SPB Newsfeed: How to Give a Powerful and Dynamic Lecture

The recent Training of Trainers workshop was an opportunity for identifying future change agents at both finance and line ministries in SEE who will be involved in sharing technical knowledge on strategic planning and budgeting with their colleagues at the finance and line ministries as well as at the international forums.

Budget officials from regional ministries of finance representing Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey participated at the event and discussed when learning is meaningful and when not.They also prepared and practiced giving a powerful lecture. They taught their colleagues either about a concept related to the medium term expenditure framework or the regulations on policy evaluation and spending review in a way that made the lecture both engaging and useful in practice. To develop the habits of a reflective and dynamic content-facilitators they also analysed their experiences and reflected on what was it that they had learned.

The workshop was designed and delivered by the CEF team with the aim to give the participants a frame of reference for understanding how learning works at the CEF and to inspire them to join our efforts in designing future learning events. The underpinning theory behind the activities was the social learning theory which focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another through personally determined experience and involvement rather than on received teaching or training by listening, study of theory or hypothesis, or some other transfer of skills or knowledge. According to Beverly Trayner, also an event facilitator, “Learning is the foundation of who we are (becoming). It is social because our human nature is social, not just because (or when) we interact with others or use certain tools.”

The event concluded on a successful note with particpants noting they had enjoyed the workshop, especially working in small groups, and that the event was a great learning experience.

The Training of trainers workshop was held on February 26-28, 2014, at the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) in Danilovgrad, Montenegro. It was delivered as part of the Strategic Planning and Budgeting (SPB) project, funded by the European Union.