Think & Link Regional Policy Programme by the European Fund for the Balkans
“THINK AND LINK” is a region-wide policy programme under the aegis of the European Fund for the Balkans whose purpose is to encourage debate on the challenges, costs and opportunities of building a genuine EU member state. It is directed towards emerging think tanks, policy-oriented NGOs, independent policy institutes, and policy-relevant research groups from the Western Balkans whose activity is focused on political and social issues and whose interest is in the process of EU integration.
The programme seeks to foster inclusive and evidence-based policy making in the Western Balkans by initiating research projects relevant from the perspective of the Copenhagen criteria, embedded in a regional capacity building and networking programme cycle.
Twelve think tanks from the Western Balkans are financially supported to perform research on the proposed topic, different for each programme year. In addition, the programme provides capacity building in the form of seminars offered to the members of the chosen think tanks.
Objective
The programme seeks to foster inclusive and evidence-based policy making in the Western Balkans by initiating and supporting individual and collaborative research projects on the chosen annual programme topic, embedded in the regional seminar programme cycle.
The eight month Programme is composed of the following activities:
| Capacity Building Seminar |
A chance for peer learning, networking experience and practical trainings for the researchers of the selected organisations | Timeframe: 2 DAYS |
| Research Phase |
Research is carried out by the selected organisations based on their initial proposals | Timeframe: 6 MONTHS |
| Mentoring Phase |
Provided by the independent policy experts, the offered assistance is of the crucial importance for the final design of the products and learning experience for the researchers involved in drafting the policy paper | imeframe: 1 MONTH |
| Final Seminar |
The Final Seminar serves as the dissemination platform for the results of the research undertaken by the selected organisation through a concrete presentation. It is also the meeting point for all the stakeholders involved in the open participatory policy debate with regards to the cost, benefits and challenges of the EU and the region | Timeframe: 2 DAYS |
Think and Link
| Fill the crucial gap between the political and technical debate | Foster inclusive and evidence – based policy making in the region | Link emerging policy institutes from the Balkans with the EU – based think tanks |
Build up research capacities and support constant learning |
Think & Link Programme Generations
Project type
- Bilateral/Cross Border Project
Acronym
Think & Link
Geographical focus
- Western Balkans
Scientifc field / Thematic focus
- General
- Humanities
- Social Sciences
Runtime
April 2009 - December 2013
Entry created by Desiree Pecarz on September 17, 2013
Modified on September 17, 2013
