POLiGOV Holds Training on the Preparation of Data-Driven Policy Briefs to Optimise Local Policies in Bulukumba
Bulukumba - Targeted local policies must be based on accurate field data, not merely on political compromise or intuition. Recognising the importance of this, the Policy and Governance Laboratory (POLiGOV) of the Department of Administrative Sciences at Hasanuddin University (Unhas), in collaboration with the Regional Development Planning and Research Agency (Bapperida) of Bulukumba Regency, organised a Training and Mentoring Programme on the Preparation of Data-Driven Policy Briefs for Civil Servants to support the formulation of regional policies in Bulukumba Regency. This strategic initiative took place on Monday (30 June 2026) in the Pinisi Hall of the Bulukumba Regency Government Building.
This community service programme was initiated and led directly by two researchers from POLiGOV Unhas, namely Andi Ahmad Yani, M.Si, MPA, M.Sc, and NurAlamsyah Ismail, S.Sos, MA. The training was attended by civil servant representatives from all Regional Government Agencies (OPDs) across Bulukumba Regency. The event was officially opened by the Assistant for Economy and Development (Assistant 2) of the Bulukumba Regency Secretariat, Drs. H.M. Daud Kahal, M.Si, alongside the Head of the Bulukumba Regional Development Planning Agency (Bapperida), Ir. Andi Irma Darmayanti, ST, MT.
In his opening remarks, Daud Kahal expressed his deep appreciation to POLiGOV Unhas for assisting the Bulukumba Regency Government in providing tangible capacity-building for civil servants on the techniques of drafting policy briefs. In his view, these skills are crucial to enable civil servants to present robust, evidence-based policy drafts to regional leaders.
Similar appreciation was also expressed by the Head of Bapperida Bulukumba, Andi Irma Darmayanti. She emphasised that the support from the POLiGOV research team had been instrumental in advancing one of Bapperida’s priority programmes. The need for data-driven policy briefs is currently urgent in order to encourage every OPD to respond swiftly to various contemporary issues within the community, whilst simultaneously proposing alternative policy recommendations that offer practical solutions.
The marathon training session, which ran from 09:00 to 15:00 WITA, was designed to be interactive through a combination of presentations and practical workshops. In the first session, POLiGOV researcher Andi Ahmad Yani delivered an introductory presentation on techniques for analysing various issues in the field by optimising sectoral data—which all OPDs already possess—and subsequently converting this into draft policy recommendations grounded in sound reasoning.
Moving into the second session, NurAlamsyah Ismail led the practical exercise. At this stage, participants were encouraged to explore their respective agencies’ internal data and combine it with scientific studies based on international and national academic journals to strengthen the academic arguments in the documents they were drafting. Towards the end of the session, each OPD presented the initial draft of their policy brief to the class to receive direct feedback and a detailed review of their documents.
At the close of the event, the participants expressed their high appreciation for the organisation of this training. They stated that they had gained new perspectives and practical skills that are highly applicable to supporting their day-to-day official duties. Through the strengthening of this research and community engagement collaboration, POLiGOV Unhas remains committed to fostering the creation of evidence-based governance at the local level.
