Elements of Policy Analysis

Catalog description

This one-credit skills course supports students undertaking public policy analysis projects in the Law & Policy Lab and in other policy-based courses. The course introduces basic policy methods and approaches common to Policy Lab practicums and policy analysis in general. Students from across the university are invited to join. The core session takes place in two parts on a Saturday at the end of the first week of classes. The morning session (led by Professor Rob MacCoun) focuses on thinking like a policy analyst, as distinguished from an advocate or lawyer; scoping policy problems; promoting and assessing evidence quality; and making valid (and avoiding invalid) inferences. The afternoon segment (led by Professor Paul Brest) focuses on designing and evaluating programs to improve individuals' lives (for example, programs aimed at reducing homelessness or opioid addiction). Then, during the early part of the term, students may choose at least three topics from among a series of short workshops including quantitative and qualitative policy research tools and strategies, design thinking, AI research tools, and policy writing. Non-law students are invited to join the course and should plan to attend a special workshop that introduces basic legal research tools. With guidance from their faculty instructors, students may then draw on the skills developed in this introductory seminar to analyze a public policy problem, develop potential strategies to address it, weigh the pros and cons of strategy options, and produce a final product that may offer options or recommendations to a policy client, suggestions for implementing such recommendations, and techniques to assess the effectiveness of implementation. Note that the students who enroll in a Law and Policy Lab practicum for the first time are asked to participate in the full-day methods bootcamp whether or not they…