Building Capacity to Use Research Evidence (BCURE)

Helping public institutions use data and evidence in their decisions.

BCURE is a series of trainings that build the technical skills and the motivation to use data and evidence. It has been developed with the National School of Public Policy in Pakistan and Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) at Harvard University.


Nationwide workshops have been held in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. BCURE training has been used at the Civil Services Academy and the National School of Public Policy since 2014. The Harvard BCURE programme is the first systematic, civil service-wide effort to change the culture of evidence use in the public sector.

Target Audience

People who work in government and public agencies, including policymakers, and others involved in governance.

Teaching methods

BCURE uses blended learning. First, you complete online modules on your own. Then you join interactive classroom sessions, where you apply what you learned to realistic policy challenges through lectures, discussion and case exercises.

What Participants Learn

Seven online modules, followed by in-class lectures and discussions:

  1. Systematic Approaches to Policy Decisions
  2. Cost-Benefit Analysis (weighing what a policy costs against what it delivers) 
  3. Descriptive Evidence
  4. Commissioning Evidence (ordering and managing research) 
  5. Aggregating Evidence (bringing together findings from many studies) 
  6. Impact Evaluations
  7. Using Data Systems

Impact

Since 2014, the Learning Hub has trained 40 instructors and 5,800+ civil servants at officer grades 17 to 21 (from junior officers to senior officials) across Pakistan. They took part in these programmes: Common Training Programme (CTP), Specialised Training Programme (STP), Mid-Career Management Course (MCMC), Senior Management Course (SMC) and National Management Course (NMC).

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Building Capacity to Use Research Evidence (BCURE)