SHORT COURSE DESCRIPTION 2020-21
The course outlines the theoretical and methodological issues involved in designing, executing and evaluating public policies.
Part one consolidates an analytical understanding of policy-making processes in our complex democracies, characterized by conflicting objectives and great uncertainty. Its aim is to review leading theories of policy results and policy process at an advanced level.
Part two examines the different and sometimes conflicting functions policy evaluation can assume when it is performed in institutional arenas, under the effects of strong political constraints.
Part three connects theory to practice in evaluation. The purposes are
- to identify a wide variety of research methods and to discuss their strengths and weaknesses
- to enable students to design, conduct and present evaluation research
- to develop practical skills drawing on detailed empirical examples
This is an advanced course on policymaking and evaluation. Students are presumed to have some prior background in public policy and in public administration.
Required Texts
Part One (3 cfu)
Frank Fischer, Gerald J. Miller, and Mara S. Sidney (eds.) (2007), Handbook of Public Policy Analysis: Theory, Politics, and Methods, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL (Part 1-4 and 7-9) (file pdf free to download online)
Part Two (3 cfu)
Perl, A., Howlett, M., & Ramesh, M. (2018), Policy-making and truthiness: Can existing models cope with politicized evidence and willful ignorance in a post-fact world? in “Policy Sciences”, 51(4): 581-600 (free to download from the university library)
Part Three (3 cfu)
Stern, Elliot, Nicoletta Stame, John Mayne, Kim Forss, Rick Davies, and Barbara Befani (2012), Broadening the Range of Designs and Methods for Impact Evaluations, DFID Working Paper 38, London: Department for International Development https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/67427/design-method-impact-eval.pdf
Witting, A (2017), Insights from 'Policy Learning' on How to Enhance the Use of Evidence by Policymakers, Palgrave Communications 3 (1): 49 , https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-017-0052-x
