Capacity Development Office - Online course

The Public Policy Process

This course provides a critical analytic and descriptive framework to analyse the different aspects of the policy process.

Institute
UNU-MERIT
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About this course

The world of policy and politics, governance and government can be murky with seemingly transparent and tangled connections. Who gets to define the agenda, what type of policy will come to the fore and who is accountable? This course sheds light on some of these concepts using the work of respected authors in the field. It allows learners to understand how a critical analytic and descriptive framework can help understand who is involved in the policy process, how it operates and ultimately leads to a discussion about who is accountable. The answers to these questions help lay a solid foundation for further exploration of policy analysis and formation in other courses

This is a great course for everyone who wants to learn more about how policies are made and how they influence our everyday lives. I loved watching participants learn more and more with each session and increase their ability to connect the different concepts, arriving at a solid understanding of the public policy process at the end of the course. -

Hannah Oettrich

Learning Goals

By the end of the course students should be able to: 

  • Understand the distinction between policy and politics; government and governance. 
  • Understand how the national political discourse effects policymaking and decision-making. 
  • Understand the stages of the policy cycle and their interactions. 
  • Be able to think critically about the actors in the policymaking process in their own country and the influences and motivations they may have in the policy process. 
  • Be able to distinguish between outputs and outcomes, monitoring and evaluation. 
  • Understand the importance and relevance of the policy process and all stages of the policy cycle, thereby laying an important foundation for the next course on the techniques for monitoring and evaluation.

 

Prerequisites

BA in Social Sciences. The course instructions and all readings are given in English. Fluency in English, both reading and writing, is essential, in both technical and common language.

 

Cost

600 EUR

 

Estimated Workload

The estimated workload is 60 hours including:

  • 10-15 hours per week.
  • 10-15 hours per assignments/ oral exams.

 

Duration: 10 weeks

  • 1 week to access the platform and become familiar with the material
  • 4 weeks of coursework
  • 1 week to submit the final assignment and
  • 2 weeks for potential resits.

 

ECTS equivalent

Participants will earn 2 ECTS credits and receive certification via an online educational badge.

 

Application Process

You can apply for each course by using the online application form.

During the application process, you will need to upload the following documents:   

  • Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
  • A copy of your (valid) passport (PDF or JPEG)

After completing the application, you will receive a confirmation email along with the payment information. Once we receive the payment, we will register you as a participant for the course, and the Online Courses Administration Team will contact you. The administrative process typically takes an average of 5-10 working days.   

If you have any questions regarding the application documents or the application process or if there are any clarifications you need before applying, please feel free to reach out to the Capacity Development Office at the email address: onlinecourses@merit.unu.edu.