On November 19th, CEPH hosted a workshop in Queen’s University Belfast for a group of economists currently working in the Northern Irish Civil Service. The workshop, titled ‘CEPH Economic History and Policymaking Workshop’, demonstrates the value of the long-run perspective in a policymaking environment.

The group worked through a historical case study, assessing the viability of an investment opportunity and how they might approach it differently with the benefits of hindsight and modern techniques. The case study selected was tailored to the Northern Irish audience, but the template is applicable to other professional groups as well.

This was an innovative exercise, using modern ludification techniques to gamify complex cases and make them more accessible to an untrained audience. Delivered by CEPH Associate David Jordan, Research and Policy Officer Andrew Dorman and Assistant Director of Outreach Chris Colvin, the workshop marks the beginning of a fruitful partnership between the NICS and CEPH.