Abstract

Providing and using evidence in policymaking is a complex task. It demands distinct competencies that are rarely part of standard researcher development. Nevertheless, advising and shaping policy is one of the most used pathways to impact.

The Joint Research Centre is the European Commission's science and knowledge service. Besides employing around 2000 scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to EU policymaking, the JRC is also involved in the development and provision of training. The JRC project “Training of Trainers (ToT) on Evidence for Policy” has trained 16 pairs of local trainers from across the EU in 2021, who after the ToT workshop are equipped to run their own course on understanding policymaking processes so as to further develop researchers’ competenciess to have an impact on policy. One such pair was selected from Ghent University (a collaboration between the central policy advisor on impact and a decentral research co-ordinator).

This session allows a glimpse behind the scenes and puts the dialogue between the JRC and the university center stage. On the one hand, it will provide insight into how the ToT workshop was structured and delivered, how trainees (and future trainers) responded, and what will be further steps in JRC’s mission to bring science and society closer throughout the EU. On the other hand, it will show how the university pair adapted the training for their institution, how the research community was involved, and how this fitted into a larger strategy on societal value creation of research.