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Innovations in policy evaluation
Course teacher(s)
Giovanni Esposito (Coordinator)ECTS credits
5
Language(s) of instruction
english
Course content
The course then moves beyond the question of whether a policy works to explore how policies are implemented, how actors and behaviours shape outcomes, and how stakeholders and different forms of knowledge can be incorporated into evaluation. Students are introduced to democratic and participatory evaluation, co-produced field experiments, cognitive-behavioural approaches, citizen science, and realist evaluation, including the analysis of mechanisms in context. Strategic foresight extends this perspective to the evaluation of policies under changing future conditions and uncertainty.
Through hands-on exercises and group activities, students learn how and when to use these approaches and how the evidence they generate can inform policy design and implementation.
Objectives (and/or specific learning outcomes)
The course aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to understand, select, and apply innovative policy evaluation approaches according to different evaluation needs and contexts. By the end of the course, students will be able to assess the strengths and limitations of different approaches, select appropriate methods, analyse how implementation, stakeholders, behaviour, mechanisms, and uncertainty shape policy outcomes, and apply evaluation approaches to concrete policy problems to inform policy design and implementation.
Prerequisites and Corequisites
Required and Corequired knowledge and skills
- Proficiency in English
- Basic understanding of public policy and administration processes
- Basic understanding qualitative and quantitative research methods
Teaching methods and learning activities
Lectures and Expert Insights: Ex-cathedra lectures complemented by guest presentations from international experts.
Interactive Sessions: In-class, student-led thematic discussions based on pre-assigned articles, with participants organized into small groups.
Contribution to the teaching profile
This course strengthens participants’ understanding of policy evaluation methods that are applicable in public administration contexts or by consultancy organizations working with government entities.
Other information
Contacts
Office: S.15.127 (Building S)
E-mail: giovanni.esposito@ulb.be
Campus
Solbosch
Evaluation
Method(s) of evaluation
- written examination
- Group work
written examination
- Closed question with multiple choices (MCQ)
Group work
Individual written examination
Multiple-Choice Questions: Assesses understanding of key concepts and methodologies covered throughout the course.
Group examination
Group Work: In-class student-led thematic discussions based on pre-assigned articles, and practical application of novel policy evaluation approaches.
Language(s) of evaluation
- english