This course is designed exactly to fulfill the above needs. It will familiarize the participants with a number of fundamental factors:

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

In addition, the program seeks to sharpen the basic skills at analytical thinking, information gathering, and report writing to better design, implement and influence policies. Therefore, the general objectives of the program are:

1. To enable the trainees to have an understanding of the principal tools and techniques of policy analysis relating to the above areas and
2. To prepare them to better navigate the complex process of policy formulation and thereby help Bangladesh reach a higher plane of development.

This course is designed for those who are interested in joining or are already working in the government in various policies formulation, implementation and evaluation capacities. It can also better equip those 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 and build capacity in policy analysis and implementation to meaningfully contribute to Bangladesh's journey towards a more just, equal, and progressive society that our freedom martyrs 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 –

• quantitative and
• qualitative.

       Learn to

•   accommodate/adjust/advocate uncomfortable positions.
•   work under time constraints and to allocate analytic resources.
•   Develop management skills and the ability to work in, and/or direct a team.

S T R U C T U R E

 (i) Duration: Ten weeks. Of which, 6(six) weeks will be devoted in a classroom environment at BIGM. Later, the trainees will be attached to specific Ministries/Divisions/

         Departments/Directorates for four weeks.

(ii) Participants/Trainees: Executives from public sector (Senior Assistant secretary to Joint     Secretary or equivalent) and 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) Trainers/Lecturers: Drawn from the academia, universities, research institutes, government  and private sector as well as the judiciary, law enforcement and defence services, development  partners, and the NGO sector.

(iv) Session/Lecture Duration: One and half an hour. Some might be of two-hour duration.

(v) Daily Session/Lectures: Two to four sessions with coffee break and a follow-up lunch.

(vi) Session/Lecture Format/Methodology: Open and interactive, hands-on individual/group assignments (case-studies) and class/seminar presentations, and also online, as and when applicable.

(vii) Class Size: 30/35 maximum.

(viii) Quality Control: Training contents and learning materials will be updated on a regular basis on the feedback received from trainees, trainers and experts of relevant field. In addition, the  Management and the Advisory Committee will play critical role in ensuring the overall quality of the program.

(iX) Class Details and Instruction Format

1.

(a) In the first year, there was one program; in the 2nd and 3rd year, 11 programs will be held in BIG

(b) There will be 9 (nine) modules to be conducted in 10 weeks at the rate of two to four lectures per day; there will be a total of 80 lectures for 8 modules, approximatelyeight modules in 6 weeks and the 9th module (4 weeks) is for preparation of a Policy Paper by the participants. Each module will comprise 8-15 (on average 10) lectures with a lecture duration of 1(one) and half hours, total contact hours will be 1801hours.

(c) For the analytical policy paper, each participant will work with a mentor. Cross-country lessons to be customized for the local conditions in Bangladesh will be encouraged. Students are encouraged from the beginning of the program work to think of a policy issue question they would like to analyze.

(d) The classes will be held 5 days a week (Saturday - Wednesday) with 2-4 lectures/day Lecture will begin at 9.00 a.m. in the morning with a tea break for 15 minutes between two lectures which will end before lunch break at 12.30 p.m. After lunch there  may be 1 or 2 sessions each day. The afternoon sessions may start at 01:30pm and will continue till 04:45 pm with a tea break at 03:00pm. Library and IT room attachment will be part of training.

(e) Participants will also be provided with Transport Allowances (TAs) for attending each training days only. For the absent days, there will be no TAs.

(f) The medium of instruction will be English.

(g) Adequate reading materials, handouts and stationery items will be provided by the institution.

Trainees will study the field and in consultation with the relevant ministries/industries and even  with relevant private association/enterprise undertake policy analysis on agreed issue (s) from scratch going through all the steps including ex-post evaluation. From the very beginning of the course and as the course will progress trainees will be asked to think and articulate the issue on which she/he is interested to write the Policy Draft Paper.

Trainees are expected to prepare policy draft papers along with summary/policy briefs which will be the main basis of their performance evaluation in the training program. This will be done under the guidance of a mentor. Although trainees will remain under a close observation of the program management throughout the 10-week period, the last week will be under intensive guidance. The 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 course where the best 5 (five) Policy Notes/Issue Papers will be presented before a cross-cutting audience.  The case studies should bring in 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’ over-all performance be evaluated as follows:

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.