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Policy Design: From Theory to Practice (POLS30035)
Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5Not available in 2025
About this subject
Overview
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This subject is designed to develop students’ knowledge of the theory and practice of making public policy. It provides a survey of the principal theories of the policy process, some of which emphasise a formal rational process and others of which emphasise the role of institutional process and discourse, and the recent turn to design thinking. The subject examines different governance systems and institutional changes,and contemporary issues in policy design. It includes policy design theory and the use of data in the policy process, and the link between theory and practice.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject students should be able to:
- Demonstrate a sophisticated and critical and comparative understanding of key theories about the policy design process
- Demonstrate conceptual sophistication in the analysis of the practical politics of the policy process
- Develop knowledge of how to find and how to analyse relevant data
- Demonstrate advanced critical skills in the presentation of policy options, evidence and communication
- Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate different sources of evidence in the development of arguments
- Work productively and collaboratively in groups with other students.
Generic skills
Students who successfully complete this subject should be able to:
- Apply theory to analyse current events
- Write analytic documents for policy consumers in limited time frames
- Evaluate claims by competing theories and analytic frameworks for greatest explanatory power.
Last updated: 8 November 2024