September 1, 2025
The pilot workshops aiming at developing education policy research competences for Early Career Researchers have been conducted by The BRiDGE Project team in October – December 2024 and in April – May 2025.
There is a clear and growing need to support early career researchers in higher education to strengthen their competencies in education policy research. Developing these skills will not only enable them to engage more effectively with civil society organisations and policymakers but also foster stronger cross-border collaboration among higher education institutions and researchers.
A needs assessment survey of 104 faculty members (both early career and senior education researchers) across The BRiDGE Project partner institutions revealed several persistent challenges, including limited engagement from policymakers, communication barriers, and difficulties in facilitating meaningful dialogue with decision-makers. At the same time, respondents expressed a strong interest in building capacity in several key areas. They highlighted the importance of developing more effective communication and collaboration skills, particularly in learning how to tailor messages for greater policy impact. They also underscored the need for deeper knowledge of policy development, including how to create research-informed policies and address conflicting evidence. Strengthening engagement and networking opportunities was another priority, with many researchers eager to connect more directly with policymakers, identify suitable platforms for exchange, and build lasting professional networks. Finally, respondents emphasized the value of advancing their critical thinking and analytical skills—specifically, the ability to assess goals, involve end-users, and apply scientific knowledge in authentic policy contexts.
The proposed workshop curriculum strived to address these learning needs, following the European ‘Science for Policy’ competence framework. The workshops took place in synchronous online format hosted on Moodle platform.
You are welcome to explore some of the workshop materials by the links below.
- 1 WP 2.3 Introduction
- 2 WP 2.3 Invited speaker
- 4 WP 2.3 Case study Poland
- 5 WP 2.3 Case study Portugal
- 6 WP 2.3 Case study Belgium
- 7 WP 2.3 Case study Lithuania
- 8 WP 2.3 Science communication
