Co-Design and Deliberative Engagement G (11796.2)

Public authorities have increasingly turned to innovative forms of multistakeholder engagement to enhance the policymaking process. Participatory budgeting, deliberative townhalls, citizens' juries, civic tech, and crowdsourcing are some of many ways by which policies can be co-designed.

The growing popularity of co-design and deliberative engagement provokes critical questions for the policy community: What are the most effective ways of involving stakeholders in the policymaking? How can co-design and deliberative engagement processes be designed, implemented and evaluated? What can we learn from the global best practices as well as 'failed cases'?

This unit invites students of public policy to take a deep dive into the power and limits of participatory forms of policymaking. Each week, we will examine a policy area where various forms of multi-stakeholder engagements are applied, characterise debates in designing and implementing co-design and deliberative engagement, and introduce their principles and core design features. Using global case studies and micro-podcasts from world-leading experts on open government and participatory innovations, this unit aims to provoke critical reflection on what it means to meaningfully collaborate with different stakeholders in contemporary times.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Develop mastery of co-design and deliberative engagement processes, including the identification of policy areas and stages in the policy cycle;
2. Examine cases of citizen participation globally to develop options for co-design and deliberative engagement relevant to various policy areas;
3. Analyse the rigours and constraints of the design and implementation of co-design and deliberative engagement processes; and
4. Evaluate the design and implementation of co-design and deliberative engagement processes that motivates iterative learning and informs decision-making. Assess the effectiveness and shortcomings of participatory and deliberative innovations.

Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession

Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.