Influencing Public Policy

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Convenor and tutor: Dr Rachael Dobson
• Assessment: a 4000-word essay (100%)

In this module we explore how policy is made and how it may be influenced. You will learn that policy is central to contemporary society. It is used to manage, contain and control social ‘groups’ and problems, as well as to create progressive and emancipatory change. It shapes the distribution of material resources, and generates social orders and inequalities.

You will learn about policy-making through the study of policy development and implementation, and be introduced to historical, contemporary and critical approaches to investigate how policy is created through a range of systems and processes. We will demonstrate how policy is considered, evidenced and lived by a range of human actors and institutions across political, cultural and social life and in everyday practices. The aim is to enable you to understand how to influence policy and effect positive change by applying theory and concepts to real-world events, using examples from contemporary policy documents.

By the end of this module you will be expected to understand:

• policy phenomena and concepts associated with policy-making
• the range of actors, institutions, systems and structures associated with policy-making
• the possibilities and problems associated with influencing policy.