Policy Writing: Strategy & Style

A Seminar-to-Publication Series of the European Studies Center

2026 Focus: European Cultural Policy
 

The European Studies Center invites you to an open series with hybrid and asynchronous forms. The series takes participants from a shared research foundation in European policy to a finished policy brief published in the Interdisciplinary Review of ValEUs (IRV). The series teaches the craft of writing for impact: how to transform complex political, economic, and cultural questions into clear, concise, and persuasive policy briefs that reach governmental, non-governmental, and international audiences.

This is not a webinar for distracted viewers; it is a working seminar with a defined outcome. Participants are invited to read together, analyze real briefs together, draft, revise in response to structured feedback, and leave with a published piece of writing and a European Studies Center Certificate of completion. 

From Research to Publication
From beginners to advanced: participants are welcome to bring their own policy research to the seminar. But the series accommodates absolute beginners.

What to Expect: 
It opens with a curated foundation of readings on policy writing and the policy brief as a distinct genre. Then the series turns to investigate policy options around a particular topic: this year we will focus on European cultural policy. Initial hybrid meetings will discuss the readings seminar-style, so that everyone can share a common ground before drafting begins.

Writing for policy impact is not the same as writing an academic essay, and the transition can challenge those demanding, particularly for those trained in longer, more discursive forms. The series treats that transition as its central task. Participants examine exemplary briefs closely as a group, learn the conventions and constraints of the form, and receive feedback at each milestone from peers and from the editorial team. The goal is not a large audience but a committed cohort that finishes. 

By design, participants will learn to:

• Identify and define a policy problem with precision

• Conduct concise, evidence-based analysis grounded in real research

• Communicate complex issues in accessible, policy-oriented formats

• Develop practical, actionable recommendations for decision-makers
   

Who Should Participate: 
The series is interdisciplinary and open to a global audience. It is well suited to: 

• Faculty and researchers who want to engage the cultural policy impact of their academic work

• Humanities scholars who want to engage the cultural policy that defines work in their fields of research

• Graduate and undergraduate students preparing for careers in government, NGOs, journalism, advocacy, or international organizations

• Educators, who may earn continuing education certification for completing the series

• Professionals interested in public policy, international affairs, transatlantic relations, or European studies

   

  No prior policy-writing experience is required, and humanists are especially encouraged to participate.
  Participants should expect the work to be substantial but manageable. 

A Focus on European Cultural Policy:
Prof. Randall Halle, Director of the European Studies Center/Jean Monnet EU Center of Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh, will lead the group in a focus on EU cultural policy and the European Commission’s objective “to develop a more strategic approach to cultural policy, ensuring that culture is woven into policy making across the board, and that more Europeans have access to culture.” 
This moment is opportune because, to “guide and harness the multiple dimensions of culture,” the Commission adopted in June 2026 an overarching strategic framework: the Culture Compass for Europe. This strategic framework replaces the 2018 plan and sets forward future dynamics in this sector. Participants will have an opportunity to examine and intervene in the EU’s new framework along with its workplans and the open method of coordination. We will additionally review the related Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage, and the Strategy for International Cultural Relations. 

We will explore the place of the Creative and Culture Industries in the EU and become familiar with policies on intellectual property and artificial intelligence that impact the cultural sector. The shared reading foundation is drawn from this field, which gives the cohort a common vocabulary and a running seminar conversation.

Participants who wish to develop a brief on a different European policy question are welcome to do so in consultation with the conveners. A shared thematic focus is what makes the seminar discussion productive, so independent topics are accommodated within that frame rather than as a substitute for it. 

Format and Schedule:
The series is hybrid.  Sessions meet in person in Pittsburgh and live online, so participants in the Center's global network can fully take part. 
All sessions are recorded and paired with asynchronous materials, allowing those in other time zones to follow the seminar and complete the work on their own schedule.

Fall 2026 Schedule:

Spring 2027: Editorial phase. Lighter-touch workshops and individual editing carry drafts through revision to publication in IRV. 

What Participants Earn: 
A finished policy brief published in the Interdisciplinary Review of ValEUs. Publication is contingent on successful completion of the series.
A European Studies Center certificate of completion. This is an ESC credential, not a university transcript credit.
For educators, continuing-education certification.
 
REGISTRATION I  Policy Writing Link
Registration opens on July 1, 2026