PRB

Technical assistance and training are a vital segment of many PRB projects, including the American Community Survey and Decennial Support Services, Empowering Evidence-Driven Advocacy, KIDS COUNT, KidsData, PACE, and MOMENTUM Knowledge Accelerator.

Our technical assistance and training entails:

• Sharing our expertise on communications, data analysis, and policy analysis.
• Identifying, training, and convening stakeholders.
• Developing and disseminating knowledge across subject areas and sectors.

We use multisectoral approaches to connect with programmatic communities and increase stakeholder and institutional commitments to support policy effectiveness and change.

In the United States, we author data user handbooks, coordinate conferences, and create tutorials for those working with American Community Survey data to increase their capacity to use this data effectively. These resources have reached thousands of data users to support efforts ranging from city planning to health care policy research.

In Kenya, PRB staff worked with local and national officials to implement budget increases and policy commitments for family planning, particularly in Busia and Narok counties. In Uganda, a PRB-trained advocate was influential in Gulu District officials’ decision to increase the budget for basic health services and health centers that handle family planning.

We engage stakeholders at the local, national, and global levels to accelerate progress toward sustainable development in health and related sectors. In both East and West Africa, our flagship Policy Communication Fellows program is creating a new model of sustainability by forming networks of policy communication trainers based in strategic institutions.

How do we provide technical assistance and training? In just one example, our PACE project staff partnered with competitively selected youth-led teams in Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, and Uganda to amplify their policy advocacy on such topics as youth-friendly family planning services, female genital mutilation/cutting, child marriage, gender-based violence, and maternal health. We provided participants and their organizations with tailored technical and leadership training and ongoing mentorship on techniques in policy communication, fact-based and data-driven advocacy, and multimedia production. The advocates used accessible technology, including mobile phones and social media platforms, to build engaging campaigns focused on specific policy advocacy objectives targeted at their peers, communities, and key decisionmakers—and they passed their skills down to their peers, expanding the reach of their campaigns and sustaining local youth-led policy advocacy.