On December 9-12 in Durres, SciDev and the Western Balkans European Social Survey Regional Network (WBESS) organized a regional conference on Data Driven Advocacy in the Western Balkans. This regional conference was organized with the aim to share ideas and experiences about data-driven advocacy for policy development. This event is a commemoration of the regional exchange of experiences on best practices and introducing innovative methods for applied advocacy based on data collected through the European Social Survey.
The regional conference on data-driven advocacy brought together think tanks, policy oriented civil society organizations, activists, researchers, and policymakers. Upon the finalization of the conference, a brief policy paper introducing the data-driven approach to advocacy and concrete innovative instruments for think tanks, CSOs, and research centers was published accompanied with knowledge sharing and dissemination of the model and instruments to the regional civic space and stakeholders.
This policy document presents a series of recommendations for researchers, academia, civil society, policymakers, and media. Primarily, it argues for the need for specialized data analytics training; improving researcher’s communication skills; sharing experiences of advocacy between academia and civil society in the region, as well as abroad, particularly in countries with a strong tradition of using data for policy advocacy; increasing funding for research; and encouraging the creation and strengthening of regional collaborations such as the Western Balkans European Social Survey Network.
