Public and private decisions in Africa and beyond are made amid shocks to commodity prices, debt pressures, climate risk and shifting trade rules. Senior analysts are expected to turn this complexity into clear advice, yet many reports stop at description and never quantify the options in front of decision-makers. Applied economics closes that gap by linking theory, data and judgement.

The Strategic Applied Economics & Policy Analysis Training Course is written for experienced practitioners who already know the basics and want to apply them with more rigour and strategic focus. Participants begin by structuring a policy problem and testing it against welfare, efficiency and equity criteria. They then work through project and programme appraisal, fiscal and macroeconomic transmission, sector and trade analysis, and techniques for estimating policy impact when randomised trials are not possible, including difference-in-differences and matching. The final sessions look at risk, uncertainty and the political economy factors that decide whether a good policy is adopted.

Teaching is case-driven. Delegates build models in spreadsheets, interpret regression output and defend their conclusions in short briefings. The week concludes with a polished policy note and a personal plan for strengthening evidence use inside their own organisations.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Frame a policy problem and select suitable economic tools to analyse it.
• Conduct cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, including discounting and sensitivity testing.
• Interpret macroeconomic indicators and build simple baseline and scenario forecasts.
• Assess the fiscal, trade and distributional effects of tax, subsidy and regulatory changes.
• Evaluate policy impact using quasi-experimental methods and read regression results critically.
• Incorporate risk, uncertainty and political economy constraints into recommendations.
• Communicate analytical findings in concise briefs for ministers, boards and donors.

The course is intended for experienced analysts and advisers who shape or inform policy, including:

• Economists in ministries of finance, planning and trade
• Policy analysts and researchers in think tanks and universities
• Central bank and financial regulator staff
• Programme economists in development agencies and NGOs
• Budget and fiscal analysts in national and county governments
• Strategy and economic advisers in large corporations and industry bodies
• Regulatory impact assessment and sector regulator officers
• Monitoring and evaluation specialists moving into economic analysis

Participants leave the course with:

• A reusable spreadsheet template for cost-benefit appraisal with sensitivity analysis.
• A structured approach to scoping a policy question and choosing the right method.
• A completed short policy brief based on their own topic.
• Greater confidence in reading econometric output and challenging weak evidence.
• A checklist for assessing distributional and fiscal consequences of reforms.
• Tactics for presenting uncertainty honestly to senior decision-makers.

The programme treats participants as peers and keeps the focus on analysis they will repeat at work:

• Short methods briefings followed immediately by applied exercises
• Spreadsheet modelling labs using public macro and household data
• Case discussions drawn from African and international reform experience
• Critique sessions in which groups challenge each other's assumptions
• A closing policy brief delivered to a mock ministerial panel

Delegates who attend the full programme and complete the practical work and final briefing are awarded a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion by Vision Reach Global Consultancy.