Economics for non-economists

Decision Quality, Thinking Tools and Economics for non-economists – a trio of highly popular face-to-face workshops to improve decision-making are routinely held in Birmingham, but we will also deliver these in your local systems and we can run any combination for you (including all of three).  See here for the development workshop flyer and contact Rachel Caswell (rachel.caswell@nhs.net) to arrange training in local systems.

Do you want to improve your decision making using powerful concepts from economics?  

Like it or not, economists rule the roost. Their way of viewing the world dominates business, government and public services. Economic thinking determining how resources are allocated and used.  

Yet the very mention of ‘economics’ can turn people off – and it is not obvious how it relates to improving population health. We might have a vague feeling that economics is about business or finance or GDP or inflation rates (or something).   

The result? Not enough people in health and care know the positive power of economic thinking.  

This one-day training workshop aims to change this. It is run by the Strategy Unit, working on behalf of the Midlands Decision Support Network.  

Your Trainer:

The session is led by Fraser Battye, who has been applying economic thinking to help decision making in public services for over 20 years. He is a skilled trainer who has a passion for demystifying technical content.  

Who is the workshop for:

Because economics is about making choices, the workshop will be especially valuable for decision makers and the people advising them, such as strategists and analysts. At heart, it is for anyone who wants to understand what economic thinking can offer.  

This is a free workshop open to those working in public health and care services in the Midlands.

Workshop content:

The day starts from first principles and zero prior knowledge is required. You do not need quantitative skills. And there will be a heavy emphasis on demystifying economic jargon.  

At every point, concepts and approaches will be applied to health and care services. You will be given opportunity to reflect and apply the material to your day-to-day work. To help this along, you should bring examples of your own challenges and problems.  

You will leave with powerful concepts and new ways of seeing things. You will understand why cost and price are not the same thing, and why there is no such thing as a free lunch*.  

* lunch is included…