Graduate Certificate in Strategic Planning and Public Policy

This course introduces students to graduate-level expectations and protocols for scholarly research and academic writing. Reflecting Walden's mission and vision of promoting positive social change, this course helps students build a foundation for success as scholar-practitioners and social change agents. Course assignments focus upon students' professional goals, strategies for online student success, research skills, and academic integrity. Assignments are designed to build critical thinking skills and provide opportunities to apply academic lessons to real-world practice. Students are encouraged to take advantage of Walden's wealth of student support systems, especially the Walden Library and the Writing Center.

There are a variety of tools available to policymakers and policy analysts to evaluate the impact of social programs. In this course, students examine these tools and work toward gaining the skills needed to develop plans for evaluation and to assess social programs effectively. Students engage in discussions and assignments designed to provide practical application of content on a variety of topics, such as selecting programs to evaluate, crafting program descriptions, identifying stakeholders and their interests, developing logic models, framing evaluation questions, applying utilization-focused evaluation techniques, using quantitative and qualitative tools to complete formative and summative evaluations, and providing evaluation reports and feedback to decision makers. Using concepts presented in the course, students gain hands-on experience developing an evaluation design for a social program.

Government officials, research programs, and NGOs are increasingly expected to make better and more transparent use of evidence in producing viable policy options within highly complex policy environments that are heavily influenced by power and politics. Public policy analysis has been described as the art and craft of speaking truth to power (Wildavsky, 1987) in seeking ways to promote positive social change in these complex environments. Policy analysis within this context requires several distinct skill sets: an understanding of the policy context, technical knowledge and analytical tools to identify and apply evidence ethically and with professional judgment, an appreciation and engagement of the concerns and contributions of diverse stakeholders, and the ability to develop and communicate practical policy advice.This course is framed around Bardach and Patashnik's eightfold path, which lays out a series of iterative, not necessarily sequential, steps to follow when analyzing a policy issue and uses design thinking to guide the process. Students examine key concepts of public policy analysis through evidence-based research to locate issues in relation to theory and current trends. This course provides project-based opportunities to practice and gain the skills and knowledge to use evidence to shape policy more effectively.

Prerequisites

• MMPA 6116 or HUMN 8000 or HUMN 6000 or HUMN 8001 or SOCW 8002 or SOCW 8002W or MMHA 6000 or MMHA 6000A or HLTH 8003A or HLTH 8003 or HLTH 8003E or HLTH 8003B or NURS 8003

In an increasingly complex world, leaders and managers in public and nonprofit organizations plan strategies to fulfill the organizational mission and enhance stakeholder satisfaction. Students in this course explore the role and process of strategic planning, including collaboration, cooperation, and coordination. They also examine the benefits, challenges, and pitfalls of strategic planning, in addition to the impact of globalization. Students apply these concepts to real-life scenarios and develop a strategic plan for a nonprofit or public organization.

Prerequisites

• MMPA 6200
• MMPA 6405