Policymaking in a European Context Future Visions and Competing Powers Programme Utrecht School of Governance & Faculty of Social Sciences, Utrecht University Faculty of Social Sciences, Masaryk University Extra Curricular Intensive Course intended for third and fourth grade students Date: November 18 – 24 2009 Credits: 5 ECTS / 10 ECTS[*] Number of participants: 20 - 25 Lecturers: Dr Wieger Bakker (Utrecht School of Governance) and Prof. Dr Bart van Steenbergen (Faculty of Social Sciences) in cooperation with Dr. Paul Stubbs (Economic Institute Zagreb) Content In this course policymaking explicitly is placed first in the context of the process of European integration and unification. The emphasis here will be on the social and cultural aspects of that process, dealing with questions of citizenship and identity. Several scenarios for the future of Europe will be presented and discussed. Second, this course emphasizes the constraints and demands that result from this integration process and with which local and national policymakers have to deal; keywords are, among others, integrity, accountability, effectiveness and citizen participation. During this course we, thirdly, seek to bridge the gap between theory and practice by using the introduced concepts for the analysis and evaluation of actual (small scale) policies. As an exercise, we will experiment with the construction of a policy proposal. There is also a direct link between policymaking and future studies, since we make policy plans on the basis of what we hope, fear and expect with regard to the future. In that context special attention will be given to the different approaches to the future like forecasting, 'looking into the seeds of time' and especially scenario writing. Learning outcomes After successfully passing the course, the student * Is able to analyze and discuss the meaning of –the social and cultural aspects of- European integration and unification for policymaking on the national and the local level. * Is able to demonstrate basis knowledge on the characteristics of processes of policy formation and implementation; governance and public accountability. * Is able to assess the relevance of future oriented methods (e.g. forecasting, scenarios) for developing policy plans; * Is able to analyze local social problems on the possibilities and limitations for developing public policies; * Is able to design, to present and to defend a concrete future oriented policy plan. Working methods and requirements The working methods during this course require an active participation of the students. Apart from (introductory) lectures there will be an emphasis on debate, analysis, case solving and presentation. During the last day of the course subgroups of students present their own policy plan. The schedule for this course is full time. Most of the five days (with the exception of Friday November 20^th) there are 4 – 6 hours collective seminar sessions with a break in between, partly needed for preparing (subgroup) assignments. Some relevant articles will be made available in digital form (by e-mail and/or by a so called ‘E-reader’) and/or handed out during the first session. Students are expected to study these articles during the course. Fluency in English is imperative. The participants are expected to be present at all meetings. Final Assignment (optional) After the four days course students are invited to write a paper. The formal requirements are: - 10-12 pages (3000 words min. / 4000 words max.) ‘pure’ text (i.e. excluding the front page with the title, name of the student, e-mail address, the content page and the bibliography at the end). - The paper can be written in the form of a ‘classical’ academic paper as well as a scenario paper or a policy proposal. Precise instructions about the three options will be given during the course. The content of the paper can be based on the assignment one has worked on during the course, but has to show significant added value. - The paper has to be sent electronically (in word) to both lecturers (see below for the e-mail addresses). - THE DEADLINE FOR SENDING IN PAPERS IS DECEMBER 15 2009 Dr Wieger Bakker: e-mail: W.E.Bakker@uu.nl Dr Bart van Steenbergen: e-mail B.Vansteenbergen@uu.nl Program Nota Bene: the program as described below is flexible. Dependent on the interests of the participants and the experiences of the lecturers, changes in the program can be made on the spot. We expect the students to be available from 9.00 – 17.00 hours on course days. Wednesday November 18^th: Policymaking between rationality, competing powers and future visions 9.15-10.00 Opening and introduction to the course 10.00-10.45 Effective and accountable policymaking as a European imperative (Wieger Bakker) 10.45 - 11.15 Coffee break 11.15-13.00 Everything you always wanted to know about the future but never dared to ask: Forecasting, conditional prognosis, ‘seeds of time’; you name it, you’ll get it. (Bart van Steenbergen) 13.00 -14.30 Lunch break 14.30 – 17.00 Sense and sensibility of scenarios; their meaning for policy making and ‘Bildung’. (Bart van Steenbergen) Thursday November19^th: Developing policy strategy & European citizenship 9.15-10.45 From analysis to intervention: developing policy strategies for the near future (Wieger Bakker) 10.45 - 11.15 Coffee break 11.15 - 13.00 From problem to action on: starting at the local level. presentation case assignment / defining and selecting local social problems / constituting subgroups (Wieger Bakker) 13.00 -15.00 Lunch break (including small lunch assignment subgroups) 15.00 - 15.20 Subgroup reports 15.20 - 17.00 Towards European citizenship; a new identity in the making? (Bart van Steenbergen) Friday November 20^th: Preparing the case assignment 9.15 - 11.15 Parallel Workshops Case Assignment I Wieger Bakker, II Bart van Steenbergen 11.15 - 11.45 Coffee break 11.45 - 13.30 Training presentation skills: Wieger Bakker (Including making an inventory of students request: which topic or topics do you want to discuss on Monday Afternoon) Friday afternoon can be used by the subgroups for preparing their case assignment Monday November 23^th : Governance in between antagonism and cooperation 9.15 – 10.45 Messy Europeanization? policy translation and actor mobilisation (Paul Stubbs) 11.00 - 11.30 Coffee break 11.30 – 13.00 - Messy Europeanization part II (Paul Stubbs) - From government to governance. Changing modes of dealing with social problems in Europe (Wieger Bakker) 13.00 -14.30 Lunch break 14.30 – 16.30 The students request: Interactive workshop November 24^th : Local policy design & Cultural Europe 9.30 -11.00 Student presentations and discussion 11.00 - 11.30 Coffee break 11.30 -13.00 Student presentations and discussion 13.00 -14.30 Lunch break Introduction Final Assignment and guidelines for writing the paper 14.30-16.00 Is there something like a cultural Europe and what about languages? (Bart van Steenbergen) Europe in the world: are we facing a clash of civilizations? (Bart van Steenbergen) 16.30-17.00 Course evaluation and conclusions Bart van Steenbergen and Wieger Bakker ________________________________ [*] 5 ECTS for following the course on the basis of attendance, participation and subgroup presentation. The course can be completed by writing a paper (final assignment), in which case the course counts for 10 ECTS.