Social planning for sustainability, innovation, and gender inclusion

Educational objectives

The main objective of the course is s to offer the knowledge and skills useful for carrying out projects, research and evaluations in the field of public policies with a focus on social innovation, in a pluralist and democratic perspective of evaluation.
The student will acquire the ability to carry out functions of planning, coordination and implementation of evaluation research in the sectors of social innovation, sustainability and gender policies.

The course includes the following specific training objectives:

1) knowledge of the main design and evaluation approaches for social innovation and territorial development in terms of their application in terms of empirical research.

2) ability to design, coordinate and apply design and evaluation methodologies in the social innovation sector.

3) development of soft skills: problem solving, critical analysis and evaluation of public policies will be solicited in the theoretical lessons and in the workshop. A part of the theoretical lessons will be dedicated to illustration and discussion in class with students of projects for social innovation and evaluation surveys in order to stimulate students' meta-evaluation skills. In the laboratory, students will be divided into working groups for carrying out exercises on data design and analysis in class, in order to produce a final project work that will be evaluated with the peer evaluation methodology.

4) ability to correctly communicate the results of an evaluative research for the purpose of scientific dissemination and the usability of evaluation evidence in the field of design for social innovation. In the exercises and in the laboratory, students will be involved in activities of presentation and discussion in class of the results of the projects developed in the group work.

5) during the lectures, the participation of the students will be solicited, with the objective of ongoing assessment of learning, as well as for the accompaniment to the laboratory activities.

Specifically, the workshop part will allow the acquisition of practical skills that orientate to the planning an evaluative research focused on the social innovation.

Expected learning outcomes: at the end of the course, students will be able to carry out social innovation projects and empirical evaluative surveys using the different approaches to evaluation.

The students will acquire skills in the construction and application of evaluative research designs in the following phases: definition of the evaluative object, definition of the evaluation mandate with the client, selection of the evaluative approach to the context of the analysis, construction and selection of evaluative questions, design evaluation techniques and data collection, analysis of evaluative data with the support of the main software for empirical research.

Educational objectives

The main purpose of the course is to a) deepen the understanding of public policy analyst; b) discuss working techniques of the policy analyst.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

Public policies, what governments and institutions actually do, at supranational, national and local levels, are an essential part of political conflict and clash of interests. This course explores the political dynamics that determine decision-making, in relation to a specific institutional context and a specific process of policy making.

The first part of the course focus on the theoretical and methodological aspects of the discipline, focusing on the agenda setting, ideological aspects of the policy debate (the role of policy ideas), the stakeholders’ strategies and preferences, the interplay between stakeholders, the institutional aspects. Eventually, the student should be able to focus on these different aspects in the analysis of case studies.

In the workshop part of the course students will work on a single policy case. In groups or through individual work, the goal is to enable students to master the case analysis, to discuss the policy agenda, to identify the strategies of the actors and their ability to implement them, to focus on the implementation of public policy, to understand how new paradigms emerge.

During the lessons, some stakeholders will be involved. The students will be involved with specific tools in the debate with the stakeholder, in order to seek clarification on theoretical and methodological issues related to the case study, as well as help the student in dealing with specialists in the field.

At the end of the learning path, the student should be able to master the policy case, with a correct language and an adequate use of the theoretical and methodological background that has been made available to him/her.

Educational objectives

The course aims to provide advanced knowledge and skills in the design and management of communication activities for sustainability, innovation and gender inclusion. Such knowledge, communication and study skills and critical analysis aim to build ability to be applied independently to address the role of communication, participation and engagement in the sustainable and inclusive innovation projects of organizations. To this end, the proposed analysis, planning and evaluation activities will connect participatory processes with cultural components, models and techniques that can be adopted in communication actions or campaigns and in media relations

Educational objectives

The course aims at providing students with knowledge and analytical resources to understand the variety and complexity of meanings, which are related to processes of social integration, meant as processes, intended to recognize to members of a community (e.g, cultural/ethnic community, working, educational, institutional community, etc.) equity of access to rights of participation and “voice” within the social group they interact.

Particularly, the course will aim to deepen the study and the design of the different participation frameworks by which the social integration can be developed and implemented in specific settings and different sociocultural communities.

The course privileges a cultural, situated and interactionist perspective, which assumes the cultural and discursive nature of individual processes and assigns a particular emphasis on concepts such as: participation, identity and agency, looking at how these are built and made relevant in specific communities of practices and by means of multiple discourse resources. By means of examples drawn from empirical research and critical studies in both national and international perspective, social integration will be examined in relation to the following topics:
- gender: in particular, the course will deal with the case of the unequal distribution of participant roles and responsibilities enacted by women in the family domain, and also, the case of the unequal representation of identity of women and LGBTQ persons in the public, institutional, and educational discourse
- interculture: drawing from a psycho-cultural vision about the concepts of stereotype and prejudice, maintained as discursive and negotiated constructions, the course will deal with the particular case of the unequal chances of access to care by migrant patients, and it will discuss problems – and solutions given –related to the issue of social integration, which arise from language differences between patients and healthcare professionals
- neurodiversity: as regards this topic, the course will propose to revisit the concept of disability in critical perspective and discuss it as a social, political, historical and cultural phenomenon (accordingly to the perspective of Disability studies). Neurodiverse identities will be examined as embedded in forms of participation and self-advocacy of persons with disturbances within autistic spectrum disorders, and empirically analyzed through successful examples and good practice of social integration in educational contexts

In every context considered thus far, the course will aim to equip the students with research methodologies, competence in observation and analysis of the phenomena under study and will help students develop abilities to design contexts for groups, communities and organizations which would promote values of diversity, equity and justice. Students will be engaged in empirical works of data collection and analysis of field observations.

Specific aims
For the students, passing the exam would imply being capable of:
1) to know the most relevant concepts theorized within the perspective of cultural psychology; to understand the relationship between mind, cognition, and culture and the relationship between individual and group processes;
to develop awareness of the socially constructed and cultural nature of knowledge; to know the main qualitative methodologies (e.g., ethnographic observation, narrative interviews and focus groups, video- analysis, discourse and conversation analysis) adopted within cultural psychology to study the situated and discursive nature of individual and cultural processes, specifically within the context of the social integration (Descriptor 1 : Knowledge and understanding)
2) to apply the knowledge of the epistemological frameworks relevant in a cultural and interactionist perspective to the analysis of the main dimensions implied in the study and design of social integration in different social contexts (eg. family, educational, institutional , public and media contexts); to develop reflexive skills in applying methods and tools (ethnographic observation, narrative interviews, video-analysis, discourse and conversation analysis) used in cultural psychological perspective and qualitative research to analyze, design and assess practices of social integration in different social contexts ; to empirically identify forms of participation , which are relevant to build (or, which impede) processes of social integration in real practices of interaction between individuals in different group settings; to be able to analyze and arrange structures of participation that are relevant to aims of social integration (II Descriptor: Applying knowledge and understanding);

3) to develop critical judgment about the reflexive nature of knowing, and to reflect about the close and mutual relationship existing between epistemological and methodological stances, which guide the investigation of a certain object of study; to be able to apply methodological tools, from a psychocultural perspective, to the collection and the analysis of data , including both textual and video material (scientific texts, media, institutional reports, video and film, transcripts of interactions in natural contexts ), recognizing the partial, open and complex nature of analytic interpretations and exercising in the triangulation of data and observational methods ; to recognize the reflexive nature of processes of knowledge production, which also includes the position of the researcher and her point of view (positioning) with regards the object under study and the field of research; to develop reflexive skills, with regards the ethical implications of the research conducted within a psycho-cultural perspective on the individual and the group and specifically within the study of social integration (III Descriptor: Making judgments);

4) ) to develop skills to communicate in a clear and unambiguous ways the empirical results of observation and analytical interpretations of data observed in real contexts and related to the phenomena of social integration by means of: public presentations of data and observations in the classroom, collective classroom discussions of data and analyses written analytical reports regarding collected data, which will be assessed at the end of the course , discussions aimed at accounting, by either oral accounts or argumentative texts ,for the reasons which lead from empirical evidences to certain conclusions, desigdesigned for both expert and non-expert audiences (IV Descriptor: Communication skills);
5) to develop skills in autonomous learning and the detailed study of theoretical, methodological and applied knowledge usable to the study and the design of effective forms of social integration and challenge to inequalities (V Descriptor: Lifelong learning skills)

Educational objectives

The course will present and analyze the theoretical models and application tools to know the basic and advanced concepts of social innovation, placed in a context of sustainable development and oriented by the transversal objective of the gender inclusion. The study of network systems through the monitoring of interactional networks will foster the application of the tools.

Specific objectives
The course proposes a training path to make students acquire knowledge and skills of theoretical and applicative type regarding the whole process of innovation in its social dimension. The paradigm of analysis will be that of sustainable development and the objective of gender inclusion will be used to finalize social innovation in all related areas. For the purpose of the analysis of the different definitions and applications of social innovation, multidisciplinary cognitive tools (sociological, economic, historical, legal, political, statistical etc.) will be provided to allow the development of specific skills of students in the different phases.
The first and main objective of the course (Dublin Descriptor 1) is to prepare learners in active and responsible roles in the field of social design in a broad sense and that of sustainable innovation specifically, giving them the opportunity to acquire basic and advanced knowledge and strategic skills to operate in different contexts (public, private, meso-social, and networked contexts, non-profit; economic, environmental, cultural etc.).
Particular attention, for the achievement of the second objective (Dublin Descriptor 2), will be given to the ability to apply in different social and cultural contexts the definitions and models adopted by the Innovative Studies with particular attention to insert them in a model of sustainable development and to use the objective of gender inclusion as a proactive and transversal strategy for the other objectives, analyzing through the Social Networks Analysis the interactional contexts of interactional social networks.

At the end of the course students will have acquired the results set by the following objectives:

- for the realization of the third objective (Dublin Descriptor 3) the articulation of written, practical, and oral verification tests will allow to verify both the theoretical and methodological knowledge and the ability to apply it in different contexts as an essential strategy in research and analysis roles of and for the application of a sustainable and inclusive innovation model, also through the ability to implement and analyze complex network structures.
- Also of note is the functionality of the practical and oral tests in class and for colleagues to verify the student’s ability to communicate what has been learned according to the fourth objective to be achieved (Dublin Descriptor 4).
For the fifth and final objective (Dublin Descriptor 5), the offer of a wide range of documentary sources and the knowledge of methodologies of analysis and application allows the student to conduct in-depth studies and updates of his studies also independently at the end of the training course.

Educational objectives

The course aims to provide students with the historiographic, theoretical-conceptual and methodological knowledge to develop the analysis of social change as a result of long-term processes embedded in global and transnational networks and interconnected spaces. Within this broader epistemological perspective, the general objective of the course is to provide students with the ability to frame the emergence of the topic of sustainability and its multiple dimensions, connecting it to the study of the social, political, economic, environmental and cultural impact of innovation processes, technological change, theories and practices of government of change.

A more specific objective of the course is to provide students with tools for the analysis and evaluation of the impact, in terms of sustainability, of the processes of globalization of the economy and finance on political systems and institutions of government (local, national, European and multilateral level). Through an integrated multidisciplinary approach, based on the intertwining of economic history, history of international relations and political history, the course will explore issues related to the growth of inequality and poverty, the phenomenon of "expulsions", the increase of political distrust and disaffection towards representative democracy.

At the end of the learning process the student will have to demonstrate:

A) knowledge and understanding
to possess knowledge and skills in the field of global history, in order to the understanding and critical analysis of the changes taking place at global and local level in relation to the objectives of sustainable development. This knowledge will also be useful to elaborate and/or apply original ideas and critical skills in the field of research, with particular reference to the topic of sustainability of economic development models and to the relationship between globalized economy, multilateral governance and democracy.

B) applying knowledge and understanding
to know how to finalize this knowledge to the resolution of problems related to all those professional fields that serve to evaluate/govern the social impact of innovation processes in the economic-financial field, in terms of inclusion, strengthening of democratic practices of change management, sustainable entrepreneurship, fight against inequalities and poverty, circularity and self-regeneration capacity of economic systems.

C) making judgements
To be in possession of a solid historical and theoretical background necessary to 1) integrate multidisciplinary knowledge related to the topics of sustainability, social impact of innovation processes, interdependence between global dynamics and local, national, regional contexts; 2) reflect on the social and ethical responsibilities related to the application of knowledge in the field of sustainable innovation.

D) Communication skills
to be able to communicate the acquired knowledge and to interact through it, in professional fields that produce social impact in terms of social inclusion, cultural promotion and valorization, territorial and environmental qualification and planning, sustainable entrepreneurship, technological application and digitalization, communication and implementation of policy interventions.

E) learning skills
to be able to apply the acquired knowledge in a competent and reflective way, both to devise and support arguments and to solve problems in one's own field of study, showing full autonomy in the activity of systematization and analysis of data, selection, comparison and screening of sources, organization of knowledge in the framework of projects and research.

Educational objectives

The course aims to allow understanding:

a) the concept of innovative entrepreneurship and the socio-economic value that distinguishes it;
b) the essential theoretical notions relating to the creation and management processes of start-up companies and innovative SMEs;
c) of the purposes for which an innovative company is aimed;
d) the legal forms necessary for the launch of innovative entrepreneurial initiatives.

In specific terms, at the end of the course the students will have to possess the cognitive elements functional to the planning of a new entrepreneurial initiative in the dimension of consulting or the realization of personal entrepreneurial vocations.

Educational objectives

The learning aims to give the overall knowledge to understand the points of contact between digital transformation and sustainability. Furthermore, it will give the student all the skills that will help him to develop a systemic planning approach. It will be oriented to the making of urban platforms in a multi-stakeholder logic that will be embraced as an instrument of planning and development based on the logic of digital sustainability.

Specific objectives
The course offers a training process, oriented to give the student all the necessary knowledge and skills both theoretical and practical related to the whole urban platform design process. The process will be oriented to sustainability, with particular reference to the systemic role of digital technology both seen as an instrument to the achievement of the sustainability goals, and as the main context to sustainable development from an environmental, social, and economic point of view.

Dublin descriptor 1:
this teaching aims at giving the students the necessary knowledge to hold responsibility roles concerning urban planning oriented to digital sustainability, in the Public Sphere (institutions, municipality, etc.), and also in the private sphere (factories, and service sector.)
Dublin descriptor 2:
particular focus is given to the development of specific skills necessary to analyse and comprehend – with specific reference to SDG11 (Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable)- the relationships between sustainability and digital technology, in order to develop the necessary planning skills to design multi-stakeholder-like urban platforms.

Dublin descriptor 3:
The workshop is oriented towards a designing dimension. The objective is thus the development of practical, critical, and judgment skills related to the subjects of the course.
Dublin descriptor 4:
it is necessary to work in an interdisciplinary climate, that is why the main objective is to give the students the relational skills to communicate with the most heterogeneous targets.
Dublin descriptor 5:
The themes connected to these subjects evolve with such fastness that the fundamental goal is to enable the attendees to keep updated autonomously once fulfilled the study.
This goal will be reached by giving them the fundamental bibliographic reference, but also the main links to all the structures, research centres, and experts of the sector. The specific activities of the workshop will also enable the attendees to come into contact with the landmark links of the sector.

Educational objectives

The objective of the course is to contribute to the education of the future professionals who will be able to interact in international contexts and to use written and spoken English, along with specialized lexicon and specific pragmatic competence as effective work tools, both in reception and in production. The course aims at encouraging students' learning autonomy and evaluative capabilities through a series of tools that will allow them to analyze and critically evaluate various text typologies.

Specific Objectives:

1. Knowledge and Learning: The course will start at a general English (B1+/B2) upper-intermediate level and should reach a C1/C1+ level, especially as regards the analysis of specialised texts and materials. Students are therefore expected to have an intermediate level of English at the beginning of the course.

2. Ability to apply knowledge acquired: Students are encouraged to study the theoretical aspects of the language and do various types of activities manly dealing with academic English, and the use of English in business, marketing and promotional language. This allows students to apply their theoretical knowledge through the use of specific study techniques and exercises, such as oral presentations and the writing of a paper.

3. Students’ ability to evaluate texts: Students are particularly encouraged to become autonomous learners and to develop their critical abilities in the analysis of various types of texts and their content. They should be able to assess their own performance and that of their colleagues.

4. Communicative ability: Through an interactive didactic approach, students are encouraged to actively participate in class activities through the use of presentations and discussions. This will help to improve their communication skills in English and to develop and apply what they have learnt during the course.

5. Student learning autonomy: By the end of the course, students will be expected to have acquired a good level of specialized language. This knowledge will allow them to understand specialized texts, to produce texts and to communicate efficiently by using appropriate English forms. These tools are also intended to encourage students to become autonomous learners so that they can progress in the acquisition of specialized English lexis on their own. Moreover, these tools will be particularly useful to students in their future work environment.

Educational objectives

Internship activities provide students with the opportunity to refine their education by implementing the theories and models of sustainable innovative planning that they learned during the degree program.

In particular, the hands-on work activities offer the students chances to prove themselves in different workplace contexts and professional roles. This prepares students for the careers they have been studying for: social and inclusive planning, management of political, cultural, and production processes (which are also innovative and sustainable), impact assessment of context transformations, in public, private, non-profit organizations, at the local and global levels.

Technological, communicative, and participatory tools for the appropriate stakeholders are used to develop the required competences and skills to be sustainability managers, diversity managers, and evaluators.

The specific laboratory training courses included in the curriculum also allows students to use the methodological tools they have acquired through multiple activities - from planning to monitoring. This enables the students to conduct their activities independently and/or in coordination with the assigned working groups.

In order to foster the development of skills and abilities connected with the knowledge acquired during the program, preference will be given to the following activities:

a) identification, evaluation, and management of integrated aspects of social intervention processes;

b) decision making and management of innovative interventions for the transformation of social practices, with a focus on the definition and management of the whole life cycle of the project.

c) design and implementation of social research on change processes as related to practices, institutions, and social systems;

d) design and management of monitoring studies, evaluations and promotion of innovative initiatives in complex social contexts with the selection of appropriate approaches (e.g.: intersectional);

e) development of promotional and support activities to change processes of private and non-profit organizations;

f) activation of new business initiatives that would enhance social mobilization and cooperation.

Educational objectives

In all Masters programs there are 3 cfu for internships. These credits can be obtained through an internship of at least 120 hours, carried out in public, private or non-profit companies, provided that it is:

- carried out during the Master's Degree Program (not before enrollment in the course);
- regularly activated according to the procedures established by law, for which reference should be made to the AFE site - External Training Activities. No internships will be considered without prior agreement between the University and institution where the internship is carried out;
- approved by the university tutor chosen among the tenured and non-contracted professors of the Department and by the company tutor appointed by the host organization. Both will necessarily have to sign the training project before the start of the internship and the final report at the end of the internship;
- relevant degree program, or single subjects of the curriculum.

Internship activities provide students with the opportunity to refine their education by implementing the theories and models of sustainable innovative planning that they learned during the degree program.

In particular, the hands-on work activities offer the students chances to prove themselves in different workplace contexts and professional roles. This prepares students for the careers they have been studying for: social and inclusive planning, management of political, cultural, and production processes (which are also innovative and sustainable), impact assessment of context transformations, in public, private, non-profit organizations, at the local and global levels.

Technological, communicative, and participatory tools for the appropriate stakeholders are used to develop the required competences and skills to be sustainability managers, diversity managers, and evaluators.

The specific laboratory training courses included in the curriculum also allows students to use the methodological tools they have acquired through multiple activities - from planning to monitoring. This enables the students to conduct their activities independently and/or in coordination with the assigned working groups.

In order to foster the development of skills and abilities connected with the knowledge acquired during the program, preference will be given to the following activities:

a) identification, evaluation, and management of integrated aspects of social intervention processes;

b) decision making and management of innovative interventions for the transformation of social practices, with a focus on the definition and management of the whole life cycle of the project.

c) design and implementation of social research on change processes as related to practices, institutions, and social systems;

d) design and management of monitoring studies, evaluations and promotion of innovative initiatives in complex social contexts with the selection of appropriate approaches (e.g.: intersectional);

e) development of promotional and support activities to change processes of private and non-profit organizations;

f) activation of new business initiatives that would enhance social mobilization and cooperation.

Educational objectives

The objective of the final exam is for the students to demonstrate their mastery of the subjects in the curriculum. The final exam consists of the writing and defense of a thesis with innovative and original contents. The work is carried out under the guidance of a supervisor.

The final exam is an effective tool to refine the students’ understanding of those processes and contents that are explored during the course of study, particularly as they relate to individual and collective subjects on the one hand, and public and private subjects on the other. Moreover, the writing process of the thesis enables the students to hone their methodological competence and to apply it to their object of analysis.

The whole process entails several actions, such as gathering information by selecting the appropriate sources, assessing such information by testing and measuring it, using the acquired knowledge and methodological tools to carry out tests and measurement: The work involved in completing these passages results in the improvement of the students’ autonomy of judgment.

Furthermore, the thesis work also benefits the development of communication skills; students learn how to communicate the thesis content effectively, discriminating between target audiences and hence choosing appropriate discursive modes and strategies.

Finally, learning abilities are also refined along the thesis writing process in that it allows for the following outcomes:
1 – to develop the most appropriate individual study and work method, which are strategic competences to carry out research autonomously and to foster one’s own continuous learning.
2 – to be able to nurture lifelong learning by participating in experimental and group projects, individual study activities, research design and analysis.
3 – to be able to acquire new knowledge by reviewing the relevant literature and research, both in Italian and in English.

Educational objectives

The course aims at providing knowledges and methodological-applicative skills. In particular, the course will focus on issues related to the impact of gender variables and sexual orientation differences on the management of human capital, but also on social design, decision and sense making and the evaluation and monitoring of projects and interventions. This will be geared towards application in innovative processes aimed at achieving sustainable development.

Specific objectives
The course proposes training to enable students to acquire theoretical knowledge and skills on gender and diversity management (a tool, with over thirty years of history behind it, aimed at enhancing diversity within complex organizational systems) and to apply them to the reading of innovative and sustainable processes through the intersectional approach. Taking sustainability as the paradigm of reference, the objective of including different genders and sexual orientations will be the driving force behind its extension to similar social diversities to be considered in sustainable social innovation processes. In order to analyze the different definitions and applications of social innovation, multidisciplinary cognitive tools (sociological, economic, historical, legal, political, statistical, etc.) and intersectional methodological tools will be provided to enable the development of specific student skills in the different phases.

The first and main objective of the course (Dublin Descriptor 1) is to prepare students for decision-making and management roles in social planning and sustainable innovation, enabling them to interpret the variables determining social processes and their transformations through basic and advanced knowledges. These skills, combined with methodological ones, will enable graduates to intervene also in the monitoring and strategic assessment phase for revision and change interventions in different contexts (public, private, non-profit, economic, environmental, cultural, etc.).

For the achievement of the second objective (Dublin Descriptor 2), particular attention will be given to the ability to adapt in different social and cultural contexts the knowledge and skills acquired with respect to the theoretical and applicative models of gender and diversity management, experimenting the strategies useful for their finalization for sustainable development. Since the objective of gender inclusion is already included in the sustainable development model, the intersectional approach will provide an experimental methodological set for its improving application.

At the end of the course students will have acquired the results set by the following objectives:

- with respect to the third objective (Dublin Descriptor 3), the articulation of practical and oral tests will allow to verify both the theoretical and methodological knowledge and the ability to apply in different contexts managing, decision-making and analytical models to promote gender inclusion and diversity as an essential strategy for sustainable innovation.

- the practical and simulative tests, as well as the oral tests in class, in autonomy and in working groups, will aim to verify the student's ability to propose his/her own degree of deepening and explanation of the concepts and methods learned (Dublin Descriptor 4).

- with regard to the fifth objective (Dublin descriptor 5), the training plan provides for specific theoretical studies integrated with methodological and practical studies to enable the student to work independently and in non-training contexts in the management of sources and in the selection of strategies learned during the training course.