If policymaking is essentially a political activity, which it is, what is the role of the policy analyst? Where does public participation fit in to the policy-making process? How can we find inclusive solutions to complex problems? This course examines these types of questions, and in doing so it draws on a range of theoretical approaches to the study of public policy. We aim to provide you with an understanding of the key ideas and perspectives that inform public policy analysis, and develop skills for higher-level research in public policy. A key focus is on developing a critical awareness of what drives policy innovation and change. Becoming familiar with this literature will help us to answer questions such as: What leads to innovation in policy-making? How can we promote policy change? What is effective policy analysis? Students who have majored in other subjects, such as economics, science, sociology, geography, environmental planning, education, health studies, international relations, and political science will have the opportunity acquire knowledge and skills to understand and analyse important policy related questions.

Seminar and Leading Class Discussions
You will be required to give presentations and lead class discussions during the course. The schedule for this will be arranged in the second lecture. Leading class discussions will involve:
• Providing a one page summary and commentary of the assigned topic (to be handed in on the day of your presentation),
• Clarifying the key issues or ideas raised,
• Preparing examples to illustrate key points,
• Commenting on continuities and differences across the readings,
• Offering a critical analysis,
• Developing questions to guide discussion, and
• Leading the discussion in a way that provides opportunities for others to participate.
You may use the whiteboard, handouts, powerpoint, video clips or other media in carrying out this task.

Short Essay on Policy Process
Write a 1,000 to 1,500 word essay that identifies and evaluates the policy process theories used in two academic articles (a list of articles will be made available on Moodle). In your essay you should outline how the theoretical approaches guide the analysis of policy change (what do the theories draw our attention to) and comment on the usefulness of these approaches.

Public Policy and Evidence-Based Policy-making Paper
Write a 1,000 to 1,500 word essay in response to the question: how do theories of public policy help us come to a deeper understanding of questions around ‘evidence-based policy-making’? Your essay should draw on theories of the policy process covered in the first part of the course. You should read as widely as you can on the topic and a list of possible sources will be made available on Moodle.

Peer Review
You will be required to review the draft of the final paper (the Politics, Policy-making and Policy Change Essay) of a fellow student and provide a short constructive critique. You must, therefore, have a draft of your own final paper ready to he handed in by Tuesday the 26th of May. These will be distributed and you will have five days to complete the peer review. You will need to provide two copies of your peer review—one for the course convenor, the other for the author. Your comments will address matters of clarity, depth, coherency and theoretical insight. A guide will be provided.

Politics, Policy-making and Policy Change Essay
Write a 3,000 word essay in which you identify a public policy, describe how that policy has changed over a particular time period, and then offer an explanation of that change.
While this looks like a simple exercise, it requires you to think about just what is policy, make an informed assessment of the nature of change in that policy area, and then draw on one or more of the policy theories or concepts we have covered to explain that change. Your essay should also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the policy theories or concepts you use.

The paper is supported through Moodle.

In addition to attending classes, you are expected to complete the reading programme and the course assessment tasks. The expected workload for this paper is an average of 20 hours per week.