Policy Analysis for the Real World
| Module title | Policy Analysis for the Real World |
|---|---|
| Module code | POL3178 |
| Academic year | 2020/1 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Professor Claire Dunlop (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 30 |
|---|
Module description
This module gives you a taste of what it is like to be a policymaker. The first part of the module draws on policy documents to explore the policy context facing contemporary policymakers and the key trends in policymaking in an era of internationalization and austerity. Drawing on cultural theory, part two explores the purpose of policy and the tools available to policymakers. What is policy for? Should it be efficient? Should it make us happy? Should it provide minimum standards? Should it provide choice? These questions are addressed using various conceptual lenses that have common currency amongst policy elites in western democracies as well as in public administration scholarship. Part three of the module explores how to communicate effectively with decision-makers and the analytical techniques that are deployed to weigh policy options and make recommendations. The final part of the module explores some of the main issues and implications of policymakers’ choices. How do policies construct and imagine citizens and why do these intended targets of policy often not respond as expected? What makes a policy fail? Can policymakers learn to do better? While this module is located in the public policy sub-field of political science, its successful completion does not assume that students have completed any policy modules.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The module aims to equip you with the analytical and presentation skills required to operate effectively in the real world of policy, and speak truth to power. Notably, at the end of the module, you are required to produce a policy options paper which identifies a real world policy problem, assessing the pros and cons of different policy responses and makes a final recommendation as to the course of action. Such options papers are presented to decision-makers in government everyday by pressure groups, international organizations, civil servants and experts.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. understand the nature and evolution of core concepts regarding the politics of the public sector
- 2. analyze policy problems and critically assess policy design
- 3. research a policy problem and propose and analyze different policy options to address it
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. critically assess the utility of different public policy-oriented theories and methods deployed in policy analysis
- 5. assimilate and analyse a wide range of policy-relevant disparate data
- 6. place descriptive material within a conceptual and theoretical context germane to public policy and administration and to move from these abstract theories to the concrete world of decision-making
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. communicate ideas succinctly in speech and writing
- 8. work independently and in groups to achieve the module aims
- 9. demonstrate advanced presentation and learning skills through the use of IT and other computer-based learning resources with minimum guidance
Syllabus plan
This plan is indicative of the topics to be covered by the module. More details will be given and the plan finalized in the module outline. Please also note that the schedule may alter from year-to-year to accommodate visiting policy speakers.
PART ONE: THE REAL WORLD OF POLICY ANALYSIS
- Module Introduction
- The State We’re In: What Can Policymakers Do?
- Looking into the Crystal Ball: Forecasting and Forward-Looking Policy
- Global Public Policy and Outward-Looking Policy
- Is Policy is Too Important to Be Left to Politicians! Evidence-Based Policy-Making and Consultation
- Does the Left Hand Know What the Right is Doing? Organization Coherence and Joined-Up Policy
PART TWO: POLICY DESIGN FOR THE REAL WORLD – WHAT’S IN THE POLICYMAKERS’ TOOLKIT?
- Policy Tools and Cultural Theory
- Policy Effectiveness through Hierarchy I: Regulations, Rules and Taxes
- Policy Effectiveness through Hierarchy II: Nudging, Persuading and Exhorting
- Policy Efficiency through Individualism I: Policy as Business
- Policy Efficiency through Individualism II: Policy by Incentives and Targets
- Delivering Policy with Egalitarian Tools I: Public Value Through Partnerships
- Delivering Policy with Egalitarian Tools II: Citizens as Co-Producers of Policy and the Big Society
- Fatalism in Policy Design I: Embracing Randomness, Chaos and the Garbage Can
- Fatalism in Policy Design II: Should We Do Nothing or Let Things Fail?
- Mixing Policy Tools: Policy Options as Hybrids
PART THREE: COMMUNICATING AND ANALYSING POLICY OPTIONS
- Presenting Policy Problems and Options: Communicating with Policymakers
- Weighing Policy Options: Impact Assessment, Cost Benefit Anaylsis, Risk Tradeoff Analysis and Qualitative Reasoning
PART FOUR: ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS OF POLICY CHOICES
- Citizens as Constructed Targets
- What Makes A Policy Fail? What Makes A Policy Succeed?
- Can Policymakers Learn to Do Better?
- Module Review and Feedback
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | 256 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 44 | 22 x two-hour seminars. These will be a mix of formal lectures led by the co-ordinator, student presentation and student discussion. The emphasis is on weekly seminar presentations; active seminar participation; seminar discussion on the development of ideas with regard to assessed work. |
| Guided independent study | 88 | Reading and preparation for seminars. |
| Guided independent study | 56 | Research and writing essay. |
| Guided independent study | 56 | Research and writing of policy options paper. |
| Guided independent study | 56 | Research and writing of two group presentations. |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay outline | 500 words | 1-8 | Verbal one-to-one |
| Policy options outline | 500 words | 1-8 | Verbal one-to-one |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 90 | 0 | 10 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 40 | 3,500 words | 1-8 | Written feedback |
| Policy options paper | 50 | 2,000 words | 1-8 | Written feedback |
| Seminar contribution | 10 | Assessed by the coordinator in-class, across the module | 1-6, 8 | Written feedback |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 3,500 word essay | 1-8 | August/September assessment period |
| Policy options paper | 2,000 word policy options paper | 1-8 | August/September assessment period |
| Seminar attendance and preparation | Written vignettes of 100 words each on 5 of the seminar topics | 1-7 | August/September assessment period |
Re-assessment notes
Three assessments are required for this module.
Where you have been referred/ deferred for the essay component, you will complete a 3,500 word essay for submission by the end of the August/September assessment period. This will constitute 40% of the module.
Where you have been referred/ deferred for the policy options component, you will complete a 2,000 word options paper for submission by the end of the August/September assessment period. This will constitute 50% of the module.
Where you have been referred/deferred for the seminar attendance and preparation component, you will complete written vignettes of 100 words each on 5 of the seminar topics. This will constitute 10% of the module.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Alemanno, A. and Sibony, A-L. (2015) Nudge and the Law Hart Publishing.
Bardach, E. (2008) A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving, 3rd edn CQ Press. Barzelay, M. (2019) Public Management as a Design-Oriented Professional Discipline Edward Elgar.
Benington, J. and Moore, M. (2010) Public Value: Theory and Practice, Palgrave.
Blond, P. (2010) Red Tory: How Left and Right have Broken Britain and How we can Fix It, Faber and Faber. Boaz, A., Davies, H., Fraser, A. and Nutley, S. (2019) What Works Now? Polity Press.
Capano, G., Howlett, M., Ramesh, M. and Virani, A. (eds) (2019) Making Policies Work Edward Elgar.
Camacho, A. and Glicksman, R. (2019) Reorganizing Government New York University Press.
Dunsire, A. and Hood, C. (2010) Cutback Management in Public Bureaucracies: Popular Theories and Observed Outcomes in Whitehall, Cambridge University Press.
Graham, J.D., Wiener, J.B. (1995). Risk vs. Risk. Tradeoffs in Protecting Health and the Environment. Cambridge MA., Harvard University Press.
Hogwood, B.W. and Gunn, L. (1984) Policy Analysis for the Real World, Oxford University Press.
Hood, C. (1998) The Art of the State, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Howlett, M. (2011) Designing Public Policies Routledge. Howlett, M., Wu, X. and Ramesh, M. (eds) (2017) Policy Capacity and Governance: Assessing Governmental Competences and Capabilities in Theory and Practice Basingstoke: Palgrave.
John, P. (2011) Making Policy Work, Routledge
Le Grand, J. (2007) The Other Invisible Hand: Delivering Public Services through Choice and Competition, Princeton University Press.
Moore, M. (1997) Creating Public Value: Strategic Management in Government, Cambridge MA., Harvard University Press.
Newman, J.E. and Clarke, J. (2009) Publics, Politics and Power: Remaking the Public in Public Services, Sage.
Osborne, S.P. (ed) (2009) The New Public Governance, Routledge
Pal, L. and Weaver, K. (2003) The Government Taketh Away: The Politics of Pain in the United States and Canada, Georgetown University Press. Radin, B. (2019) Policy Analysis in the Twenty-First Century London: Routledge.
Quirk, B. (2011) Reimagining Government, Palgrave.
Seddon, J. (2008) Systems Thinking in the Public Sector: The Failure of the Reform Regime.... and a Manifesto for a Better Way, Triarchy Press.
Smith, C.F. (2009) Writing Public Policy: A Practical Guide to Communicating in the Policy-Making Process, Oxford University Press.
Weimer, D. and Vining, A.R. (2004) Policy Analysis: Concepts and Practice, Longman
Wildavsky, A. (1980, 2018) The Art and Craft of Policy Analysis Palgrave
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
A minimum of three reports, articles or books chapters per topic will be available on the module website. These will be supplemented with empirical materials from newspapers, government documents etc.
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
Wide use will be made of online videos, podcasts and documentaries which will be uploaded to module website.
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 01/02/2012 |
| Last revision date | 09/12/2019 |