Can evidence-based policy analysis fix Lebanon’s electricity collapse?

Marc Ayoub coordinated the energy policy and security program at AUB’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, where he and colleagues worked on critical issues in the energy sector – which mostly remain unresolved. Now he’s an Associate Fellow at IFI while mainly researching energy issues at the University of Limerick in Ireland. In this episode he looks back on attempts to engage and convince policy-makers to adopt more effective policies in fields like solar energy, electricity production, and others. He stresses that engaging with experts and citizens in all arenas is a critical step, for it allows public officials to develop trust in academic analyses that could help resolve critical issues that impact all citizens. That battle continues today, as experts in many countries try to solve the puzzle of how to translate technical knowledge into policy-relevant action.