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Students
Tuition Fee
GBP 950
Per course
Start Date
Medium of studying
Fully Online
Duration
Program Facts
Program Details
Degree
Courses
Major
International Relations | Political Sciences and Civics | Public Policy Studies
Area of study
Social Sciences
Education type
Fully Online
Course Language
English
Tuition Fee
Average International Tuition Fee
GBP 950
About Program

Program Overview


This executive education program in Embracing Uncertainty: Policymaking in Turbulent Times equips mid-career professionals with the skills to navigate complex public issues in uncertain environments. Through a "learning by doing" approach, participants gain insights into complexity theory, policy design, and stakeholder engagement, enabling them to make informed decisions, adapt to changing situations, and design effective public policy interventions.

Program Outline


Course Extraction: Embracing Uncertainty: Policymaking in Turbulent Times


Degree Overview:

  • Program: Embracing Uncertainty: Policymaking in Turbulent Times
  • Subject area: Public Policy, Politics & Security
  • Course type: Executive Education
  • Credit level: 7
  • Credit value: 5
  • Duration: 4 weeks
  • Overview: Prepares participants to address complex public issues in an uncertain environment by teaching complexity theory, policy design, and stakeholder engagement.
  • Objectives:
  • Make better-informed decisions in the face of uncertainty.
  • Provide a way forward even with incomplete evidence.
  • Adapt thinking and acting in changing and emerging situations.
  • Work across silos in government to design public policy.
  • Strike a balance between welcoming alternative and divergent stakeholder views and challenging these.
  • Design a public policy intervention addressing a complex issue or problem.
  • Methodology: "Learning by doing" approach through practical exercises, conceptual insights, and reflection on experiences.

Outline:

  • Week 1: Wicked issues and unintended consequences
  • Nature of "wicked" issues
  • Role of policy implementation and unintended consequences
  • Policy framing
  • Case studies: Global pandemic, Climate Change
  • Exercises on chosen policy issue
  • Week 2: Complexity theory for policymaking
  • Basics of complexity theory
  • Key characteristics of complex systems
  • Policy resistance
  • Role of policymakers within complex systems
  • Week 3: Skills, tools and attitudes in approaching complexity
  • "Complexity toolkit" for policymakers
  • Collaborative governance, cross-sector work, stakeholder inclusion
  • Utilizing local and divergent knowledge for policy design
  • Designing and engaging in collaborative practice
  • Addressing complexity within governments

Assessment:

  • One written assignment
  • Participation in webinars and discussion forums

Teaching:

  • Fully online program with three 1-hour weekly webinars
  • Interactive activities: discussion forums, online readings, interactive lectures videos, online tutorials

Careers:

  • Designed for mid-career professionals seeking to:
  • Effectively address complex public issues
  • Enhance decision-making skills under uncertainty
  • Improve collaboration and stakeholder engagement

Other:

  • Requires a 2:1 degree and 3 years of relevant work experience (or 5+ years without a 2:1)
  • Taught by Dr. Olga Siemers, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy
  • Fee: £950 (discounts available)
  • To be confirmed: available course dates
  • Contact: isfg-programmes-team@kcl.ac.uk
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