COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST - POLI 604: PUBLIC POLICY ANALYSIS

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY

POLI 604: PUBLIC POLICY ANALYSIS

SECOND SEMESTER, 20152016

VENUE: LECTURE ROOM, POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

LECTURER: DR ABDULAI KUYINI MOHAMMED

Email: akmohammed@ug.edu.gh

Consultation: Tuesday 11 am -2 pm

Course Title	Public Policy Analysis
Course Code	POLI 604
Course Description	Public policy analysis may be viewed as an element of the larger process of policy making, beginning with the identification and definition of a problem in the public realm, the generation of policy options or choices for addressing the problem, the selection of a particular policy option through political institutions (e.g., a legislature or governor), the development of a plan for implementation, and the implementation and evaluation of that policy by the government (or others that the government directs). The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the field of public policy and to the analytic applications in that field. In this course emphasis will be place on the determination of what public policy is and the variation in policy settings and appropriate analytic approaches suited to different public policy arenas. The course will also examine the importance of the political context of public policy and the influences political and other factors have on analytic approaches to policy making and policy analysis. Several policy analysis tools will be examined together with their strengths and weaknesses.
Purpose and objectives	Upon completion of the course, students should be able to: distinguish between policy, programme, decision and policy analysis; state the importance of policy analysis; discuss the range of techniques used in policy analysis; develop understanding of the role of formal analysis and the research-based knowledge in public policy; develop a better understanding of the policy process; acquire knowledge and understanding of the diversity of theoretical and practical approaches to policy analysis ·         identify the challenges to effective public policy development and implementation in African countries ·         acquire skills to solving real public policy problems.
Week No.	Date	Lecture Course	Seminar	Venue	Assessment
1	Feb. 3, 2016	Nature and Scope of  Public policy Making		Lecture Room (Department)
2	Feb. 10,  2016	Public Policy Making Process
3	Feb. 17, 2016	Nature and Scope of Policy Analysis		Lecture Room  (Department.)
4	Feb. 24, 2016	Structuring Policy Problems		Lecture Room (Department)
5	March 2, 2016	Structuring Policy Problems		Lecture Room (Department)
6	March 9, 2016	Forecasting Expected Policy Outcomes		Lecture Room (Department)
7	March 16, 2016	Prescribing Preferred Policies		Lecture Room (Department)
8	March 23, 2016	Monitoring Observed Policy Outcomes		Lecture Room (Department
9	March 30, 2016	Evaluating Policy Performance		Lecture Room (Department)
10	April 6, 2016	Framework for Policy Analysis		Lecture Room (Department)
11	April 13, 2016	Framework for Policy Analysis		Lecture Room (Department)
12	April 20, 2016	Communicating Policy Analysis		Lecture Room (Department)
13	April-27, 2015	Communicating Policy Analysis	Revision
Assessment: Seminar (30%) and  Exam (70%)

References

Anderson, J. (2006), Public policy making 3rd ed. CBS College, New York

Bardarch, E. (2011), A practical guide for policy analysis: the eightfold path to more effective problem solving, 4^th ed. CQ Press Washington DC

Dryzek, J. S. (2008), Policy analysis as critique, In Moran, M. and Goodin, R. (eds.) The Oxford handbook of public policy. Oxford University Press

Hoppe, R. (1999), Policy analysis, science and politics: from speaking truth to power to making sense together’, Science and Public Policy 26 (3): 201-210

Howlett, M. (2008), ‘Government communication as a policy tool: a framework for analysis’, Canadian Political Science Review 3 (2): 23-37

Ostrom, E. (2002), Policy analysis in the future of good societies’ The Good Society 11 (1): 42-48

Klein, R. and Marnor, T. (2008), Reflections on policy analysis: putting it together again, in Moran, M. Goodin, R. (eds.) The Oxford handbook of public policy. Oxford University Press

Vesely, A. (2007), ‘Problem delimitation in public policy analysis’, Central European Journal of Public Policy 1(1): 81-101

Weiner, D. and Vinning, A. R. (2011), Policy analysis, 5^th ed. Longman