Internship Seminar: Public Affairs

Catalog description

In this seminar students will explore issues and challenges faced by leaders in the varying contexts of public service be they non-profit, private for-profit, philanthropic, government or faith-based institutions. Students will be introduced to the concepts and tools of public sector management, planning and evaluation such theory of change, logic modeling, service blueprinting and performance rubrics. Over the course of the semester students will apply what they have learned to construct an organizational profile of their internship site that will serve to answer some of the following questions: How do leaders make decisions in the face of uncertainty, when action is required without adequate information? How do leaders measure performance to ensure that their programs and services are working? How do leaders involve diverse stakeholders and constituencies- with varying expectations and ideas- in co-creating, implementing and evaluating program strategy? To whom or what are public service leaders accountable? How do leaders of public sector organizations ensure the delivery of high quality, high impact services in the face of resource constraints? The requirements for this three-credit seminar include: 30 hours of internship service at a public service organization, weekly class meetings, readings and short reflection assignments