What's the Solution? How to Become an Agent for Change in Public Policy

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• 5. Evaluate the application of theories and approaches and use them to analyse policy responses to social phenomena 
• 1.Identify and explore complex social problems (including crime,) and assess various policy solutions in Public and Criminal Justice policy;
• 4 Outline and compare key theories and concepts relating to the public and criminal justice policy process,
• 6 Examine the approaches used to critique public policies and apply these in specific cases
• 3.Explain what public policies are and how they are made and developed by actors, institutions and ideas
• Critically analyse current policy on at least one social issue as the basis for developing a feasible reform
• 9 Engage with a range of theoretical and empirical material to produce coherent and persuasive policy reports
• 11 Present work to an audience in a clear and persuasive fashion.
• 8 Understand how public policy-making institutions work and the role of policy entrepreneurs in instigating change

Part One: Policy - Concepts and Theory

What is public policy? Examples of policy domains including criminal justice, what bodies are in charge/formulate policies, who delivers it? Who determines that it is being done right? What is the Policy Process?

• The determinants of policy: actors, institutions, ideas, public interest, social movements, crisis, climate and opportunities
• Theories of policy-making 1: the rational model and its critics
• Theories of policy-making 2: Path dependence and policy paradigms
• Theories of policy-making 3: How does policy change?
• Evaluating policies

Part Two: Understanding policy-making

Two case studies, one on a criminological policy issue, one on a sociological policy issue. Student are recommended to attend both regardless of their programme.

• What is the issue? How has it been perceived as a problem? What has been the policy response?
• The determinants of current policy – which actors and ideas are associated with the policy; how is it institutionally embedded?
• What evaluations of policy exist? What do they conclude? How should they be interpreted?
• Is reform possible? What ideas exist for change? How well placed in the policy process are supporters of reform?

Indicative cases

• Public policy -Activation policy, Pension policy, international aid, sustainability policy, Service innovation in health
• Criminal justice policy – Alcohol pricing, county lines and drug policy, controlling international cybercrime, Data driven technologies in criminal justice

Interactive lectures preceded with recorded material.

Tutor-guided seminars –part 1 on conceptual and theoretical material; part 2 on practical skills eg policy evaluation and writing a policy brief.

Student-led sessions in part two for groups working on assignment 2 and 3

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.