The Institute regularly organizes short courses. Most of these courses are tailor made targeting specific client needs. Short courses are provided in the following fields:

• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Geographical Information Systems (GIS) / Remote Sensing
• Communicating Environmental Research to Policy Makers
• Environmental Economics and Valuation
• Integration of Population Variables in Development Planning
• Training on Communicating Environmental Research to Policy Makers

Many scientific groups and environmental scientists agree that aspects of a population's growth, composition, and distribution can lead to environmental changes that affect human and ecosystem health. Audiences influential in setting national policy agendas, such as the media and government officials, often inadequately reflect those linkages in their reports and policy decisions. Yet every year valuable human and financial resources are spent to produce environment research results that fail to reach policymakers and, consequently, are not used to shape policies and programs. The Institute of Resource Assessment (University of Dar es Salaam) in collaboration with the Population Reference Bureau (USA) organizes intensive workshops that help bridge the gap between researchers and policymakers. Sessions help participants understand how to better communicate the population and health components of environmental research, identify the policy and program implications of survey data and research studies, understand how research can influence the policy process, and communicate research findings in simple and compelling formats. The objective of this workshop is to learn how to maximize policymakers' and planners' use of research results that illustrate the interaction of population, health and environment variables. Specifically, participants will learn how to:

• Address problems policymakers face with integrated research
• Understand how research findings enter and influence the policy process
• Develop a policy-level communication strategy and action plan
• Design a media strategy, write press releases and give interviews to journalists
• Prepare and present short policy documents such as policy memoranda and fact sheets
• Create and deliver oral policy presentations using a computer-based graphics program

The workshops are designed for researchers, program managers, and others responsible for formulating and implementing environmental programs. Participants should have a strong background in research and data analysis as well as experience with computers. The workshop consists of a combination of plenary and small working-group sessions, emphasizing a hands-on, participatory approach. Sessions cover six areas, each with a corresponding output:

• Exploring population-health-environment integration
• Exploring the research-to-policy gap and designing policy-relevant research
• Developing strategies for the communication of research results
• Communicating research results through the media
• Preparing policy documents and briefings
• Making oral presentations using computer graphic