Senior civil servants from Afghanistan receive a two-week intensive training in order to strengthen Afghan policy making and implementation. Clingendael Academy supports the Afghan government in professionalising its strategic policy planning capacity.

A mix of means

The training programme includes theoretical lectures and experts meetings; skills training such as scenario building; and working visits to several revelant Dutch organisations and institutions.

Examples include the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR); the Knowledge Platform on Security & the Rule of Law; and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The course actively provides room to discuss and explore the thin line between the political versus the civil service dimension; the differences / similarities between the Dutch and Afghan reality; and the process of strategic policy planning.

Learning objectives and lessons learned

Upon finalisation of this course, the Afghan participants will have gained insights into:

• The process of policy development;
• How and when to apply strategic policy planning techniques (such as SWOT analysis, scenario building);
• The different effective tools for policy implementation and evaluation;
• How the Netherlands perceives the participatory role of other governmental and non-governmental stakeholders in the policy process.

The course is regarded as a mutual exchange in which policy makers from both Afghanistan and the Netherlands can share views and experiences, as well as policy successes and challenges.

More information?

Please feel free to contact Mr. Rob Sijstermans or Mr. Bart Hogeveen, Training and Research Fellows, Clingendael Academy.