Calibrating Policy Analysis
The costliest policy mistakes usually happen early. Teams over-analyze low-risk issues or rush early analysis that misses the real decision point, leading to stalled files, rework, and frustration for decision-makers who need clarity early, not volume later.
Calibrating Policy Analysis focuses on these critical initial stages, before options harden and momentum is lost. Participants leave able to frame a decision-relevant policy question, make key assumptions explicit, and justify how much evidence is “enough” for the decision at hand when discussing their work with colleagues or supervisors. The emphasis is on proportionate, decision-support analysis so work moves forward with less rework and clearer direction.
The workshop is anchored in PMC’s Q-CASE Decision Support Lens (Question, Context, Assumptions, Sufficiency, and Early Options). It is used throughout the day to help participants calibrate scope, analytical depth, and the role of provisional options in a defensible and consistent way.
This one-day workshop is designed for policy and policy-adjacent professionals who contribute to early analysis and influence direction without owning the final decision.
- Frame a clear, decision-relevant policy analysis question that defines the issue and what a decision-maker needs to decide at an early stage.
- Surface the key drivers and assumptions shaping a policy issue, distinguishing root causes from symptoms at a level appropriate for early judgment.
- Use light evidence and contextual scanning to test assumptions and identify what matters most, rather than exhaustively analyzing all factors.
- Judge whether to surface provisional early policy options or hold, based on decision context and decision-maker needs.
- Explain the role and limits of early policy options, including when further analysis may or may not be warranted before narrowing or selection.
- Use AI-supported tools selectively to support scanning and sense-making, while applying human judgment to validate relevance, sufficiency, and scope.
Framing Initial Policy Analysis and Decision Context
- Clarifying the role of initial policy analysis in supporting decisions, not making them
- Establishing a shared decision context using PMC’s Q-CASE Decision Support Lens
- Orienting analysis before evidence gathering or option development begins
Assumptions, Evidence, and Analytical Sufficiency
- Surfacing the key drivers and assumptions that shape early-stage policy analysis
- Using light evidence and contextual scanning to test assumptions and identify what matters most
- Judging what level of evidence and analysis is sufficient for early decision support
Early Options and Decision Support Boundaries
- Determining whether to surface provisional early policy options or hold, based on context and decision-maker needs
- Clarifying the role and limits of early options as inputs to direction-setting, not recommendations
- Explaining when further analysis may or may not be warranted before narrowing or selection
This workshop is for policy analysts, policy advisors, program staff, and others in policy-adjacent roles who contribute to early policy analysis or advice.
It is best suited to participants who already have some familiarity with policy work and are expected to frame issues, test assumptions, assess evidence, and judge how much analysis is enough to support advice for managers or decision-makers.
There are no prerequisites for this workshop
FAQ
No formal training is required, and there are no prerequisites. That said, it’s an intermediate level course and works best if policy work is already part of what you do. You don’t need credentials or years behind you, just enough exposure that scoping issues and weighing evidence feel familiar.
Yes. It’s built for the people whose work feeds a decision rather than settles it, such as analysts, advisors, and program staff. If you’re regularly asked to make sense of an issue, weigh evidence, or draft early advice for someone else to act on, this course speaks to your role.
Q-CASE stands for Question, Context, Assumptions, Sufficiency, and Early Options. It’s the five-part thinking tool at the centre of this course, designed to help you right-size your analysis to what a decision genuinely requires. Rather than walking you through a fixed procedure, it prompts a series of judgment checks: Are you answering the right question? Have you surfaced the assumptions in play? Is your evidence enough to act on yet? You’ll apply it throughout the course to keep early policy work focused and defensible.
Policy Fundamentals helps participants decide whether and how to participate when a policy-related situation is unclear. It focuses on orientation, decision ownership, role authority, and contribution boundaries before action begins. Calibrating Policy Analysis starts once analysis is appropriate. It helps participants frame the right policy analysis question, test assumptions, judge how much evidence is enough, and decide whether early options should be surfaced or held.
A simple way to choose: if you are unsure whether you should be involved, or what level of contribution is appropriate, choose Policy Fundamentals. If you are already expected to contribute analysis and need to right-size the work, choose Calibrating Policy Analysis.
Open to all members of the public.
$ 595 plus tax
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