Policy Labs

Policy Labs are an elective course for students in the School of Public Policy. Run over three terms and supported by CEU faculty, students work in small teams of three-four to produce and present a piece of original research for an external client that is engaged in public policy advocacy, implementation and development. Clients vary in size and subject, but all come from the public, private and civic sectors and share a common interest for using social science research in support their work.

Policy Labs offer real-time practical experience on producing and using policy research. The course is based on the assumption that in many cases, policy oriented research is carried out by teams rather than individuals. Policy labs are made up of small groups working in close collaboration, drawing on quantitative and qualitative methods, and making their recommendations after close consultation with interested parties.

Policy Lab outputs include briefing reports, policy studies, reviews of academic and practitioner literatures, policy scenarios and situation reports and in-depth case studies.

Course Director: Andrew Cartwright

partner Organizations and outputs

• Center for Social Research Analitika
  
  1. Enabling the Future of Public Service Broadcasting in the Western Balkans (2016)

• Central European Labor Studies Institute
  
  1. The Crisis and the Consequences of Austerity Policies in Central and Eastern Europe – Comparative Analysis (2014)
  2. The Crisis and Policy Responses in the Labour Market in Central and Eastern Europe. Country Report: Croatia (2013)
  3. The Crisis and Policy Responses in the Labour Market in Central and Eastern Europe. Country Report: Estonia (2013)
  4. The Crisis and Policy Responses in the Labour Market in Central and Eastern Europe. Country Report: Romania (2013)
  5. The Crisis and Policy Responses in the Labour Market in Central and Eastern Europe. Country Report: Slovakia (2013)
  6. The Crisis and Policy Responses in the Labour Market in Central and Eastern Europe. Country Report: Slovenia (2013)
  7. Reforms in the Hospital Healthcare System in Macedonia, Estonia and Hungary (2013)
  8. Precarious Work in Hungary and Slovenia: Roles and Strategies of Trade Unions (2012)

• Education Support Program
  
  1. Grassroots Europe for Local Well-being Initiative (2014)
  2. Watering the Grassroots: Funding challenges and opportunities for Grassroots Europe and its affiliates (2013)
     
  3. Well-Being: Aspects and Evaluations (2011)
     

• Habitat for Humanity
  
  1. EU National Level Policy Development to Implement SDG-11 in Africa (2017)
     
  2. Impact of the Energy Union on Residential Energy Efficiency in Central and Eastern Europe (2016)
  3. EU 2020 and the Question of Social Housing. A Critical Assessment of European Union Polices Relating to Social Housing (2015)
  4. Slum Upgrading in African Urban Areas and the Post-2015 European Policy Agenda (2015)
  5. Housing Policies in Macedonia, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania (2013)
  6. The Dynamics of Informal Settlements Upgrading in South Africa: Legislative and Policy Context, Problems, Tensions and Contradictions (2013)

• Hungarian Association of NGOs for Development and Humanitarian Aid
  
  1. NGO-Private Sector Partnership: Complementary Collaborations (2015)
  2. The Private Sector… The Missing Link for Development? (2014)
  3. Exploring Hungary’s Policy Coherence for Development: The 'Education vs. Migration' Nexus (2013)

• Hungarian Development Agency
  
  1. The New Hungary Development Plan: Evaluation of Policy-Level Horizontal Goals and Supporting Mechanisms and the Roma Population of Hungary (2010)

• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  
  1. Volunteerism as a Means of Social Inclusion and Integration: Best Practices from Red Cross Italy and Red Cross Finland (2017)
     
  2. Reception and treatment of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants: Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia (2016)
  3. Economic Vulnerabilities in Europe and Central Asia. Updates from the Red Cross Red Crescent Societies in the view of 'Florence Call for Action' and 'Think Differently Report' (2015)
     
  4. Trends and Patterns in Natural Disaster Management in Europe and Central Asia 1993-2014 (2015)
     
  5. Food and Nutrition Security in the Europe Zone (2014)
     
  6. Europe in Crisis: Addressing Changing Patterns through Innovation (2014)
     
  7. Dynamics of European Migration: a Comparative Assessment of Croatia, Bulgaria and Hungary (2011)
     

• Menedek – Hungarian Association for Migrants
  
  1. Analysis of the Integration Evaluation Tool 2012 (2016)

• Open Society Justice Initiative
  
  1. Assessment on the Access and Utilization of Civil Legal Aid (CLA) by Roma in Bulgaria, Hungary and the Czech Republic (2013)

• Roma Decade Secretariat
  
  1. The Effectiveness of Project Based Inclusion: Roma Related National Policies on Employment in Hungary, Macedonia and Croatia (2012)

• Roma Initiatives Office
  
  1. Policy Report on Empowerment for the Roma Initiatives Office (2012)
  2. Roma Women Empowerment Projects of the Roma Initiatives Office (2011)
     

• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
  
  1. Urban Humanitarian Challenges and the Way Forward. A Case Study Analysis on Humanitarian Assistance in Beirut, Zamzam Camp and Kathmandu (2016)
  2. Examining Humanitarian Intervention on the Climate-Conflict Nexus in Myanmar, Syria, and Sudan (2016)