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Course catalogue

Find individual courses here or browse the curricula of our graduate and executive programmes.
For the PhD programmes, please find more information here.

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Executive MPA Executive training

Strategic & Performance Management

Course-ID: EMPA-C1004
Instructors: Gerhard Hammerschmid, Bert George

Abstract

 

The first part of this course centres on explaining the foundations of strategic management. This includes a discussion of what strategy actually entails specifically in a public-sector context, and how strategic planning relates to strategic management. Indeed, strategic planning is perhaps the most popular managerial approach in contemporary organizations – but what is it, how does it fit within a strategic management system and (when) does it actually “work” (or not)? At the heart of this elaboration lies the idea that strategic management is, above all, something managers, policymakers and other professional “do” – and underlying the success of strategic management are the core concepts of strategic thinking, strategic acting and strategic learning. Strategic management should thus be, above all, not a series of fixed “steps” but, rather, a set of tools and approaches that practitioners can draw on, taking into account their context and the issue at hand, and with the aim of achieving better performance.

The second part of this course is designed to give a compact introduction into core ideas and concepts of performance management and specific instruments and how this is linked to strtategic management. Students get an understanding for different components of a performance management system such as structures, performance targets and performance indicators but also more recent developments such as dashboards or OKR.

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Executive MPA Executive training

Sustainability

Course-ID: EMPA-E1023
Instructors: Nils aus dem Moore

Abstract

 

With the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations in 2015, Sustainability has taken center stage in public policy debates at global, national and local levels. This class introduces and explores the concept of sustainability and its social, economic and environmental dimensions. Climate change will serve as the core case study linking all three elements. We consider normative foundations, indicators, tools for analyzing synergies and trade-offs among different goals, and public policies and governance options for achieving sustainability. A particular focus is on the political economy of interactions between the state, business and NGOs in devising public policy for sustainability. The tools taught in this course are rooted mainly in economics and political science, but their application will be non-formal throughout. Note that this is not a class in development economics or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Main learning objectives

•Introduction to core concepts in contemporary sustainability governance

•Overview of key sustainability challenges, in particular climate change

•Conceptualize sustainability as a public policy challenge in the context of polycentric global governance

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Executive MPA Executive training

Towards a New World Order(s)? Challenges & Scenarios

Course-ID: EMPA-E1032
Instructors: Monika Sus

Abstract

 

The purpose of this course is to reflect on the challenges of a changing world order, and the reshaping of the world towards multi-order word(s), where non-Western countries and regions play an increasingly important role. We will discuss not only the questions of the challenges posed by the growing number of armed conflicts, the recurring arms race (including within the nuclear realm), but also issues related to the role of non-state actors, cyber-security, and phenomena such as right-wing and left-wing populism and its impact on international cooperation. In addition to lectures and discussions with invited practitioners, this course also includes a strategic foresight workshop: the students will become familiar with the scenario generation method and develop scenarios for the changing world order in the perspective of the next decade.

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Executive MPA Executive training

When to Trust the Numbers: Informed Data Consumption

Course-ID: EMPA-C1007
Instructors: Mark Kayser

Abstract

 

The types of social outcomes that are studied in policy research and public and non-profit administration are usually determined by a complex set of factors. It is consequently difficult to understand the effect of a given policy or change in a specific factor on outcomes and the conditions under which estimated effects can be considered causal. Experimental scientists solve this problem with careful laboratory controls and randomization. Most social scientists and policy analysts do not have the luxury of randomization and a controlled laboratory setting and must analyze pre-existing observational subject to confounding with multiple other variables. When common statistical tools such as multiple regression are misapplied or research designs are flawed, results can be biased and/or inefficient. This course trains participants in recognizing the proper use and abuse of basic methods and design in quantitative research. It also briefly introduces participants to new developments and methods in the social sciences as well as their promise and drawbacks.

Main learning objectives:

In this course, participants will not be enabled to develop and run statistical models themselves, but become qualified to evaluate reports and develop the skills required in management positions to identify flaws in research design, violations of statistical assumptions, and other pitfalls that are often hidden in quantitative reports. Upon completing this course, participants will know better when – and when not -- to trust the numbers.

Topics:

The (sometimes flawed) practice of science; research design; descriptive statistics; statistical inference; common threats to internal and external validity; causality; communicating with data.

Teaching style:

Lecture, discussion, group work, worksheets

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Executive MPA Executive training

Workshop in Berlin: Policy-Making & Administration in Germany

Course-ID: EMPA-W-Berlin
Instructors: Gerhard Hammerschmid

Abstract

 

The Berlin workshop offers EMPA students the opportunity to experience the machinery of government and policy-making in Germany first-hand and have interaction with experts, policy-makers and practitioners working in and for the German government system. It will combine sessions at the Hertie School with visits to the German Bundestag, various federal Ministries and the GovTech Campus Berlin.

Our workshop is designed to offer a range of opportunities for EMPA students to analyze and critically reflect on public policy and management features and challenges in Germany and to gain insights into current developments like coping with the war in the Ukraine or the challenges of digitalizing government. After the course, participants should be able to better understand and critically reflect on both parallel developments and significant differences between public management in Germany and in other country contexts.

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Executive MPA Executive training

Workshop in Brussels

Course-ID: EMPA-W-Brussels
Instructors: Cornelius Adebahr, Markus Held

Abstract

 

The over-arching theme of this seminar  are the challenges and choices Europe – as embodied by the EU, but also including other European states from post-Brexit Britain to Moldova and Ukraine to the countries from the Western Balkans. Students are asked to explore how the dynamics of European integration are evolving in response to overlapping crises and whether existing proposals to reorganize the EU could help it cope better: How is the EU handling its chief current challenges? Where are new threats likely to emerge? Which strategies – if any – are decision makers at this level working on? What choices are available to them? 

Main Topics and Learning Objectives

The goal of this study trip is to see the European Union as it copes in practice with a continuously high level of challenges. This involves getting to grips with the multi-level and multi-institutional nature of EU policy-making. In this context, we will discuss the policy-making process with national actors in Brussels, as well as with members of the main EU institutions (the Council, Commission and Parliament). We will consider how non-governmental actors and organizations are both influenced by, and seek to influence, EU policy. We will also consider the role of new emerging institutions, such as the European External Action Service (EEAS), and what close partners of EU think of the current challenges.

Some questions in relation to better understanding the European political process include:

- Who are the main drivers of EU policy-making in times of change, and how are they repositioning themselves?

- How does EU decision-making operate in practice, i.e. to what extent do informal practices of consultation or negotiation complement formal decision-making rules?

- By what methods do actors 'on the outside' of the EU institutions seek to influence EU policy, and under what conditions are they successful in doing so?

- What are the scenarios for the reform of Europe to cope in a more effective and legitimate way with challenges of our times?

Teaching Methods

The course is highly interactive and, given the hoped-for presence in the EU bubble in Brussels, rather professionally oriented than academic. Each session is a deep dive with an external expert in their particular field of experience. A short introductory presentation is followed by an intensive discussion period with the participants and guided by the two co-convenors. Each day will also include at least one internal session for reflection and feedback.

Target Group

This course is planned for participants who are familiar with the history, core competences and institutions of the European Union, acquired in the core course on EU governance or elsewhere.

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Executive MPA Executive training

Writing for Impact & Structuring Policy Communication

Course-ID: EMPA-SC-25
Instructors: Bernhard Knoll-Tudor

Abstract

 

Policymakers tend to be pressed for time and receive too much information. Those who want their arguments to influence policy must learn how to structure and communicate data and key messages as clearly as possible to the ministerial / cabinet level. In this 2-day skills-building workshop, EMPA students will learn how to structure a policy paper, write an executive summary and formulate recommendations vis-à-vis policymakers. They will also analyse the strengths and weaknesses of selected policy briefs.

This two-day EMPA skills course helps participants to:

•Understand the various background conditions governing information overload in the sphere of policy and devise ways in which to increase the potential for writing to have an impact on the readership;

•Produce effective policy writing: understanding / scanning your audience; choosing among types and templates of policy papers; asking about the who, what and why of a policy brief;

•Test various templates for executive summaries and learn how to structure them; learn how to tailor recommendations and present policy choices;

•Recognise and work with cognitive biases shared by decision-makers;

•Understand that all policy writing can potentially be improved (and actually improve writing in the context of exercises and a clinic);

•Avoid certain expressions and features in policy writing – detail, wordiness, clichés, etc. – and know how to apply this guidance to their actual writing (in classical style) of a policy brief;

•Understand why certain policy papers have more impact than others: some employ stale bureaucratese; others excel in clarity, use data at crucial points of the argument, build up dialectics as part of dramatic sequencing and provide a policy solution that use imagery in a strategic manner.

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