The course falls into two parts.
Part 1 focuses on training students to become learned consumers of policy research - to understand and assess what kind of method is more/less suitable in addressing what kind of policy question; and to think through challenges beyond methodological deficits such as technical and issue biases, positionality etc.
Part 2 focuses on training students to become competent public managers, centred around ideas of Managing Through (i.e. throughout the entire policy process); Managing Up (speaking truth to power etc.); Managing Down (leadership, features of new workforce etc.); Managing Out (external and other sectoral stakeholders, networks, collaborations etc.)
Indicative reading includes:
(For Part One)
Boswell, J. (2022). Magical Thinking in Public Policy: Why Naïve Ideals about Better Policymaking Persist in Cynical Times. Oxford University Press.
Parkhurst, J. (2017). The politics of evidence: from evidence-based policy to the good governance of evidence. Routledge.
(For Part 2)
Wu, X., Ramesh, M., Howlett, M., & Fritzen, S. A. (2017). The public policy primer: managing the policy process. Routledge.
Van der Wal, Z. (2017). The 21st century public manager. Bloomsbury Publishing.