This course is designed to fulfill the needs for understanding policy making. It will familiarize the participants with a number of fundamental factors:

1. The dynamics of policy making process;
2. The intricacies of group struggles or vested interest groups;
3. The generic instruments of public policy;
4. The roles of policy analysts in a democratic society and in particular, the arts and science of dealing with the challenges of policy-making.

Therefore, the main purpose of the program are:

1. To enable the trainees to have a clear understanding of the principal analytics, tools and techniques of policy analysis.
2. To prepare the trainees to better navigate the complex and dynamic process of policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
3. To make them understand the intricacies of group interaction of different players of policy domain and
4. To aware the trainees about the role of public policy analysis in a democratic society, in particular, the arts and science of dealing with the challenges of policymaking.

This course is intended for those who are interested in joining or already working in the government in various policy formulation, implementation and evaluation capacities. It can also better equip those who are interested in constructively influencing policies, including through the Development Partners, the NGOs, the advocacy groups or think tanks. Participants are expected to gain an intimate knowledge of policy making and build capacity in policy analysis & implementation to meaningfully contribute to Bangladesh's journey towards a more just, equal, and progressive society that our freedom fighters sacrificed their lives for. In short, this training program/course in policy analysis should make trainees-

• Learn the language of policy formulation and -
  • To write with clarity, structure, and precision.
  • To use supporting documentation (maps, charts, data, graphs) effectively.
  • To develop simple models that are supported theoretically and empirically.
  • To evaluate the developmental as well as distributional aspects of policies and programs.
  • To incorporate socio-political factors into analysis.
  • To bring in cross-country lessons into policy formulation
• Develop analytic skills that include –
  • Quantitative and Qualitative
• Learn to –
  • Accommodate/adjust/amend uncomfortable positions.
  • Work under time constraints and to allocate analytical resources.
  • Develop management skills and the ability to work in, and/or direct a team.

Structure of the Policy Analysis Course:

(i) Duration: The length of the course is 10 weeks (50 working days). Of which 06 weeks will be devoted in a classroom environment at BIGM. Later the trainees will be fully involved for the preparation of a draft policy paper under the supervision of an experienced mentor and co-mentor for 3 weeks. In the 10^th week, each trainee will make their presentation before a panel of experts. The sessions are held on all weekdays (Saturdays to Wednesday) except holidays.

(ii) Participants: Executives from public sector (Senior Assistant secretary to Joint Secretary or equivalent), private sectors and NGOs with a Master’s degree from recognized  universities and a minimum of 10 years of work experience, demonstrating sound knowledge of laws, regulations, planning and policies in the 30 –52 age group. Of the participants, 70% will be from the public sector and 30% from NGOs and the private sector. At least 30% of the participants are expected to be female.

(iii) Resource Persons: Professionals from the academia, universities, research institutes, government and private sector as well as the judiciary, law enforcement and defense services, development partners, and the NGO sector.

(iv) Number of Participants: 30 per batch

(v) Session Duration: Each session is one and a half hour long. Maximum 4 sessions a day.

(vi) Quality Control: Training contents and learning materials will be updated on a regular basis, based on the feedback received from the trainees, trainers and experts of relevant fields.

(vii) Class Details and Instruction Format:

1. 1. There will be 9 (nine) modules to be conducted within 10 weeks with two to four lectures per day. There will be a total of 80 lectures for 8 modules, approximately eight modules is going to be covered in 6 weeks and the 9th module (4 weeks) is for the preparation of a draft Policy Paper by the participants. Each module will comprise 8-12 lectures with a lecture duration of one and a half hours. Total contact hours will be 135 hours.
   2. The morning session will begin at 9:00 am, with a 30 minutes tea break between two sessions before lunch, and the afternoon session will start at 1:30 pm, with a 15 minutes tea break between two sessions. Library and IT attachment will be a part of the training.
   3. Participants will be provided with Transport Allowances (TAs) for attending each training days only. For the absent days, there will be no TAs. In addition, for the preparation of draft policy paper, each participants will be provided with substantial allowance.
   4. The medium of instruction of the course is English. The center encourages the participants to develop their oral and written skills in English through practicing inside and outside the classroom. More importantly, all assignments (both group and individual) and presentations will be in English.

Policy Paper Draft and Evaluation:

At the very beginning of the course and as the course progresses, trainees will be asked to think and articulate the issue on which she/he is interested to write the Draft Policy Paper.

All the participants are expected to prepare a draft policy paper individually which will be treated as the main basis of evaluation/assessment for their performance in the training program. There will be 3 other short assignments, which all also be a part of the total assessment.

The Draft Policy Paper will be evaluated on a grading scheme that means different weightages will be given on different parts of the Paper itself. There will be a seminar at the end of the course, where the best Policy Notes/Issue Papers will be presented before a cross-cutting audience.  While formulating policies, participants should incorporate the lessons from other relevant country examples in the region. These lessons then could be customized to our socio-economic-political conditions and growth history. The trainees’ overall performance is to be evaluated as follows:

Conclusion:

After the training is complete, each trainee will be better equipped with the knowledge and skills that are essential in understanding and to conceptualize the policy issues, context of the policy formulations and the impeding and impelling issues that influence policy implementation, evaluation, monitoring and policy reformulation. It goes without saying that the outline presented here is a living document that will evolve over time into a more robust and rewarding training program. The program intends to create a group of dynamic officers within the government who will be reform-minded and risk-taking public innovators. They will play a critical role in enhancing the productivity of the public sector and help Bangladesh move forward on a higher trajectory of development. As an ultimate outcome of the program, a more informed, inclusive, pro-poor and growth-oriented policy environment is expected to be created.