CESS builds capacity through training for policymakers, civil servants, parliamentary staff, and civil society representatives, including media. Our training courses deal with a variety of topics, often part of security sector governance: gender and the security sector, intelligence oversight, knowledge production and management, post-legislative scrutiny, and cyber security to name a few topics we address. Next to in-house expertise, we make use of our vast network of practitioners and experts that contribute as trainers. We strongly believe in learning by doing, so our training courses are interactive and engaging, including simulation games, break-out meetings, policy labs, case studies and a variety of other formats.

Our capacity-building trajectories can include peer-to-peer consultations, which can include bilateral meetings with parliamentarians or civil servants, on-the-job assistance, and feedback and advice on specific mechanisms or procedures.

We also conduct training-of-trainers in our capacity-building. By empowering trainers at local institutions with didactical skills and techniques, CESS increases the impact of project interventions and contributes to local ownership and sustainability.

Finally, a capacity-building aspect that links directly to our research component, are research fellowships that we organise at our office for small groups of civil society actors or in an online/offline trajectory for larger groups of young professionals.