Department of Social & Policy Sciences, Unit Catalogue 2009/10 |
SP20209: Development policy and practice (formerly EC20154) |
 Credits:
| 6 |
| Level:
| Intermediate |
| Period: | Semester 2 |
| Assessment:
| CW 100% |
| Supplementary Assessment: | Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations) |
| Requisites:
| |
| Description: | Aims: To provide an interdisciplinary appreciation of the process of development policy and its application in practice. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the unit students should * Be aware of current trends in development policy and practice * Understand how the practice of development affects and is affected by forces and actors operating at local, national and international levels * Be able to demonstrate how the understanding of policy and practice is strengthened by an interdisciplinary analysis. Skills: * Critical thinking synthesising interdisciplinary knowledge; * Capacity to identify key policy approaches and analyse them in relation to development practice and process; * Ability to select, analyse and present relevant data; * Manage time effectively to optimise knowledge and understanding of a syllabus; * Write clearly and concisely and presenting an argument logically and succinctly; * Independence of thought. Content: The unit looks specifically at the dynamics of development policy and practice through an interdisciplinary perspective. Illustrative content: Introduction: Projects, Planning and Intervention; Levels of policy intervention (international to local) and their interconnections; Development Policy and Inter-organisational relationships; the role of rationality and incrementalism in policy; Policy analysis (tools and techniques); Policy analysis (process); use of social science disciplines to understand key policy issues (case study). Key Texts: Grindle, M.S. & Thomas J.W. (1991) Public Choices and Policy Change; The Political Economy of Reform in Developing Countries. John Hopskins University Press Robinson, D. Hewitt, T & Harriss, J (eds) (1999). Managing Development: Inter-organisational relationships. London:Sage Eade, D (ed) (2000) Development and Management. Oxford: Oxfam GB Groves, L & R. Hinton (eds) Inclusive Aid. Changing Power and Relationships in International Development. London: Earthscan. |