Argomenti dell'insegnamento
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.

Modalità di insegnamento
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.

Modalità d'esame
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.

Criteri di valutazione
A policy document will be posted in the class’s folder on Teams, detailing the composition of the grade