Central Asia Think Tank Leadership Workshops

Methodology for Policy Analysis and Evidence-Based Policymaking & Best Practices of Data Collection and Processing

• 6 sessions on 27, 28 and 29 April 2021
• Instructor: Dr. Anar Ahmadov
• Segment 1 will re-familiarize think tank representatives with the most important state of the art methods for data collection, analysis and operationalization of research questions in the field of analyzing development policy. Many participants may have existing knowledge in these areas, but through these sessions we will seek to convey the latest research methods (including Big Data) and best practices (in, e.g., stakeholder analysis, drawing on quantitative and qualitative method-logical approaches. Using the 500-word problem backgrounder submitted as part of the application process, participants will bring a specific development policy problem that their think tank is currently aiming to address. Sessions within Segment 1 will then allow participants to apply the learned tools to this particular problem and allow them to continue with their “policy problem” throughout the remainder of the workshop series: from analysis to writing effectively about it, via planning to fundraising and advocacy.

Structuring Analytical Reports and Writing Effectively

• 4 sessions on 30 April and 3 May 2021
• Instructor: Dr. Bernhard Knoll-Tudor
• The second segment will introduce a number of tools that help participants communicate and produce effective policy writing, based on the writing sample they submit prior to the course: understanding the audience / audience scanning and choosing among types and templates of policy briefs. The segment will train think tank participants on how to structure analytical reports and policy briefs, offering practical guidance for synthesizing major findings of research, outlining a course of action towards solving the stated problem, developing of a set of clear, practical, persuasive recommendations and conclusions. Participants will also acquire an understanding of their policy recommendations as decision-making tools, pre-structuring their advocacy plan.

Thought Leadership and Planning for Effective Advocacy

• 6 sessions on 5, 6 and 7 May 2021
• Instructors: Besa Shahini and Dr. Rolf Alter
• The third segment will equip think tank participants with practical skills for effective non-profit management and leadership, strategic planning, popularization of findings for decision makers. At a fundamental level, the first element of this segment will focus on how participants can internally strengthen and lead their organizations. Second, a better under-standing of the government machinery, the nature of leadership and decision making on public service delivery, and the landscape of potential partners in civil society will be key to framing an advocacy strategy. Using their “policy problem”, participants will draw a detailed map of their actions linked to the behaviour of major actors and openings in the policy making process across levels of government. Given the diversity of countries, emphasis will be put on the coordination and complementarity of national and local advocacy strategies.

Dr. Anar Ahmadov, (PhD, LSE) is trained in political economy, sociology, development studies and public policy. Prior to joining Leiden University as Associate Professor, he has held research and teaching positions at Princeton University, Oxford University and the London School of Economics, and for over a decade worked as a consultant, analyst, and executive in international development, including as Director of Eurasia Foundation’s Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC) in Azerbaijan in 2006-2007. Anar has designed and taught over 20 executive education seminars for public sector and civil society executives and analysts from across Central Eurasia (from Ukraine to Mongolia). He is specialised in political-economic inequality, natural resource governance, migrant political behaviour, and the diffusion of political and economic ideas. He is a recipient of over twenty grants and fellowships, most recently the NWO Vidi grant (Є800,000,-) and individual fellowship from the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS).

Prior to his appointment as Director of Executive Education at the Hertie School, Dr. Bernhard Knoll-Tudor served as director of the Global Policy Academy at Central European University, Budapest. He worked for ten years for the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE), an international organisation devoted to “hard” security as well as to human rights diplomacy where he was involved in policy design and public relations at the level of field missions (Bosnia and Kosovo) as well as institutions (ODIHR, Warsaw). At ODIHR he served as chef de cabinet and principal speech writer for its Director. Held positions at the European Union Monitoring Mission, the United Nations Administration Mission in Kosovo, and with the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bernhard earned a master in law at the University of Vienna and an MA in international relations and economics at Johns Hopkins/SAIS with a focus on IR theory (Bologna and Washington, DC). He obtained his PhD from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and is the author of Legal Status of Territories Subject to Administration of International Organisations (Cambridge University Press, 2008). As adjunct professor at the Hertie School, Bernhard teaches public international law as well as a number of skills courses. His most recent investigation into international legal issues surrounding the conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh appeared in EJIL:Talk!

Besa Shahini is an education policy analyst and activist. From 2017 to end of 2020, she served as the Minister and Deputy Minister for Education, Sport and Youth in the Republic of Albania. Most notably, during her mandate, Besa spearheaded distance and blended learning policy and practice for all levels of education in Albania. In the decade prior to joining the Albanian government, Besa focused her research and advocacy on education and EU integration issues in the Western Balkans and South Caucasus. She worked for think tanks – some of which she founded – in Berlin, Istanbul, Tbilisi, Prishtina and Sarajevo. Besa holds a Master of Public Policy from the Hertie School in Berlin, Germany.

Dr. Rolf Alter is an experienced economist and senior fellow at the Hertie School. He spent over 25 years at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. In 2006, he was appointed Chief of Staff to the OECD Secretary-General, and in 2009 he became Director of Public Governance. Alter built a team of over 200 staff to support governments in improving their public sector performance for inclusive growth and economic competitiveness. He previously also worked for the IMF in Washington, DC, and for the German Ministry of Economy. Member of the Advisory Board of the Global Risks Report of the World Economic Forum. Rolf’s interests include institutional and regulatory reform, productivity, innovation, results-oriented budgeting, transparency, leadership and integrity. He holds a doctorate from the University of Göttingen. In 2013, he received a D.hc. from the National University of Hungary and in 2016 was awarded the O.P. Dwivedi Award by the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA) for his outstanding contribution to public administration and policy.