Karol Olejniczak

Evaluation units, located within public institutions, are important actors responsible for the production and dissemination of evaluative knowledge in complex programming and institutional settings. The current evaluation literature does not adequately explain their role in fostering better evaluation use. The article offers an empirically tested framework for the analysis of the role of evaluation units as knowledge brokers. It is based on a systematic, interdisciplinary literature review and empirical research on evaluation units in Poland within the context of the European Union Cohesion Policy, with complementary evidence from the US federal government and international organizations. In the proposed framework, evaluation units are to perform six types of brokering activities: identifying knowledge users' needs, acquiring credible knowledge, feeding it to users, building networks between producers and users, accumulating knowledge over time and promoting an evidence-based culture. This framework transforms evaluation units from mere buyers of expertise and producers of isolated reports into animators of reflexive social learning that steer streams of knowledge to decision makers.

In order to face the challenge of effective organizational learning in our public policies, we need to address three pressing questions:
1. How does learning work in our public organizations?
2. What promising practices can we implement to advance learning in public organizations?
3. What changes in public management are required to combine learning with the growing demands of performance and accountability?
This book is an attempt to address those questions in a systematic and empirical manner. The answers presented in this volume are the result of a four-year empirical research project conducted in Polish ministries and study visits in public institutions of twelve countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Public policies need research results in order to effectively address the complex socio-economic challenges (so-called: evidence-based policies). However there is a clear gap between producing scientific expertise and using it in public decision-making. This "know-do" gap is common in all policy areas. Knowledge brokering is a new and promising practice for tackling the challenge of evidence use. It means that selected civil servants play the role of intermediaries who steer the flow of knowledge between its producers (experts and researchers) and users (decision makers and public managers). Knowledge brokering requires a specific combination of skills that can be
learnt effectively only by experience. However this is very challenging in the public sector. Experiential learning requires learning from own actions - often own mistakes, while public institutions tend to avoid risk and are naturally concerned with the costs of potential errors. Therefore, a special approach is required to teach civil servants. This article addresses the question of how to develop knowledge brokering skills for civil servants working in analytical units. It reports on the application of a simulation game to teach civil servants through experiential
learning in a risk-free environment. Article (1) introduces the concept of knowledge brokering, (2) shows how it was translated into a game design and applied in the teaching process of civil servants and (3) reflects on further improvement. It concludes that serious game simulation is a promising tool for teaching knowledge brokering to public policy practitioners.

Publikacja odpowiada na pytanie: Jaki jest mechanizm uczenia się organizacji publicznych? Opierając się na szeroko zakrojonym przeglądzie wcześniejszych studiów międzynarodowych oraz wynikach własnych, autorskich badań wykonanych w polskich ministerstwach i ich zagranicznych odpowiednikach, autorzy wyjaśniają procesy i czynniki napędzające organizacyjne uczenie się w sektorze publicznym.

The complexity of modern socio-economic issues turns our public policies into a continuous trial and error process. Every time public managers and stakeholders address a new policy issue they have to use research results, experience and insight to find out what works for whom and in what context. That requires from public organizations intense organizational learning. This challenge is especially demanding for administrations of countries that are undergoing modernization of their socio- economic systems. Poland is an example of such country.
In order to face the challenge of effective organizational learning, we need to address three pressing questions:
1. How does learning work in our public organizations?
2. What promising practices can we implement to advance learning in public organizations?
3. What changes in public management are required to combine learning with the growing demands of performance and accountability?
This book is an attempt to address those questions in a systematic and empirical manner. The answers presented in this volume are the result of a four-year empirical research project conducted in Polish ministries and study visits in public institutions of twelve countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.