Law and public administration

What is public policy? How does it differ from non-public policy? Where does the need to evaluate public policy arise? And why do we have to evaluate a policy before deciding whether to adopt it or not? What are the decision-making criteria by which the decision on the policy is made? The course tries to answer all these questions. In particular, the course proposes an analysis and evaluation of public policies with the aim of understanding from what needs the need to adopt a certain policy arises and what effects this policy can have on the recipients of the policy itself, both from an ex ante perspective and from an ex post perspective. Ex ante, the Regulatory Impact Analysis allows you to precisely outline the methods of intervention and to estimate the costs and expected benefits of public policy and therefore to evaluate the feasibility of the same. Ex post, the Regulatory Impact Assessment allows to verify if and to what extent public policy has been targeted and appropriate and if therefore it has produced the expected results. I part of the course (16 hours - 2 CFU) The constituent elements of a public policy and the subjects participating in the policy process are initially identified. Then the characteristics of the "market" of public policies are illustrated and the decision-making mechanisms relating to the choice of a public policy in the context of the policy process are described. Some basic concepts are then introduced, relating to the public apparatuses that provide public policies and their performance (inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, productive efficiency, effectiveness, quality, impact, unintended effects, socio-economic needs). We then move on to the description of the life cycle of a public policy (agenda setting, formulation of public policies, decision making in public policies, implementation of public policies, learning and evaluation of public policies). II part of the course (12 hours - 1,5 CFU) The meaning and importance of consultations (of people and/or data, databases, written sources) are illustrated. The various consultation techniques aimed at citizens, experts and stakeholders in general who are or could be affected by public policy are then illustrated. III part of the course (32 hours - 4 CFU) The concept of ex ante evaluation is explored, focusing on the meaning, the areas of application, the motivations, the construction process and the contents. Some methods of ex ante economic assessment of the effects of a public policy are then presented. The concept of ongoing evaluation and monitoring is then explored, focusing on corrective interventions on the implementation of public policies. The essential concepts for the ex post evaluation are presented, with reference to the construction and application of the indispensable causal explanatory models. Finally, the areas of application, the design of evaluation research, the counterfactual analysis and the impact evaluation of a policy are explored. IV part of the course (12 hours - 1.5 CFU) The last part of the course is dedicated to some specific topics: evaluation of the performance of public administrations and management; evaluation of public policies and assessment of public finance trends; social impact assessment; overview of the development of public policy evaluation in other countries; environmental impact assessment; analysis of the conditions that favor or hinder the institutionalization of evaluation.

There are no particular prerequisites for other courses. However, the student is assumed to have basic knowledge of Economics.

A. La Spina. 2020. Politiche Pubbliche. Analisi e valutazione. Il Mulino Manuali. A. Martini, U. Trivellato. 2011. Sono soldi ben spesi? Marsilio Editore. Capitoli 1 e 2 Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri – Dipartimento per gli Affari Giuridici e Legislativi. Strumenti per il ciclo della regolazione. Aprile 2013. Disponibile su: http://www.qualitanormazione.gov.it/uploads/download/file/270/Strumenti_per_il_ciclo_della_regolazione.pdf F. Giardini, G. Marini. 2018. La valutazione di impatto ambientale in Italia: un’applicazione della procedura a EXPO 2015.

1) Frontal lectures to acquire the evaluation techniques 2) Frontal classes to apply the acquired evaluation techniques 3) Seminars and/or group work for research and analysis of specific cases

Attendance to the course is not mandatory. However, among the elements considered for evaluation are active participation and the ability to reason and study independently.

Written test (1 test lasting 60 minutes): open questions relating to the concept of ex ante evaluation, ex post evaluation, ongoing evaluation, monitoring, environmental evaluation, consultation; specific open questions that require you to describe a specific evaluation or consultation technique Oral test (possibly, to complete the written test, variable duration): same type of questions as the written test Ongoing assessment (2 written tests lasting 60 minutes, equally distributed throughout the course): same type of questions as the written test. This type of assessment is used by the teacher to understand the progress of the group Project evaluation (possibly, writing a written report and / or classroom presentation): critical analysis of a case study evaluating a public policy Elements taken into consideration for the evaluation: frequency (even if not mandatory), active participation, reasoning ability and independent study Objective of the written test, the oral test and the ongoing evaluation: to determine the knowledge acquired by the student during the course Objective of the project evaluation: to determine the student's ability to put the acquired knowledge into practice

A. La Spina. 2020. Politiche Pubbliche. Analisi e valutazione. Il Mulino Manuali. A. Martini, U. Trivellato. 2011. Sono soldi ben spesi? Marsilio Editore. Capitoli 1 e 2 Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri – Dipartimento per gli Affari Giuridici e Legislativi. Strumenti per il ciclo della regolazione. Aprile 2013. Disponibile su: http://www.qualitanormazione.gov.it/uploads/download/file/270/Strumenti_per_il_ciclo_della_regolazione.pdf F. Giardini, G. Marini. 2018. La valutazione di impatto ambientale in Italia: un’applicazione della procedura a EXPO 2015.

1) Frontal lectures to acquire the evaluation techniques 2) Frontal classes to apply the acquired evaluation techniques 3) Seminars and/or group work for research and analysis of specific cases