EU495      One Unit
Applied Policy Project

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Availability

Students will work on an applied policy project related to a public policy problem in lieu of a dissertation. This policy problem can be situated at the international, European, national, or sub-national level. Thematically, it can be related to a  wide range of policy fields (e.g., international trade, social policy, environmental policy, or justice and home affairs and migration). The workshops will provide overviews of different styles and types of policy analysis writings. Students will have regular meetings with their supervisors. Students must submit formative work as part of the Applied Policy Project process. Students’ summative work, on which the final grades of the project will be determined, consists of two applied policy papers: see below for details.

1.5 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.
3 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn and Winter Term.

This course is delivered through workshops totalling a minimum of 4.5 hours across both the Autumn and Winter Terms. This course includes a reading week in Week 6 of the Autumn and Winter Terms.

Presentation

Policy brief

Students will be expected to produce 1 condensed summary of the policy brief and 1 presentation in the WT.

Useful preliminary reading:

Charles E. Lindblom and David K. Cohen, Social Science and Social Problem Solving (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979;

Martha S. Feldman, Order Without Design: Information Production and Policy-making (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1989);

Ray Pawson, Evidence-based Policy: A Realist Perspective (London: Sage, 2006);

Weible, Christopher M., and Paul A. Sabatier. Theories of the Policy Process. (4th ed. New York: Routledge, 2018.)

Howard White, Theory-based Impact Evaluation: Principles and Practice (3ie, 2011);

Policy paper / report (70%, 7000 words)

Policy brief (30%, 3000 words)

The assessment consists of two parts:1. A 3,000 word policy brief; policy advocacy for the solution to a specific policy problem in/for the real world (not a theoretical or empirical question suitable for a conventional academic dissertation)2. A 7,000 word policy study; exploring policy options and engaging in policy analysis