Comparative Politics|Political Economy|Public Policy|Public Policy and Administration|Social Policy

Policy implementation|public management|political economy|development|service delivery

What Government does is incredibly consequential to the lives -and welfare – of citizens around the globe.

Much of the attention in efforts to improve...

Improving Public Policy Implementation (POLS0096)

What Government does is incredibly consequential to the lives -and welfare – of citizens around the globe.
Much of the attention in efforts to improve Government is on making policy at elite levels. Good policies absolutely matter; but they’re not the only thing that does. This course is about what happens next. One could say it tackles what is often called the “implementation gap”; it does so with the perspective that that gap is most of the journey.
This course is about finding solutions, but not exclusively – that is, it’s not just about finding the right technical answer to what would make the best implementation arrangements when and why, but how to (and who can) act to help things done better. It is premised on the idea that for Government to act requires human beings – individuals acting in a Government’s name – to take actions; and thus that much of what Government does rests ultimately on the hands, and hearts, of public servants.
Drawing on theory and evidence from around the world – including a large, though not exclusive, focus on developing countries – in this module we will (1) explore public employee recruitment, management, monitoring, accountability, motivation, accountability, and performance; (2) explore attempts to improve delivery, and when and why particular reforms may be most appropriate.
The module is divided into two parts.  The first section of the course will introduce you to some key levers of implementation:  Rules, discretion, people (and thus management & incentives), and of course politics.  It will then turn to real-world cases (or possibly engagement with a real-world policy client, if practicable), which we will wrestle with together.  