The Policymaking Process (DHP-P227)

Fall 2023 · DHP P227 · Tufts University · 3 credits · Undergraduate

Provides foundational knowledge and skills for the design, formulation and implementation of public policy. The course will cover the philosophies and values underpinning public policymaking, the processes and actors involved in making policy, and the skills and structures required to do so effectively. The course will cover issues including: problem/issue identification and prioritization, evidence-based policy analysis and design, various policy tools and levers, stakeholder mapping and engagement, interagency policy development, bureaucratic culture and politics, constraints on policymakers, senior-level decision-making, communications, and ensuring effective implementation. Students will gain an understanding of the reasons why governments make public policy, the opportunities and limits of public policy, and practical experience in how policy is developed, decided and implemented. Special attention will be played to role of politics, power, and the institutional and public ecosystems in which policy is made in practice. The course primarily takes the perspective of a policymaker in the executive branch of government.

Course codes: DHP-P227

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