Evidence-based policy making can contribute to increase the quality and sustainability of policy proposals, ensure coherence with other policy areas, decision-making levels, and central strategies as well as guarantee that long-term benefits and unintended costs are considered in the policy appraisal. In this way, quality and acceptance of a proposed policy can be increased. Moreover, accompanying measures can be developed early in the policy making process to avoid unwanted side-effects of the policy. Policy impact assessment (IA) was introduced in many countries as a central instrument for evidence-based policy making.

In contrast to a scientific analysis, IA is closely connected to the policy making process. It needs to cover a great variety of questions. Hence, IA also draws on a great variety of methods and a large body of knowledge, which can and should be used in the impact analysis. This complexity is often a challenge for policy makers.

In this project a training course will be developed, which will support GIZ staff and their partners in conducting IAs. It demonstrates how IA can be handled by using practice examples and case studies so that participants acquire the necessary knowledge to plan and conduct IAs. The training should:

• Convey the particularities of the IA process and its objectives;
• Encourage and enable the participants to break down the IA into process steps, and to select suitable methods for each process step;
• Enable the participants to use the results of the IA in the policy-making process and for further developing policy proposals.