210160 SE M7a: VertiefungsSE Staatstätigkeit, Policy- und Governanceanalysen (2017S)

1. Active participation (20%):
The “participation” grade is based on three components. Firstly, students must be present in class for at least 8 of the 10 sessions. Secondly, you must be engaged/active in class, taking part in group activities and discussions. This is essential for making the course enjoyable for you and for developing your thinking about public policy. Thirdly, in order to be able to engage with each topic you need to prepare through reading of selected materials relating to the topic or class activities. I have tried to ensure that preparation for classroom activities is not too onerous (and some don’t involve any preparation other than being ready to take part in exercises), and sometimes this just involves thinking about examples or ideas before the class.

2. Oral presentation (20%):
Throughout the course you will regularly give oral presentations as individuals or groups to the class. The presentation on the final topic, by groups, will be assessed. Each group will deliver a 10-15 minute talk on their plan for ‘reinventing government’ in the 21st century. Every member of the group must speak as part of the presentation. Groups should make use of PowerPoint slides (or equivalent) and produce a written handout for the class. An overall group mark will be awarded.

3. Written assignment (60%):
The main assessment for the course is completion of a research project (a policy brief or analysis) of around 5,000 words. The project will investigate a case study of public policy-making. This might be a policy problem or proposal (e.g. a tax proposal, a major transport infrastructure project, a change in welfare policy, environmental regulations). A ‘case’ is defined liberally as relating to a particular policy problem, policy proposal or policy measure. This might seek to explain why a policy came into being (i.e. why policy-makers introduced it) or, alternatively, seek to evaluate its consequences (or consequences of a proposed policy). You will use a mixture of secondary sources and primary materials (such as news articles, government reports/documents, the text of legislation, and reports by think tanks). Your project should, broadly, include the following components:
1. Introduction: the question/puzzle that you intend to investigate;
2. Literature: a discussion of relevant theories of public policy (e.g. agenda-setting, evaluation, street-level bureaucracy, mega-projects);
3. The policy: empirical details of what the policy entails;
4. Data and methods: a discussion of how you collected data for your study and how you will analyses it (e.g. case study method, comparative design, process-tracing);
5. Analysis: analysis and evaluation of the data/evidence you collected about the case with reference to a particular theory or theories of public policy;
6. Conclusions: relating what you found to your question/hypothesis, and to existing research.