Themen der Lehrveranstaltung
This is a free choice course of the BA in EPE (Economics, Politics and Ethics), in the disciplinary sector of Political Science. The course explores public policy processes involving a variety of actors from policy makers to grassroots movements and civil society associations.
Besides providing an overview of the main theoretical approaches and their application to the study of the policy process, the course offers its students an applied experience of public policy evaluation engaging them actively in dialogue with local stakeholders (like local policy makers, practitioners and civil society associations).
Upon successful completion of this course, a student should be able to:
• Have a strong knowledge of the major theories developed to study the public policy process
• Apply these theories to study different aspects of how policy decisions are made and how policies are shaped in action
• Understand the central components of the policy-making process, from policies’ emergence to formulation and implementation
• Identify the role of key political actors and organized interests in driving the policy-making process
• Recognize the institutions’ role in enabling and constraining the policy-making process
• Understand and critically analyze public policies
• Adopt and actively use methods of policy evaluation (e.g.: interviews, participant observation, focus groups)
During this course, you will learn the analytical tools fundamental to understand how local national and international policy-making works. The course is mainly structured around the following three subsections:
1. The study of public policy and its context: this first part of the course will explain to you the meaning of “public policy”, the main theoretical approaches used, and its contextual endeavors.
2. How policies see the light: this part of the course will provide you with a review of the core stages of the policy cycle from its definition to the identification, and the selection of policy alternatives, and the consequent implementation.
3. Evaluation, feedback and change: this section will focus on the evaluation of public policies and on the potentiality of public policy change. This part of the course will provide the student with the possibility to empirically apply the learnt theoretical and methodological guidelines.
Propädeutische Lehrveranstaltungen
None
Unterrichtsform
The course includes lectures, seminars with experts, and active student involvement in policy evaluation tasks based on real local case studies.