Modules for Online MA programmes in Public Management

  • MA PPM: MA Public Policy and Management
  • MPA: Masters of Public Administration
  • MPA-ID: Masters of Public Administration - International Development

Comparative Social Policy

Option module for all three online programmes.

  • What can be learned from a ‘comparative’ approach to studying social policy and welfare provision in particular?
  • What are the issues involved in comparing welfare states?

Enterprise and Innovation

Option module for MPA.

  • Innovation within government and the public sector: barriers and enablers including people, structures, resources and ways of working
  • The concept of social enterprise and its links with the third sector
  • Initiating and managing a social enterprise: behaviours, skills and tools

Globalisation and Social Policy

Option module for MA PPM, MPA.

  • What is ‘globalisation’ and how is it affecting poverty alleviation, pensions, health and labour rights?
  • What is the impact of globalisation in Asia, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe

Labour Markets, Work and Welfare

Option module for MA PPM.

  • What affects the demand for and supply of labour?
  • What leads to labour market disadvantage and discrimination and what policy responses are available?
  • What can we learn from cross-cultural labour market perspectives?

Leading and Managing Organisational Change

Compulsory module (certificate stage) for MPA, MPA-ID. Option module for MA PPM.

  • How and why does change occur in society, organisations and individuals?
  • How should change be managed in complex public sector organisations?
  • What skills and behaviours do organisational ‘change agents’ need?

Organisational Learning and Performance

Option module for all three online programmes. 

  • Organisational learning and the ‘learning organisation’. 
  • Techniques for knowledge management and for the application of learning to the improvement of performance.
  • Performance improvement at the level of the individual and the organisation.

Policy Analysis and Process

Compulsory module (certificate stage) for all online programmes.

  • How is policy made, who influences the policy agenda and what issues affect policy ‘success’ and ‘failure’?
  • What can we learn from how different countries approach similar policy problems?

Project Management

Option module for MPA, MPA-ID.

  • The role and importance of project management and programme management. Skills and techniques for project management.
  • Project acquisition, scheduling, budgeting and control.
  • Effective communications (client, supervisor, team). Team-building. Projects and risk management. The role of project leaders.

Public Finance

Option module for MPA. 

  • Sources of public and private finance.
  • The role of public, private and non-governmental bodies in the national economy and the provision of public services.
  • Budgeting, and financial management and control. Contemporary public finance issues, including PFI.

Public Management and Delivery

Compulsory module (certificate stage) for MA PPM, MPA.

  • What trends and pressures are affecting public service organisations, why and with what consequences?
  • Why have market-based arrangements been introduced into many public sector settings and how should public sector performance be measured

Public Policy and Management in the Information Age

Option module for all three online programmes.

  • How are new information and communication technologies shaping public service delivery?
  • What is their role in welfare delivery?

Social and Political Issues in Development

Compulsory module (diploma stage) for MPA-ID.

  • What impact does development have on the lives of the poor?
  • How might development aggravate conflict?
  • How might the poor gain more effective citizenship and participation in development?

Strategic Planning

Compulsory module (diploma stage) for MPA, MPA-ID. Option module for MA PPM.

  • Differences between strategic planning and management in the public and private sectors.
  • Mission statements and goal-setting techniques. Strategic decisions and evaluation.
  • Strategic leadership. Coordination and networks. Crisis management. Transformational strategic management.

The Economics of Public Service Reform

Compulsory module (diploma stage) for MPA-ID. Option module for MA PPM.

  • How do economic concepts affect public policy and management?
  • Why do markets fail?
  • What are the economics of privatisation? And what tools can help evaluate the costs and benefits of public sector programmes?

Understanding Governance

Compulsory module (diploma stage) for MPA.

  • How do the state, society and public organisations interact in shaping public services?
  • What makes for ‘good’ and ‘bad’ governance?

Theories and Policies of Development Governance

Compulsory module (certificate stage) for MPA-ID. 

  • What are the different conceptions and models of good governance? How, if at all, do these relate to democratic governance?
  • What is the relationship with insecurity and inequality?
  • What is poverty? How can it best be addressed?
  • How might citizens obtain rights and influence the state?

Using Evidence in Social Policy

Compulsory module (certificate stage) for MA PPM. Option module for MPA, MPA-ID.

  • What counts as ‘evidence’ and how evidence can and should be used in the development and implementation of policy 
  • How can evidence-based approaches to policymaking be developed?

Online MA Programmes in Public Management

Key: C = Compulsory module for the certificate stage. D = Compulsory module for the diploma stage. O = Option module.

 MA PPMMPAMPA ID
Public Management and Delivery  C C   
Policy Analysis and Process  C C  C 
Leading and Managing Organisational Change O C C 
 Using Evidence in Social Policy C  O O 
 Theories and Policies of Development Governance     C 
 Strategic Planning O  O D 
The Economics of Public Service Reform O    D 
 Social and Political Issues in Development     D 
 Understanding Governance   D   
 Public Finance O O  
 Organisational Learning and Performance O  O  O
 Comparative Social Policy O  O  O 
 Enterprise and Innovation   O   
 Globalisation and Social Policy O  O   
 Labour Markets, Work and Welfare O     
 Project Management O O  O 
 Public Policy and Management in the Information Age O  O  O