Train Faculty on Policy Analysis and Policy Brief Formulation

Job Description
Bukidnon State University (BukSU), located in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, Philippines, is a public institution committed to advancing local governance, education, and community development. Through its Center for Local Governance (CLG), which was established in 2022, BukSU actively engages in capacity-building initiatives for faculty and external stakeholders.

This proposed engagement will mark the third consecutive collaboration with the Peace Corps Virtual Service Pilot (VSP), following successful partnerships with the Center for Educational Analytics (CEA) in 2023 and the Center for Peace Studies (CPS) in 2024. Building on the momentum, the current proposal seeks to address a critical development need: enhancing faculty competencies in policy analysis and policy brief formulation. While the CEA and CPS engagements focused on disaster risk reduction and peace/climate studies respectively, there remains a gap in translating these academic insights into actionable policy recommendations. This training will empower faculty members to synthesize research findings into concise, evidence-based policy briefs that can inform local governance, institutional planning, and community decision-making.

BukSU is committed to institutionalizing policy development as a core academic and civic function. By leveraging the expertise of a Virtual Service Pilot Participant (VSPP), the university aims to build a sustainable framework for policy analysis that complements its previous engagements. This initiative will not only strengthen faculty capacity but also ensure that the university's research outputs contribute meaningfully to public discourse and policy formulation at the local and regional levels. The Bukidnon State University is seeking the support of one (1) VSPP to train the university faculty on policy analysis and policy brief formulation. The organization has previously collaborated with the Peace Corps. They understand that the role of a VSPP is very different than a Peace Corps Volunteer or Peace Corps Response Volunteer.

Desired Qualifications
Education: Doctorate degree

Experience:

• Virtual engagement and communication

• Translating research into policy recommendations

• Training or mentoring, especially in virtual settings

• Familiarity with Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and basic data visualization tools

Required Skills
Education: Master's degree in public policy, political science, development studies, education, or communication

Experience:

• 2 years policy analysis and policy brief formulation.

• 2 years conducting research on policy

Intercultural skills and motivation: Flexible, strong cross-cultural agility, high tolerance for ambiguity, able to work independently, resourceful, creative, and genuinely motivated and capable to serve virtually

Host Country Partner's Mission and Goals
VISION: A premier institution of innovative and ethical leaders for sustainable development.

MISSION: To develop competitive professionals who are committed to build a sustainable life for all through quality instruction, research, extension, and production.

Virtual Service Engagement and Tasks
The VSPP will engage in the following tasks, in collaboration with their host country partners:

• Review rationale of the newly established Center for Local Governance of the university and existing faculty technical capacity on research development

• Co-conduct of at least five training events for the research center's faculty on Policy Analysis and Policy Brief Formulation skills development, covering the following areas:
[1] Understanding policy briefs: purpose, structure, and impact
[2] Policy analysis fundamentals: frameworks and tools
[3] Writing of policy briefs
[4] Translating studies into actionable recommendations
[5] Peer review and presentation of draft policy briefs.

• Collaborate on research project outputs produced in this training

• Mentor faculty to implement newly acquired skills

VSPPs are expected to engage on the tasks listed above for an estimated 5–15 hours per week. This engagement is estimated to be 6–8 hours per week.

Online collaboration will generally occur between 8:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. Philippine time. Specific times will be determined during orientation.

The host country counterpart will have access to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Facebook Messenger, Google, and email for regular communication and collaboration.

Per the Child Protection Code of Conduct, when engaging online with minors (0–18), two adults must be present.

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