The Civil Service and LSE Executive Master of Public Policy (EMPP) is a sponsored programme for the UK Civil Service. The programme outlined below is in development for the first cohort to start in December 2015.
The programme will include significant practitioner participation from the UK Senior Civil Service, among others, to provide insight into policy challenges. The substantial co-design and co-delivery elements of the EMPP, currently underway, will ensure the programme addresses policy topics of most relevance and concern to the UK Civil Service and the customers of its advice.
The EMPP will share some courses with the Executive MPA (EMPA) to provide common training in core skills that are applicable to EMPA students as well as the Civil Service. Shared courses will also allow for networking and exchange of ideas regarding public policy practice between a group of experienced, senior and internationally diverse students. The kind of interaction and exchange that the shared content fosters aims to promote the open policy making discussed in the Civil Service Reform Plan.
Core Modules
Option Modules
Runs from Fri 11 December 2015 - Sunday 13 December 2015
Each policy workshop applies the analytical tools that are taught in the week-long modules of the EMPP to specific policy areas of particular reference to the UK Civil Service. Teaching is based on a series of case studies.
The case studies are taught by specialists in a particular policy area and are complemented with group working sessions and presentations by Senior Civil Service policy practitioners involved in the policy area.
Back to Top
Runs from Mon 14 December 2015 - Tuesday 15 December 2015
For some of you who have been out of education for a while, or who do not use maths and statistics in their day-to-day jobs, this course ensures that you are ready to undertake the EMPP programme at LSE by quickly and effectively bringing you up to the necessary level required to understand the concepts discussed in the courses.
Back to Top
Runs from Mon 4 January 2016 - Fri 8 January 2016
This course introduces a range of theoretical and empirical tools to analyse the politics of public policy making. The main focus is on political institutions in modern democracies and how they relate to public policy.
Topics include elections, representation, delegation, accountability, interest groups, legislatures, executives and decentralisation.
Back to Top
Runs from Mon 4 April 2016 - Fri 8 April 2016
The course introduces students to the quantitative evaluation of public policies. The focus of the course will be on practical applications of empirical methods to public policy.
The course begins with an overview of the key benefits of randomised experiments and then covers a number of other widely used approaches to determine the effectiveness of public policy interventions.
Back to Top
Runs from Fri 27 May 2016 - Sun 29 May 2016
Each policy workshop applies the analytical tools that are taught in the week-long modules of the EMPP to specific policy areas of particular relevance to the UK Civil Service. Teaching is based on a series of case studies.
The case studies are taught by specialists in a particular policy area and are complemented with group working sessions and presentations by Senior Civil Service policy practitioners involved in the policy area.
Back to Top
Runs from Mon 5 September 2016 - Fri 9 September 2016
The course is an introductory graduate course providing an economics background suitable for high-level public policy making. The emphasis is on acquiring sound models and methods suitable for appraising policy-making issues and applicable in a wide variety of context.
The course will cover both key microeconomic policy issues and macroeconomic issues.
Back to Top
Runs from Fri 26 May 2017 - Sun 28th May 2017
Each policy workshop applies the analytical tools that are taught in the week-long modules of the EMPP to specific policy areas of particular relevance to the UK Civil Service. Teaching is based on a series of case studies.
The case studies are taught by specialists in a particular policy area and are complemented with group working sessions and presentations by Senior Civil Service policy practitioners involved in the policy area.
Back to Top
Runs from Jan - May in Year 2
Capstones are group projects undertaken by a small group of students (usually 3-5 people) for a department within the Civil Service on a public policy challenge. Each project is supervised by a member of EMPP staff, who provides advice and monitors progress. Capstone projects require students to draw on learning from disciplines taught across the programme.
Project groups are required to produce a 10,000 word report outlining possible solutions to their policy challenge and to present their findings to the project sponsors. Capstone projects require the exercise of intellectual skills such as analysis, synthesis, evaluation and problem solving as well as practical skills such as team working and communication.
Back to Top
Runs from Mon 12 December 2016 - Fri 16 December 2016
This course focuses on the economic interdependence between countries in a global economy.
The first part of the course examines the structure and geography of world trade and examines popular hypothesis such as the "global village" or "flat earth". The second part of the course analyses macroeconomic issues such as the magnitude and effects of international capital flows, the debate over fixed versus flexible exchange rates and the economics of a common currency.
Back to Top
Runs from Wed 4 January 2017 - Sun 8 January 2017
This course provides the analytical tools to evaluate public policy interventions with respect to both efficiency and equity.
The first part of the course provides students with the analytical tools to assess the efficiency of public policy interventions through examples based on a range of topics including health, education, crime, social services and social care. The second part focuses on issues of inequality and poverty.
Back to Top
Runs from Mon 27 March - Fri 31 March 2017
The course examines contemporary issues in fiscal governance with a focus on the institutional structures that shape budgetary choices.
Following an introduction to theoretical approaches to the study of budgeting, topics include medium-term frameworks, top-down budgeting, fiscal rules and fiscal councils, performance budgeting, legislative budgeting, fiscal decentralisation, budget transparency, audit and accountability.
Back to Top
Runs from Mon 24 April 2017 - Fri 28 April 2017
The main focus of this course is on acquiring the necessary theoretical and empirical skills to engage in the rigorous analysis of public policies in developing countries.
Topics at the forefront of development economics will be covered. These include political economy, trade liberalisation, growth, access to finance, technology adoption, education, health, infrastructure, property rights, land reform, gender, environment, mass media and political accountability.
Back to Top