A research-informed curriculum for high level policy-makers
The University of Ulster’s MPA programme draws on practical experience and evidence-led approaches.
The successful Masters in Public Administration (MPA) offered by the University of Ulster’s School of Criminology, Politics and Social Policy has recently been revised to update its content in light of the changes resulting from devolution in Northern Ireland. The new curriculum reflects many of the Professional Skills for Government: leadership and core skills with a focus on theoretically informed practice.
One of the central principles of the University’s strategy for teaching and learning is that courses must be informed by the research or scholarship of the University staff delivering the modules. For the MPA, there is a particular focus on research which can inform genuinely ‘evidence-based’ policy-making. Many of the staff have completed commissioned research for government departments, local authorities and NGOs and hence are involved in topical issues with which students grapple. Students on the programme will not only have the opportunity to engage with scholars researching policy related topics, but will also learn about the research process itself and therefore be equipped to produce and evaluate research, improving the quality of policy-making in their areas of expertise.
Staff delivering this course participated fully in the recent Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series, collectively sponsored by the Queen’s University of Belfast, University of Ulster, the Open University and the Assembly’s Research and Information Service (RaISe). The core aim of the series was the promotion of evidence-led policy-making in Northern Ireland.
Among those participating was Professor Colin Knox (Professor of Comparative Public Policy at the University of Ulster), who delivers modules on Applied Government, Public Administration and Governance and Research Methods in the MPA. Professor Knox worked extensively on the Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland and has been involved in public sector reform programmes in developing countries (Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Russia and China).
In the Knowledge Exchange seminar series, Professor Knox collaborated with distinguished University of Ulster Professor of Economics Vani Borooah on an investigation of how the Shared Education Strategy could be refocused to contribute to improved educational outcomes overall.
Other MPA teaching staff who contributed to the Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series included Dr Cathy Gormley-Heenan (Director of the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences in the University of Ulster). Dr Gormley-Heenan has researched the area of the role of political leadership in ethnic conflict, and has recently been working in collaboration with other researchers on the issue of ‘peace walls’ in Northern Ireland, which formed the basis for a policy-focused seminar. Details of the seminars including briefing papers and video-recordings can be found at tinyurl.com/lhbu7jv
The link between research evidence and policy expertise carried through in modules such as Equality and Human Rights, delivered by Professor Monica McWilliams and Dr Duncan Morrow, whose theoretical research and practical engagement with policy making and delivery in the Human Rights Commission and the Community Relations Council have provided a grounding in the theory and practice of policy in this pivotal area of policy and law.
If you would like to know more about the MPA, follow this link: tinyurl.com/lzhc8bh
The Course Director, Professor Andrew Erridge, will also be pleased to help you.
Andrew can be contacted at:
T: +44 (0)28 9036 6597 or via the School Office on +44 (0)28 9036 6378
E: af.erridge@ulster.ac.uk
