with techniques and skills to work more effectively with professional analysts; to identify what evidence is needed to develop a policy proposal; where the gaps are and how to fill them.  It will also help people to present a proposal more effectively to different audiences.

Learning Objectives

By attending this course delegates will:

  • Learn different types of evidence
  • Understand how to analyse policy problems and policy options
  • Know the main potential pitfalls created by cognitive biases and how to address them
  • Learn how to support a case with valid evidence
  • Explore how to present the results of analysis of evidence

Introductions, Approach and Structure of the Day

Session One – Evidence and How Best to Analyse It

  • Identifying and defining different types of evidence
  • What constitutes useful evidence?
  • Getting to the root of the problem
  • Knowing what matters to decision makers
  • Analysing costs, benefits and risks of different options
  • Analysis and evaluation

Short Break

Session Two – Pitfalls in Analysis

  • Working with uncertainty
  • The danger of not establishing clear decision criteria
  • The danger of not thinking systemically
  • Cognitive biases (e.g. confirmation bias) and analysis
  • Using alternative scenarios properly
  • Tools and techniques for overcoming the impact of biases

Long Break

Session Three – Presenting Evidence

  • Different ways of presenting evidence and analysis
  • The power of context
  • Summarising the thought process clearly
  • Preparing material and data to present to different audiences
  • Embracing challenge from stakeholders

Final Questions and Discussion

Close of Course

Our L&D ethos

  • We’re here to enable you to perform better!

Our L&D team

  • All former practitioners, now professional trainers, our L&D team have provided open and bespoke solutions for more than 100,000 public servants from 120 countries

Our L&D seminars

  • A vast reservoir of international, transferable knowledge and perspectives about effective, delivery-focused approaches to working smarter in the public sector

This is an open programme and an in-house seminar. Please contact us for details of discounts for group bookings, or to arrange a conversation with a member of our training team to discuss in-house delivery options, including tailoring the day’s training to your specific needs.
You can email David Leakey on [email protected] or phone on +44 20 7661 7817.