Public Sector Context

This course addresses the following competences:

• Identify and critically evaluate the procedures, instruments and institutional arrangements in place at central, decentralised and deconcentrated government levels for creating, developing and implementing policies (the policy cycle) within the public sector.
• Identify, analyse and discuss the range of influences which are brought to bear on the national public policy making process including constitutional, political, economic, technological, ethical, social, cultural and environmental factors.
• Provide a soundly based analysis of the roles of the various players in the national policy-making process including the general public, political parties, civil society organisations, the media and civil servants, identifying and evaluating their relative strengths and limitations in influencing policy outcomes.

This course addresses the following competences:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the nature and range of public service provision, at the country level, identifying and commenting on the responsible entities, and on the mechanisms for sharing powers and responsibilities for service delivery across the public sector.
• Describe, explain and assess the impact of the use of computer-based communications systems to enhance the nature and degree of interaction between governments (e-government) and their applicable stakeholders in relation to product/service provision and operational issues.