Course Topics
The course illustrates the ways democratic concerns translate into policies, citizens’ initiatives, and the design features of political institutions. It addresses the merits and strengths of the recent ideational turn in political science and public administration, focusing on the role of (creative) ideas in policymaking and on how citizens participate in knowledge co-creation for sustainability transitions. Topics: The concept of design applied to policies; prototyping; bringing creativity to bear on democratic progress; co-creation and co-production as assets in democratic development; how to use design thinking to counter democratic backsliding; what is active citizenship.

Teaching format
Lectures, guest-lectures, group discussions, students’ presentations on case studies, in-class labs. The course alternates two-hour and four-hour lectures, starting on October 1, 2025. In-class group-work will be focused on preparing a CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights & Values) project. We will examine the template of the application form and work out the best strategy to go about the project.

Educational objectives
Knowledge and understanding The student will acquire knowledge of organisational models, the business factors involved in the organisation of public enterprises operating in different sectors (international organisations, central government, local authorities, health, public enterprises) and the consequences for the community. The student will also acquire knowledge necessary for developing, managing and evaluating the impact of public projects, and knowledge useful for analysing organisational innovation processes and interpreting current tools and trends relating to personnel management in public companies. The student will acquire the knowledge of economic theory needed to understand and analyse economic and business phenomena in the public sector in order to support decision-making processes. Knowledge of public policy and the tools necessary for the design of sustainable policies will be consolidated. Knowledge related to the labour market, education and health will also be deepened, functional to the development of public policy analysis and evaluation skills. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding The student will acquire the ability to: - identify and distinguish management concepts and problems in relation to real or hypothetical situations concerning public institutions and companies also in different contexts (e.g. different services/activities/institutions, different local or international institutional levels); - develop and administer projects from the design phase to the operational execution phases, including the assessment of their impact on society, the economy and the environment. Autonomy of judgement The student will acquire the ability to: - apply acquired knowledge to interpret economic and business phenomena in order to make managerial and operational decisions in the context of public administration; - select data and use appropriate information to describe a problem concerning the design, implementation and evaluation of public sector projects and policies, aiming at innovation and improvement of processes, products and results; - relate models and empirical evidence in the study of public policy phenomena; - reflect, also in a perspective of public ethics and sustainability with regard to future generations, on the responsibilities connected with the use of public resources. Communication skills The student will acquire the ability to communicate effectively in oral and written form the specialised content of the individual disciplines, using different registers according to recipients and communicative and didactic purposes, and to evaluate the formative effects of his/her communication. Learning skills The student will acquire the ability to: - use information technology autonomously to carry out bibliographical research and investigations and for one's own training and further education; - identify thematic links and establish relationships between different cases and contexts of analysis; - frame a new problem systematically and generate appropriate taxonomies; - develop general models from the phenomena studied.

Assessment
1. Participation. Depending on how many students will be attending, format and participation will be discussed on week one. 2. Project development: Students who attend regularly can be part of small groups working on the CERV project. Extra points (from 1 to 4) will be granted to all students of each group that successfully complete the task. 3. A mid-term is tentatively scheduled for November 19. “Ted” presentations (e.g., non-mandatory in-class presentations) will also be scheduled towards the end of the course. Only students who attend regularly (e.g., 80% of classes) can enroll to MT and Ted. 4. 70-minute Final Examination: this is an in-class written exam combining multiple choice + short essay.

Evaluation criteria
A policy document will be posted in the class’s folder on Teams, detailing the composition of the grade