Short research paper
nikhila chowdary
ITS832_policypracticeanddigitalscience-pages-28-47.pdf
Chapter 2 Educating Public Managers and Policy Analysts in an Era of Informatics
Christopher Koliba and Asim Zia
Abstract In this chapter, two ideal types of practitioners who may use or cre- ate policy informatics projects, programs, or platforms are introduced: the policy informatics-savvy public manager and the policy informatics analyst. Drawing from our experiences in teaching an informatics-friendly graduate curriculum, we dis- cuss the range of learning competencies needed for traditional public managers and policy informatics-oriented analysts to thrive in an era of informatics. The chapter begins by describing the two different types of students who are, or can be touched by, policy informatics-friendly competencies, skills, and attitudes. Competencies ranging from those who may be users of policy informatics and sponsors of policy informatics projects and programs to those analysts designing and executing policy informatics projects and programs will be addressed. The chapter concludes with an illustration of how one Master of Public Administration (MPA) program with a policy informatics-friendly mission, a core curriculum that touches on policy infor- matics applications, and a series of program electives that allows students to develop analysis and modeling skills, designates its informatics-oriented competencies.
2.1 Introduction
The range of policy informatics opportunities highlighted in this volume will require future generations of public managers and policy analysts to adapt to the oppor- tunities and challenges posed by big data and increasing computational modeling capacities afforded by the rapid growth in information technologies. It will be up to the field’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Master of Public Policy (MPP) programs to provide this next generation with the tools needed to harness the wealth of data, information, and knowledge increasingly at the disposal of public
C. Koliba (�) University of Vermont, 103 Morrill Hall, 05405 Burlington, VT, USA e-mail: [email protected]
A. Zia University of Vermont, 205 Morrill Hall, 05405 Burlington, VT, USA e-mail: [email protected]
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 15 M. Janssen et al. (eds.), Policy Practice and Digital Science, Public Administration and Information Technology 10, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12784-2_2
16 C. Koliba and A. Zia
administrators and policy analysts. In this chapter, we discuss the role of policy infor- matics in the development of present and future public managers and policy analysts. Drawing from our experiences in teaching an informatics-friendly graduate curricu- lum, we discuss the range of learning competencies needed for traditional public managers and policy informatics-oriented analysts to thrive in an era of informatics. The chapter begins by describing the two different types of students who are, or can be touched by, policy informatics-friendly competencies, skills, and attitudes. Com- petencies ranging from those who may be users of policy informatics and sponsors of policy informatics projects and programs to those analysts designing and executing policy informatics projects and programs will be addressed. The chapter concludes with an illustration of how one MPA program with a policy informatics-friendly mission, a core curriculum that touches on policy informatics applications, and a series of program electives that allows students to develop analysis and modeling skills, designates its informatics-oriented competencies.
2.2 Two Types of Practitioner Orientations to Policy Informatics
Drawn from our experience, we find that there are two “ideal types” of policy infor- matics practitioner, each requiring greater and greater levels of technical mastery of analytics techniques and approaches. These ideal types are: policy informatics-savvy public managers and policy informatics analysts.
A policy informatics-savvy public manager may take on one of two possible roles relative to policy informatics projects, programs, or platforms. They may play instru- mental roles in catalyzing and implementing informatics initiatives on behalf of their organizations, agencies, or institutions. In the manner, they may work with technical experts (analysts) to envision possible uses for data, visualizations, simulations, and the like. Public managers may also be in the role of using policy informatics projects, programs, or platforms. They may be in positions to use these initiatives to ground decision making, allocate resources, and otherwise guide the performance of their organizations.
A policy informatics analyst is a person who is positioned to actually execute a policy informatics initiative. They may be referred to as analysts, researchers, modelers, or programmers and provide the technical assistance needed to analyze databases, build and run models, simulations, and otherwise construct useful and effective policy informatics projects, programs, or platforms.
To succeed in either and both roles, managers and analysts will require a certain set of skills, knowledge, or competencies. Drawing on some of the prevailing literature and our own experiences, we lay out an initial list of potential competencies for consideration.
2 Educating Public Managers and Policy Analysts in an Era of Informatics 17
2.2.1 Policy Informatics-Savvy Public Managers
To successfully harness policy informatics, public managers will likely not need to know how to explicitly build models or manipulate big data. Instead, they will need to know what kinds of questions that policy informatics projects or programs can answer or not answer. They will need to know how to contract with and/or manage data managers, policy analysts, and modelers. They will need to be savvy consumers of data analysis and computational models, but not necessarily need to know how to technically execute them. Policy informatics projects, programs, and platforms are designed and executed in some ways, as any large-scale, complex project.
In writing about the stages of informatics project development using “big data,” DeSouza lays out project development along three stages: planning, execution, and postimplementation. Throughout the project life cycle, he emphasizes the role of understanding the prevailing policy and legal environment, the need to venture into coalition building, the importance of communicating the broader opportunities af- forded by the project, the need to develop performance indicators, and the importance of lining up adequate financial and human resources (2014).
Framing what traditional public managers need to know and do to effectively interface with policy informatics projects and programs requires an ability to be a “systems thinker,” an effective evaluator, a capacity to integrate informatics into performance and financial management systems, effective communication skills, and a capacity to draw on social media, information technology, and e-governance approaches to achieve common objectives. We briefly review each of these capacities below.
Systems Thinking Knowing the right kinds of questions that may be asked through policy informatics projects and programs requires public managers to possess a “sys- tems” view. Much has been written about the importance of “systems thinking” for public managers (Katz and Kahn 1978; Stacey 2001; Senge 1990; Korton 2001). Taking a systems perspective allows public managers to understand the relationship between the “whole” and the “parts.” Systems-oriented public managers will possess a level of situational awareness (Endsley 1995) that allows them to see and under- stand patterns of interaction and anticipate future events and orientations. Situational awareness allows public mangers to understand and evaluate where data are coming from, how best data are interpreted, and the kinds of assumptions being used in specific interpretations (Koliba et al. 2011). The concept of system thinking laid out here can be associated with the notion of transition management (Loorbach 2007).
Process Orientations to Public Policy The capacity to view the policy making and implementation process as a process that involves certain levels of coordination and conflict between policy actors is of critical importance for policy informatics- savvy public managers and analysts. Understanding how data are used to frame problems and policy solutions, how complex governance arrangements impact policy implementation (Koliba et al. 2010), and how data visualization can be used to
18 C. Koliba and A. Zia
facilitate the setting of policy agendas and open policy windows (Kingdon 1984) is of critical importance for public management and policy analysts alike.
Research Methodologies Another basic competency needed for any public manager using policy informatics is a foundational understanding of research methods, par- ticularly quantitative reasoning and methodologies. A foundational understanding of data validity, analytical rigor and relevance, statistical significance, and the like are needed to be effective consumers of informatics. That said, traditional public man- agers should also be exposed to qualitative methods as well, refining their powers of observation, understanding how symbols, stories, and numbers are used to govern, and how data and data visualization and computer simulations play into these mental models.
Performance Management A key feature of systems thinking as applied to policy informatics is the importance of understanding how data and analysis are to be used and who the intended users of the data are (Patton 2008). The integration of policy informatics into strategic planning (Bryson 2011), performance management systems (Moynihan 2008), and ultimately woven into an organization’s capacity to learn, adapt, and evolve (Argyis and Schön 1996) are critically important in this vein. As policy informatics trends evolve, public managers will likely need to be exposed to uses of decision support tools, dashboards, and other computationally driven models and visualizations to support organizational performance.
Financial Management Since the first systemic budgeting systems were put in place, public managers have been urged to use the budgeting process as a planning and eval- uation tool (Willoughby 1918). This approach was formally codified in the 1960s with the planning–programming–budgeting (PPB) system with its focus on plan- ning, managerial, and operational control (Schick 1966) and later adopted into more contemporary approaches to budgeting (Caiden 1981). Using informative projects, programs, or platforms to make strategic resource allocation decisions is a necessary given and a capacity that effective public managers must master. Likewise, the pol- icy analyst will likely need to integrate financial resource flows and costs into their projects.
Collaborative and Cooperative Capacity Building The development and use of pol- icy informatics projects, programs, or platforms is rarely, if ever, undertaken as an individual, isolated endeavor. It is more likely that such initiatives will require interagency, interorganizational, or intergroup coordination. It is also likely that content experts will need to be partnered with analysts and programmers to com- plete tasks and execute designs. The public manager and policy analyst must both possess the capacity to facilitate collaborative management functions (O’Leary and Bingham 2009).
Basic Communication Skills This perhaps goes without saying, but the heart of any informatics project lies in the ability to effectively communicate findings and ideas through the analysis of data.
2 Educating Public Managers and Policy Analysts in an Era of Informatics 19
Social Media, Information Technology, and e-Governance Awareness A final com- petency concerns public managers’ capacity to deepen their understanding of how social media, Web-based tools, and related information technologies are being em- ployed to foster various e-government, e-governance, and related initiatives (Mergel 2013). Placing policy informatics projects and programs within the context of these larger trends and uses is something that public managers must be exposed to.
Within our MPA program, we have operationalized these capacities within a four- point rubric that outlines what a student needs to do to demonstrate meeting these standards. The rubric below highlights 8 of our program’s 18 capacities. All 18 of these capacities are situated under 1 of the 5 core competencies tied to the accred- itation standards of the Network of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the professional accrediting association in the USA, and increasingly in other countries as well, for MPA and MPP programs. A complete list of these core competencies and the 18 capacities nested under them are provided in Appendix of this chapter.
The eight capacities that we have singled out as being the most salient to the role of policy informatics in public administration are provided in Table 2.1. The rubric follows a four-point scale, ranging from “does not meet standard,” “approaches standard,” “meets standard,” and “exceeds standard.”
2.2.2 Policy Informatics Analysts
A second type of practitioner to be considered is what we are referring to as a “policy informatics analyst.” When considering the kinds of competencies that policy infor- matics analysts need to be successful, we first assume that the basic competencies outlined in the prior section apply here as well. In other words, effective policy in- formatics analysts must be systems thinkers in order to place data and their analysis into context, be cognizant of current uses of decision support systems (and related platforms) to enable organizational learning, performance, and strategic planning, and possess an awareness of e-governance and e-government initiatives and how they are transforming contemporary public management and policy planning practices. In addition, policy analysts must possess a capacity to understand policy systems: How policies are made and implemented? This baseline understanding can then be used to consider the placement, purpose, and design of policy informatics projects or programs. We lay out more specific analyst capacities below.
Advanced Research Methods of Information Technology Applications In many in- stances, policy informatics analysts will need to move beyond meeting the standard. This is particularly true in the area of exceeding the public manager standards for re- search methods and utilization of information technology. It is assumed that effective policy informatics analysts will have a strong foundation in quantitative methodolo- gies and applications. To obtain these skills, policy analysts will need to move beyond basic surveys of research methods into more advanced research methods curriculum.
20 C. Koliba and A. Zia
Ta bl
e 2.
1 Pu
bl ic
m an
ag er
po lic
y in
fo rm
at ic
s ca
pa ci
tie s
C ap
ac ity
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s no
tm ee
ts ta
nd ar
d A
pp ro
ac he
s st
an da
rd M
ee ts
st an
da rd
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ee ds
st an
da rd
C ap
ac it
y to
ap pl
y kn
ow le
dg e
of sy
st em
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m ic
s an
d ne
tw or
k st
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bl ic
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tr at
io n
pr ac
ti ce
s
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s no
tu nd
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an d
th e
ba si
c op
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io ns
of sy
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d ne
tw or
ks ;c
an no
te xp
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w hy
un de
rs ta
nd in
g ca
se s
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co nt
ex ts
in te
rm s
of sy
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s an
d ne
tw or
ks is
im po
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t
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pr ov
id e
a ba
si c
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vi ew
of w
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m dy
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ic s
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ne tw
or k
st ru
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th ey
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ts
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un de
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pl ex
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su e,
pr ob
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, or
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tw or
k fr
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st em
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tw or
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as ib
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pr es
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tr at
iv e
an d
po lic
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ob le
m s
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ac it
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ap pl
y po
li cy
st re
am s,
cy cl
es ,
sy st
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up on
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, pr
es en
t, an
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su es
,a nd
to un
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ta nd
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pr ob
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pa ct
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of st
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po rt
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bl ic
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tr at
io n.
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de m
on st
ra te
th e
su cc
es sf
ul ex
ec ut
io n
of a
pr og
ra m
or
2 Educating Public Managers and Policy Analysts in an Era of Informatics 21
Ta bl
e 2.
1 (c
on tin
ue d)
C ap
ac ity
D oe
s no
tm ee
ts ta
nd ar
d A
pp ro
ac he
s st
an da
rd M
ee ts
st an
da rd
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st an
da rd
ev al
ua tio
n an
d ex
pl ai
n w
ha tt
he po
ss ib
le go
al s
an d
ou tc
om es
of su
ch an
ev al
ua tio
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ig ht
be
pr og
ra m
or pr
oj ec
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lu at
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pr oj
ec ts
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st ru
ct ur
ed w
ith in
th e
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ex to
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sp ec
ifi c
pr og
ra m
or pr
oj ec
t
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ec te
va lu
at io
n or
th e
su cc
es sf
ul ut
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tio n
of a
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ra m
or pr
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te va
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to im
pr ov
e ad
m in
is tr
at iv
e pr
ac tic
e
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ac it
y to
ap pl
y so
un d
pe rf
or m
an ce
m ea
su re
m en
ta nd
m an
ag em
en tp
ra ct
ic es
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pr ov
id e
an ex
pl an
at io
n of
w hy
pe rf
or m
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go al
s an
d m
ea su
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ar e
im po
rt an
ti n
pu bl
ic ad
m in
is tr
at io
n, bu
t ca
nn ot
ap pl
y th
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as on
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to sp
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ts
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id en
tif y
th e
pe rf
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en tc
on si
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a pa
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ul ar
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as lim
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to ev
al ua
te th
e ef
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rf or
m an
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t sy
st em
s
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id en
tif y
an d
an al
yz e
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or m
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m an
ag em
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ne ed
s, an
d em
er gi
ng op
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un iti
es w
ith in
a sp
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c or
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n or
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pr ov
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ne w
in si
gh ts
in to
th e
pe rf
or m
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m an
ag em
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ch al
le ng
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ci ng
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n or
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es ta
lte rn
at iv
e de
si gn
an d
m ea
su re
m en
ts ce
na ri
os
C ap
ac it
y to
ap pl
y so
un d
fin an
ci al
pl an
ni ng
an d
fis ca
l re
sp on
si bi
li ty
C an
id en
tif y
w hy
bu dg
et in
g an
d so
un d
fis ca
lm an
ag em
en t
pr ac
tic es
ar e
im po
rt an
t, bu
t ca
nn ot
an al
yz e
ho w
an d/
or if
su ch
pr ac
tic es
ar e
be in
g us
ed w
ith in
sp ec
ifi c
co nt
ex ts
C an
id en
tif y
fis ca
lp la
nn in
g an
d bu
dg et
in g
pr ac
tic es
fo r
a pa
rt ic
ul ar
si tu
at io
n or
co nt
ex t,
bu th
as lim
ite d
ca pa
ci ty
to ev
al ua
te th
e ef
fe ct
iv en
es s
of a
fin an
ci al
m an
ag em
en ts
ys te
m
C an
id en
tif y
an d
an al
yz e
fin an
ci al
m an
ag em
en t
sy st
em s,
ne ed
s, an
d em
er gi
ng op
po rt
un iti
es w
ith in
a sp
ec ifi
c or
ga ni
za tio
n or
ne tw
or k
C an
pr ov
id e
ne w
in si
gh ts
in to
th e
fin an
ci al
m an
ag em
en t
ch al
le ng
es fa
ci ng
an or
ga ni
za tio
n or
ne tw
or k,
an d
su gg
es ta
lte rn
at iv
e de
si gn
an d
bu dg
et in
g sc
en ar
io s
C ap
ac it
y to
ac hi
ev e
co op
er at
io n
th ro
ug h
pa rt
ic ip
at or
y pr
ac ti
ce s
C an
ex pl
ai n
w hy
it is
im po
rt an
tf or
pu bl
ic ad
m in
is tr
at or
s to
be op
en an
d re
sp on
si ve
pr ac
tit io
ne rs
in a
va gu
e or
ab st
ra ct
w ay
,b ut
ca nn
ot pr
ov id
e sp
ec ifi
c ex
pl an
at io
ns or
ju st
ifi ca
tio ns
ap pl
ie d
to pa
rt ic
ul ar
co nt
ex ts
C an
id en
tif y
in st
an ce
s in
sp ec
ifi c
ca se
s or
co nt
ex ts
w he
re a
pu bl
ic ad
m in
is tr
at or
de m
on st
ra te
d or
fa ile
d to
de m
on st
ra te
in cl
us iv
e pr
ac tic
es
C an
de m
on st
ra te
ho w
in cl
us iv
e pr
ac tic
es an
d co
nfl ic
t m
an ag
em en
tl ea
ds to
co op
er at
io n
fo r
fo rm
in g
co al
iti on
s an
d co
lla bo
ra tiv
e pr
ac tic
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22 C. Koliba and A. Zia
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2 Educating Public Managers and Policy Analysts in an Era of Informatics 23
Competencies in advanced quantitative methods in which students learn to clean and manage large databases, perform advanced statistical tests, develop linear regression models to describe causal relationship, and the like are needed. Capacity to work across software platforms such as Excel, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Analytica, and the like are important. Increasingly, the capacity to triangu- late different methods, including qualitative approaches such as interviews, focus groups, participant observations is needed.
Data Visualization and Design Not only must analysts be aware of how these meth- ods and decision support platforms may be used by practitioners but also they must know how to design and implement them. Therefore, we suggest that policy infor- matics analysts be exposed to design principles and how they may be applied to decision support systems, big data projects, and the like. Policy informatics analysts will need to understand and appreciate how data visualization techniques are being employed to “tell a story” through data.
Figure 2.1 provides an illustration of one student’s effort to visualize campaign donations to state legislatures from the gas-extraction (fracking) industry undertaken by a masters student, Jeffery Castle for a system analysis and strategic management class taught by Koliba.
Castle’s project demonstrates the power of data visualization to convey a central message drawing from existing databases. With a solid research methods background and exposure to visualization and design principles in class, he was able to develop an insightful policy informatics project.
Basic to Advanced Programming Language Skills Arguably, policy informatics ana- lysts will possess a capacity to visualize and present data in a manner that is accessible. Increasingly, web-based tools are being used to design user interfaces. Knowledge of JAVA and HTML are likely most helpful in these regards. In some instances, original programs and models will need to be written through the use of program- ming languages such as Python, R, C++, etc. The extent to which existing software programs, be they open source or proprietary, provide enough utility to execute pol- icy informatics projects, programs, or platforms is a continuing subject of debate within the policy informatics community. Exactly how much and to what extent spe- cific programming languages and software programs are needing to be mastered is a standing question. For the purposes of writing this chapter, we rely on our current baseline observations and encourage more discussion and debate about the range of competencies needed by successful policy analysts.
Basic to More Advanced Modeling Skills More advanced policy informatics analysts will employ computational modeling approaches that allow for the incorporation of more complex interactions between variables. These models may be used to capture systems as dynamic, emergent, and path dependent. The outputs of these models may allow for scenario testing through simulation (Koliba et al. 2011). With the advancement of modeling software, it is becoming easier for analysts to develop system dynamics models, agent-based models, and dynamic networks designed to simulate the features of complex adaptive systems. In addition, the ability to manage and store data and link or wrap databases is often necessary.
24 C. Koliba and A. Zia
Fig. 2.1 Campaign contributions to the Pennsylvania State Senate and party membership. The goal of this analysis is to develop a visualization tool to translate publically available campaign contribution information into an easily accessible, visually appealing, and interactive format. While campaign contribution data are filed and available to the public through the Pennsylvania Department of State, it is not easily synthesized. This analysis uses a publically available database that has been published on marcellusmoney.org. In order to visualize the data, a tool was used that allows for the creation of a Sankey diagram that is able to be manipulated and interacted within an Internet browser. A Sankey diagram visualizes the magnitude of flow between the nodes of a network (Castle 2014)
The ability of analysts to draw on a diverse array of methods and theoretical frameworks to envision and create models is of critical importance. Any potential policy informatics project, program, or platform will be enabled or constrained by the modeling logic in place. With a plurality of tools at one’s disposal, policy informatics analysts will be better positioned to design relevant and legitimate models.
2 Educating Public Managers and Policy Analysts in an Era of Informatics 25
Fig. 2.2 End-stage renal disease (ESRD) system dynamics population model. To provide clinicians and health care administrators with a greater understanding of the combined costs associated with the many critical care pathways associated with ESRD, a system dynamics model was designed to simulate the total expenses of ESRD treatment for the USA, as well as incidence and mortality rates associated with different critical care pathways: kidney transplant, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and conservative care. Calibrated to US Renal Data System (USRDS) 2013 Annual and Historical Data Report and the US Census Bureau for the years 2005–2010, encompassing all ESRD patients under treatment in the USA from 2005 to 2010, the ESRD population model predicts the growth and costs of ESRD treatment type populations using historical patterns. The model has been calibrated against the output of the USRDS’s own prediction for the year 2020 and also tested by running his- toric scenarios and comparing the output to existing data. Using a web interface designed to allow users to alter certain combinations of parameters, several scenarios are run to project future spending, incidence, and mortalities if certain combinations of critical care pathways are pursued. These sce- narios include: a doubling of kidney donations and transplant rates, a marked increase in the offering of peritoneal dialysis, and an increase in conservative care routes for patients over 65. The results of these scenario runs are shared, demonstrating sizable cost savings and increased survival rates. Implications of clinical practice, public policy, and further research are drawn (Fernandez 2013)
Figure 2.2 provides an illustration of Luca Fernandez’s system dynamics model of critical care pathways for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Fernandez took Koliba’s system analysis and strategic management course and Zia’s decision-making model- ing course. This model, constructed using the proprietary software, AnyLogic, was initially constructed as a project in Zia’s course.
Castle and Fernandez’s projects illustrate how master’s-level students with an eye toward becoming policy informatics analysts can build skills and capacities to develop useful informatics projects that can guide policy and public management. They were guided to this point by taking advanced courses designed explicitly with policy informatics outcomes in mind.
26 C. Koliba and A. Zia
Policy Informatics Analyst Informatics-Savvy Public
•Advanced research methods •Data visualization and design techniques •Basic to advanced modeling software skills •Basic to advanced programming language(s) •Systems thinking •Basic understanding of research methods •Knowledge of how to integrate informatics within performance management •Knowledge of how to integrate inofrmatics within financial systems•Effecive written communication •Effective usese of social media / e-governance approaches
Fig. 2.3 The nested capacities of informatics-savvy public managers and policy informatics analysts
Figure 2.3 illustrates how the competencies of the two different ideal types of policy informatics practitioners are nested inside of one another. A more complete list of competencies that are needed for the more advanced forms of policy analy- sis will need to emerge through robust exchanges between the computer sciences, organizational sciences, and policy sciences. These views will likely hinge on as- sumptions about the sophistication of the models to be developed. A key question here concerning the types of models to be built is: Can adequate models be built using existing software or is original programming needed or desired? Ideally, ad- vanced policy analysts undertaking policy informatics projects are “programmers with a public service motivation.”
2.3 Applications to Professional Masters Programs
Professional graduate degree programs have steadily moved toward emphasizing the importance of the mission of particular graduate programs in determining the optimal curriculum to suit the learning needs of it students. As a result, clear definitions of the learning outcomes and the learning needs of particular student communities are defined. Some programs may seek to serve regional or local needs of the government and nonprofit sector, while others may have a broader reach, preparing students to work within federal or international level governments and nonprofits.
In addition to geographic scope, accredited MPA and MPP programs may have specific areas of concentration. Some programs may focus on preparing public man- agers who are charged with managing resources, making operational, tactical, and
2 Educating Public Managers and Policy Analysts in an Era of Informatics 27
strategic decisions and, overall, administering to the day-to-day needs of a govern- ment or nonprofit organization. Programs may also focus on training policy analysts who are responsible for analyzing policies, policy alternatives, problem definition, and the like. Historically, the differences between public management and policy analysis have distinguished the MPA degree from the MPP degree. However, recent studies of NASPAA-accredited programs have found that the lines between MPA and MPP programs are increasingly blurred (Hur and Hackbart 2009). The relationship between public management and policy analysis matters to those interested in policy informatics because these distinctions drive what policy informatics competencies and capacities are covered within a core curriculum, and what competencies and capacities are covered within a suite of electives or concentrations.
Competency-based assessments are increasingly being used to evaluate and de- sign curriculum. Drawing on the core tenants of adult learning theory and practice, competency-based assessment involves the derivation of specific skills, knowledge, or attitudes that an adult learner must obtain in order to successfully complete a course of study or degree requirement. Effective competency-based graduate pro- grams call on students to demonstrate a mastery of competencies through a variety of means. Portfolio development, test taking, and project completion are common applications. Best practices in competency-based education assert that curriculum be aligned with specific competencies as much as possible.
By way of example, the University ofVermont’s MPA Program has had a “systems thinking” focus since it was first conceived in the middle 1980s. Within the last 10 years, the two chapter coauthors, along with several core faculty who have been associated with the program since its inception, have undertaken an effort to refine its mission based on its original systems-focused orientation.
As of 2010, the program mission was refined to read:
Our MPA program is a professional interdisciplinary degree that prepares pre and in-service leaders, managers and policy analysts by combining the theoretical and practical founda- tions of public administration focusing on the complexity of governance systems and the democratic, collaborative traditions that are a hallmark of Vermont communities.
The mission was revised to include leaders and managers, as well as policy analysts. A theory-practice link was made explicit. The phrase, “complexity of governance systems” was selected to align with a commonly shared view of contemporary gover- nance as a multisectoral and multijurisdictional context. Concepts such as bounded rationality, social complexity, the importance of systems feedback, and path de- pendency are stressed throughout the curriculum. The sense of place found within the State of Vermont was also recognized and used to highlight the high levels of engagement found within the program.
The capacities laid out in Table 2.1 have been mapped to the program’s core curriculum. The program’s current core is a set of five courses: PA 301: Foundations of Public Administration; PA 302: Organizational Behavior and Change; PA 303: Research Methods; PA 305: Public and Nonprofit Budgeting and Finance and PA 306: Policy Systems. In addition, all students are required to undertake a three- credit internship and a three-credit Capstone experience in which they construct a
28 C. Koliba and A. Zia
final learning portfolio. It is within this final portfolio that students are expected to provide evidence of meeting or exceeding the standard. An expanded rubric of all 18 capacities is used by the students to undertake their own self-assessment. These assessments are judged against the Capstone instructor’s evaluation.
In 2009, the MPA faculty revised the core curriculum to align with the core competencies. Several course titles and content were revised to align with these competencies and the overall systems’ focus of our mission. The two core courses taught by the two coauthors, PA 301 and PA 306, are highlighted here.
2.4 PA 301: Foundations of Public Administration
Designed as a survey of the prevailing public administration literature during the past 200 plus years, Foundations of Public Administration is arranged across a continuum of interconnected themes and topics that are to be addressed in more in-depth in other courses and is described in the syllabus in the following way:
This class is designed to provide you with an overview of the field of public administra- tion. You will explore the historical foundations, the major theoretical, organizational, and political breakthroughs, and the dynamic tensions inherent to public and nonprofit sector administration. Special attention will be given to problems arising from political imperatives generated within a democratic society.
Each week a series of classic and contemporary texts are read and reviewed by the students. In part, to fill a noticeable void in the literature, the authors co-wrote, along with Jack Meek, a book on governance networks called: Governance Networks in Public Administration and Public Policy (Koliba et al. 2010). This book is required reading. Students are also asked to purchase Shafritz and Hyde’s edited volume, Classics of Public Administration.
Current events assignments offered through blog posts are undertaken. Weekly themes include: the science and art of administration; citizens and the administra- tive state; nonprofit, private, and public sector differences; governance networks; accountability; and performance management.
During the 2009 reforms of the core curriculum, discrete units on governance networks and performance management were added to this course. Throughout the entire course, a complex systems lens is employed to describe and analyze gover- nance networks and the particular role that performance management systems play in providing feedback to governance actors. Students are exposed to social network and system dynamics theory, and asked to apply these lenses to several written cases taken from the Electronic Hallway. A unit on performance management systems and their role within fostering organizational learning are provided along with readings and examples of decision support tools and dashboard platforms currently in use by government agencies.
Across many units, including units on trends and reforms, ethical and reflective leadership, citizens and the administrative state, and accountability, the increasing use of social media and other forms of information technology are discussed. Trends
2 Educating Public Managers and Policy Analysts in an Era of Informatics 29
shaping the “e-governance” and “e-government” movements serve as a major focus on current trends. In addition, students are exposed to current examples of data visualizations and open data platforms and asked to consider their uses.
2.5 PA 306: Policy Systems
Policy Systems is an entry-level graduate policy course designed to give the MPA student an overview of the policy process. In 2009, the course was revised to reflect a more integrated systems focus. The following text provides an overview of the course:
In particular, the emphasis is placed upon meso-, and macro-scale policy system frame- works and theories, such as InstitutionalAnalysis and Development Framework, the Multiple Streams Framework; Social Construction and Policy Design; the Network Approach; Punc- tuated Equilibrium Theory; the Advocacy Coalition Framework; Innovation and Diffusion Models and Large-N Comparative Models. Further, students will apply these micro-, meso- and macro-scale theories to a substantive policy problem that is of interest to a community partner, which could be a government agency or a non-profit organization. These policy problems may span, or even cut across, a broad range of policy domains such as (included but not limited to) economic policy, food policy, environmental policy, defense and foreign policy, space policy, homeland security, disaster and emergency management, social policy, transportation policy, land-use policy and health policy.
The core texts for this class are Elinor Ostrom’s, Understanding Institutional Di- versity, Paul Sabatier’s edited volume, Theories of the Policy Process, and Deborah Stone’s Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision-Making. The course itself is staged following a micro, to meso, to macro level scale of policy systems framework. A service-learning element is incorporated. Students are taught to view the policy process through a systems lens. Zia employs examples of policy systems models us- ing system dynamics (SD), agent-based modeling (ABM), social network analysis (SNA), and hybrid approaches throughout the class. By drawing on Ostrom, Sabatier, and other meso level policy processes as a basis, students are exposed to a number of “complexity-friendly” theoretical policy frameworks (Koliba and Zia 2013). Appre- ciating the value of these policy frameworks, students are provided with heuristics for understanding the flow of information across a system. In addition, students are shown examples of simulation models of different policy processes, streams, and systems.
In addition to PA 301 and PA 306, students are also provided an in-depth ex- ploration of organization theory in PA 302 Organizational Behavior and Change that is taught through an organizational psychology lens that emphasizes the role of organizational culture and learning. “Soft systems” approaches are applied. PA 303 Research Methods for Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation exposes students to a variety of research and program evaluation methodologies with a particular focus on quantitative analysis techniques. Within PA 305 Public and Nonprofit Budgeting and Finance, students are taught about evidence-based decision-making and data management.
30 C. Koliba and A. Zia
By completing the core curriculum, students are exposed to some of the founda- tional competencies needed to use and shape policy informatics projects. However, it is not until students enroll in one of the several electives, that more explicit policy informatics concepts and applications are taught. Two of these elective courses are highlighted here. A third, PA 311 Policy Analysis, also exposes students to policy analyst capacities, but is not highlighted here.
2.6 PA 308: Decision-Making Models
A course designated during the original founding of the University of Vermont (UVM)-MPA Program, PA 308: Decision-Making Models offers students with a more advanced look at decision-making theory and modeling. The course is described by Zia in the following manner:
In this advanced graduate level seminar, we will explore and analyze a wide range of norma- tive, descriptive and prescriptive decision making models. This course focuses on systems level thinking to impart problem-solving skills in complex decision-making contexts. Deci- sion making problems in the real-world public policy, business and management arenas will be analyzed and modeled with different tools developed in the fields of Decision Analysis, Behavioral Sciences, Policy Sciences and Complex Systems. The emphasis will be placed on imparting cutting edge skills to enable students to design and implement multiple criteria decision analysis models, decision making models under risk and uncertainty and computer simulation models such as Monte Carlo simulation, system dynamic models, agent based models, Bayesian decision making models, participatory and deliberative decision making models, and interactive scenario planning approaches. AnyLogic version 6.6 will be made available to the students for working with some of these computer simulation models.
2.7 PA 317: Systems Analysis and Strategic Management
Another course designate during the early inception of the program, systems analysis and strategic management is described by Koliba in the course syllabus as follows:
This course combines systems and network analysis with organizational learning theory and practices to provide students with a heightened capacity to analyze and effectively operate in complex organizations and networks. The architecture for the course is grounded in many of the fundamental conceptual frameworks found in network, systems and complexity analysis, as well as some of the fundamental frameworks employed within the public administration and policy studies fields. In this course, strategic management and systems analysis are linked together through the concept of situational awareness and design principles. Several units focusing on teaching network analysis tools using UCINet have been incorporated.
One of the key challenges to offering these informatics-oriented electives lies in the capacities that the traditional MPA students possess to thrive within them. Increas- ingly, these elective courses are being populated by doctoral and master of science students looking to apply what they are learning to their dissertations or thesis. Our MPA program offers a thesis option and we have had some success with these more
2 Educating Public Managers and Policy Analysts in an Era of Informatics 31
professionally oriented students undertaking high quality informatics focused thesis. Our experience begs a larger question pertaining to the degree to which the baseline informatics-savvy public manager capacities lead into more complex policy analysts competencies associated with the actual design and construction of policy informatics projects, programs, and platforms.
Table 2.2 provides an overview of where within the curriculum certain policy informatics capacities are covered. When associated with the class, students are exposed to the uses of informatics projects, programs, or platforms or provided opportunities for concrete skill development.
The University of Vermont context is one that can be replicated in other programs. The capacity of the MPA program to offer these courses hinges on the expertise of two faculties who teach in the core and these two electives. With additional re- sources, a more advanced curriculum may be pursued, one that pursues closer ties with the computer science department (Zia has a secondary appointment) around curricular alignment. Examples of more advanced curriculum to support the devel- opment of policy informatics analysts may be found at such institutions as Carnegie Mellon University, Arizona State University, George Mason University, University at Albany, Delft University of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among many others. The University of Vermont case suggests, however, that pol- icy informatics education can be integrated into the main stream with relatively low resource investments leveraged by strategic relationships with other disciplines and core faculty with the right skills, training, and vision.
2.8 Conclusion
It is difficult to argue that with the advancement of high speed computing, the dig- itization of data and the increasing collaboration occurring around the development of informatics projects, programs, and platforms, that the educational establishment, particularly at the professional master degree levels, will need to evolve. This chap- ter lays out a preliminary look at some of the core competencies and capacities that public managers and policy analysts will need to lead the next generation of policy informatics integration.
32 C. Koliba and A. Zia
Table 2.2 Policy informatics capacities covered within the UVM-MPA program curriculum
Course title Policy informatics-savvy public management capacities covered
Policy informatics analysis capacities covered
PA 301: Foundations of public administration
Systems thinking Policy as process Performance management Financial management Basic communication Social media/IT/e-governance Collaborative–cooperative capacity building
Data visualization and design
PA 306: Policy systems Systems thinking Policy as process Basic communication
Basic modeling skills
PA 302: Organizational behavior and change
Systems thinking Basic communication Collaborative–cooperative capacity building
PA 303: Research methods for policy analysis and program evaluation
Research methods Basic communication
Data visualization and design
PA 305: Public and nonprofit budgeting and finance
Financial management Performance management Basic communication
PA 308: Decision-making modeling
Systems thinking Policy as process Research methods Performance management Social media/IT/e-governance
Advanced research methods Data visualization and design techniques Basic modeling skills
PA 311: Policy analysis Systems thinking Policy as process Research methods Performance management Basic communication
Advanced research methods Data visualization and design Basic modeling skills
PA 317: Systems analysis and strategic analysis
Systems thinking Policy as process Research methods Performance management Collaborative–cooperative capacity building Basic communication Social media/IT/e-governance
Data visualization and design Basic modeling skills
2 Educating Public Managers and Policy Analysts in an Era of Informatics 33
2.9 Appendix A: University of Vermont’s MPA Program Learning Competencies and Capacities
NASPAA core standard UVM-MPA learning capacity
To lead and manage in public governance
Capacity to understand accountability and democratic theory
Capacity to manage the lines of authority for public, private, and nonprofit collaboration, and to address sectorial differences to overcome obstacles
Capacity to apply knowledge of system dynamics and network structures in PA practice
Capacity to carry out effective policy implementation
To participate in and contribute to the policy process
Capacity to apply policy streams, cycles, systems foci upon past, present, and future policy issues, and to understand how problem identification impacts public administration
Capacity to conduct policy analysis/evaluation
Capacity to employ quantitative and qualitative research methods for program evaluation and action research
To analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems, and make decisions
Capacity to initiate strategic planning, and apply organizational learning and development principles
Capacity to apply sound performance measurement and management practices
Capacity to apply sound financial planning and fiscal responsibility
Capacity to employ quantitative and qualitative research methods for program evaluation and action research
To articulate and apply a public service perspective
Capacity to understand the value of authentic citizen participation in PA practice
Capacity to understand the value of social and economic equity in PA practices
Capacity to lead in an ethical and reflective manner
Capacity to achieve cooperation through participatory practices
To communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry
Capacity to undertake high quality oral, written, and electronically mediated communication and utilize information systems and media to advance objectives
Capacity to appreciate the value of pluralism, multiculturalism, and cultural diversity
Capacity to carry out effective human resource management
Capacity to undertake high quality oral, written, and electronically mediated communication and utilize information systems and media to advance objectives
NASPAA Network of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, UVM University of Vermont, MPA Master of Public Administration, PA Public administration
34 C. Koliba and A. Zia
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