Public Policy Analysis
[SPRI2000]
[30h] 5 credits
This course is taught in the 2d semester.
Teacher(s): David Aubin
Language: French
Level: Second
Aims
- decompose any public policy for analytic and strategic ends ;
- identify the actors involved and the main issues of a public policy ;
- master the different steps of a research (incl. Comparative) in the field of public policies.
Main themes
It details the mechanisms of design and decision-taking for each step of the public policy cycle :
- the definition of the public problem to be solved ;
- the agenda setting ;
- the design of the politico-administrative program and the decision-taking process ;
- the implementation ;
- the evaluation.
The presentation of a frame of analysis will rely on the presentation of a current event, localised in Belgium and in other industrialised countries.
Content and teaching methods
The analysis of public policies consists in interpreting politics and the State in the light of " products " of poli-tico-administrative organisations, rather than in function of strategic issues of power, but still taking into ac-count the institutional structures and processes. The analyst is involved in an interpretative process of reconstruction of the States' actions.
This course proposes and develops a series of tools of analysis of public policies. It provides a practical method of analysis which synthesizes the empirical and theoretical lessons of the disciplinary field.
The method selected allows the analysis of the substantial and institutional analysis of different public policy "products". It will be directly put in practice by the students in their paper.
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)
Written material (texts and a book: Peter Knoepfel, Corinne Larrue et Frédéric Varone (éd.) (2006). Analyse et pilotage des politiques publiques. 2e éd. Zurich : Rüegger, 384 pp.)