Call for Paper Proposals 2011:

In recent years there has been a significant effort to improve decision-making within the public sector by developing capacity in policy analysis in CEE, Central Asia and Caucasus counties. But these efforts are still in their early stages in many countries, and heavily reliant on donor assistance. There continue to be issues both on the demand side (how much governments genuinely want evidence-based policy advice) and on the supply side (e.g., skilled policy analysts, teaching institutions, think tanks).

Given the importance of the field, a Panel Session was organized for the 2008 NISPAcee Annual Conference. Following its success, a Working Group on Policy Analysis Development Issues was established in 2010. The wide variety of papers and the large number of participants were evidence of the strong interest in policy analysis in the regions.

In its second year the Working Group has decided to tighten its focus and become a vehicle for discussions and debates around capacity challenges to professional policy analysis and concrete remedies for those challenges. These are especially important in the regions embraced by NISPAcee. First, policy analysis has developed unevenly in different countries, academic training is often weak, and professional capacity in governments is sometimes severely limited. Second, the Working Group wishes to go beyond diagnosis and encourage discussion of ways forward. Papers that probe the divide between academic policy analysis and applied (either in government or in think tanks and NGOs), and ways to overcome that divide, will be of particular interest.

Accordingly, the Working Group is extending this call for papers in order to organize several panels at the upcoming 19^th NISPAcee Annual Conference in Varna, Bulgaria in May 2011 around the theme of Public Policy Analysis in CEE, Caucasus, and Central Asia: Current Challenges, Future Remedies.

Papers should provide both diagnosis and possible remedies for shortcomings or bottlenecks. This might lead to emergent strategies across the regions. More specifically, papers may focus on:

1. Specific weaknesses (or strengths) of policy analysis in a single country or selection of countries, either generally or in specific sectors (either policy areas like health, or institutions like think tanks);

2. Case studies of the application of techniques (e.g., regulatory impact assessment, ex ante impact assessment, evaluation);

3. Analysis of instances where capacity-building is being attempted;

4. Comparative analysis of similar challenges faced by a variety of countries.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their proposals and CVs electronically via the NISPAcee application system.