Public Affairs for NRENs Workshop

Jointly organised by the GÉANT Special Interest Group Public Affairs and Policy (SIG PA) and the GN5-2 Task 'Policy Engagement'.

Theme: Navigating the Digital Landscape: Stakeholder Engagement for National Research and Education Networks (NRENs)

Tuesday, 27th January 2026
DAY 1: Foundation, Inspiration, and Strategy Initiation
12:00 - 12:45	Arrival & Lunch
12:45 - 13:00	Welcome and Introduction - Leonie Schäfer (DFN), Tanja Maier (GÉANT)
13:00 - 14:00	KEYNOTE: Public Affairs and Communication in the Digital Age, Mechthild Bülow (Presentation and Q&A)
14:00 - 14:15	Coffee Break
14:15 - 15:00	Public Affairs 101: The Lobbying Game & Reputation - Presentation: Introduction to core PA concepts and reputation building (business-oriented perspective) - Hendrik Ike and Tanja Maier (GÉANT)
15:00 - 16:20	NREN Public Affairs: European Strategies Jisc: National PA Activities – Frankie Walker, David Patterson NORDUnet: PolarConnect Case Study – Ieva Muraskiene ASNET-AM: National PA Strategy – Naira Kocharyan CSC: National PA Strategy - Irina Kupiainen 15 min presentation + 5 min Q&A each, followed by a general discussion.
16:20 - 16:30	Coffee Break
16:30- 17:00	Case Study Introductions: The Budget Axe (Political Crisis) and The Quantum Leap (Proactive Advocacy) - Presentation of the fictional scenarios and the task - Leonie Schäfer (DFN)
17:00 - 18:00	GROUP WORK: Case Study – Initial Strategy Brainstorming
18:00	Close Day 1 Working Session
19:00 - 22:00	Joint Workshop Dinner at Zollpackhof (kindly sponsored by DFN)

Wednesday, 28th January 2026
DAY 2: Application, Policy Alignment, and Future Focus
9:00 - 9:45	Day 1 Recap & Finalizing Case Study - Quick recap and instruction for finalizing the lobbying and media campaign strategy
9:45 - 10:30	Strategy Presentations & Peer Challenge - Group Presentations and Challenge: Participants critique and discuss the proposed PA strategies
10:30 - 10:45	Coffee Break
10:45 - 11:15	NRENs in the Digital Agenda; Work Programmes and Calls - Different Work Programmes; HE, CEF, DEP & the Competitiveness Compass. Rates, Rules & Eligibility - Agnieszka Stoklosa (PCSS) and Hendrik Ike (GÉANT)
11:15 - 11:30	Interactive discussion on NREN Use Cases - Open Discussion
11:30 - 13:00	Shaping the Future: Discussion of Topics for the SIG Public Affairs and Policy (PA) - Interactive Session: Defining the agenda and focus areas for the new SIG
13:00 - 14:00	Lunch