Course 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
ILO (Intended Learning Outcomes) ILO1 Knowledge and understanding ILO1.1 The student acquires 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 care, public enterprises) and the consequences for the community. You 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 enterprises. ILO1.2 The student acquires 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. ILO2 Ability to apply knowledge and understanding ILO2.1 ability to apply economic models to describe the behaviour of economic agents and develop sustainable economic policies in various application domains of interest to companies and public bodies ILO2.2 Ability to interpret and apply the main regulations on the organization and functioning of public bodies. ILO2.3 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) ILO2.4 ability to develop and administer projects from the design phase through to the operational implementation phases, including the evaluation of their impact on society, the economy and the environment ILO3 Making judgements ILO3.1 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 ILO3.2 ability to 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 ILO3.3 ability to relate models and empirical evidence in the study of public policy phenomena ILO3.4 ability to reflect, also in a perspective of public ethics and sustainability with regard to future generations, on the responsibilities connected to the use of public resources ILO4 Communication skills ILO4.1 ability to communicate effectively in oral and written form the specialised content of individual disciplines, using different registers according to recipients and communicative and didactic purposes, and to evaluate the formative effects of his/her communication ILO5 Learning ability ILO5.1 ability to use information technology autonomously to carry out bibliographic research and investigations and for one's own training and further education

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 [ILO1; ILO2; ILO3; ILO4; ILO5] 3. A mid-term is tentatively scheduled for mid- to late November. “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 [ILO1; ILO2; ILO3; ILO5]. 4. 70-minute Final Examination: this is an in-class written exam combining multiple choice + short essay [ILO1; ILO2; ILO3; ILO5].

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