This post is written by Lene Topp, Policy Analyst, Joint Research Centre, European Commission, and Florian Schwendinger, former Policy Analyst, Joint Research Centre, European Commission.

  • The problem: As a policymaker or researcher, you lack the overview of which cross-disciplinary and cross-policy competences you or your team need for better policymaking, or to achieve more impact on policy with your research.
  • Why it matters: Professional development initiatives greatly benefit from a comprehensive overview of competences to map learning needs and direct funding to and spot gaps in learning offers.
  • The solution: The competence frameworks on ‘Innovative Policymaking’ and ‘Science for Policy’ is a reference point for structured conversations about competences and learning needs for policymakers and researchers.

In our previous article we introduced cross-cutting competences, organised in two frameworks, ‘Innovative Policymaking’ and ‘Science for Policy’, that help policymakers thrive in their profession and empower researchers to increase their impact on policy.

In this article we will focus on how you can benefit from applying these competence frameworks either as individual policymakers and researchers or as organisations.

Get inspired and start a conversation

The competence frameworks for ‘Innovative Policymaking’ and ‘Science for Policy’ can deliver immediate benefit as they provide comprehensive overviews of the cross-disciplinary and cross-policy competences for each profession, thus increasing clarity for individuals, teams and organisations. The frameworks serve as a reference and vision to inspire innovation in competence development in the field of policymaking and science for policy. To make this work more easily accessible, we have developed interactive visualisations for both frameworks allowing users to conveniently explore competences at different levels of granularity depending on their needs.

Competence Framework for ‘Innovative Policymaking’

(View the interactive visual here)_ _

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Competence Framework ‘Science for Policy’ for Researchers

(View the interactive visual here)

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Step up your professional development

Secondly, both frameworks can serve as a reference database for Learning and Development initiatives and professionals. Each competence is described according to the skills, knowledge and attitudes involved and features so-called learning outcomes describing, across four levels of proficiency, how a competence manifests. These elements can be used to map gaps in learning catalogues, inspire innovation in other competence frameworks or to align them and conceptualise new learning solutions. Inversely the frameworks can serve as databases to be updated with new insights and in function of the evolution of the underlying professions.

Build tools and customise to your needs

Thirdly, organisations can design self and team assessment instruments (e.g. surveys) based on the competence descriptors and learning outcomes contained in the frameworks to support professional development efforts on cross-disciplinary and cross-policy competences, e.g. by linking the framework or assessment results to a learning catalogue or providing tailored learning recommendations to increase or refresh proficiency on competences. To this end we are already working on a self and team assessment tool based on the competence frameworks that will be available to the wider public. It will allow its individual users, and also teams, to assess their competence levels, match it against their aspirations and track their development over time. Having competence frameworks that are both comprehensive and wide-ranging allows for bespoke customisations. It also allows those initiatives to be compared, facilitating a common understanding of the professions of ‘Innovative policymaking’ and ‘Science for Policy’.

While these frameworks are being applied in the context of the European Commission, they are also applicable to other government organisations, e.g., at national or regional level. To ensure long-term value added and validity, we have set them up in a modular way, customisable to specific contexts, and easily adaptable to reflect latest insights and the evolution of the professions over time.

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(Image Credit: Unsplash)