OASV4700 Perspectives on Crisis, Change and Reform in the Public Sector Course description

This course deals with different perspectives on crisis, change, and reform in the public sector. Special emphasis is put on social scientific perspectives taken from fields such as political science, public policy and administration, and sociology. The course introduces basic concepts on crisis and change in the public sector. Moreover, the course will discuss crises and change processes in the Norwegian public sector in a multilevel perspective, with comparative examples from Nordic and European experiences.

Political, economic, and societal crises such as the climate crisis, the covid-19 pandemic, the migration crisis, the financial crisis, and the Ukraine War all affect national, regional, and local conditions for policy formation and administrative behavior. The aim of the course is therefore to shed light on such issues by giving students insights into academic debates on crises and reforms in the public sector, starting from political theory, organizational theories as well as theories of Europeanization and globalization.

The teaching language is English.

Introductory subjects in political science, organizational theory, sociology, or political economy.

None

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• has advanced knowledge of how crises and change processes affect the public sector, hereunder policy formation and public administration
• can use knowledge on crises and change processes on different areas of public policy and administration
• can analyze academic problems and research questions on crises and change processes with political science theories, sociological theories, and different organizational theories as a starting point

Skills

The student is capable of

• analyzing and using existing theories and interpretations on subjects related to crisis, change, and reform
• working independently with theoretical and practice-oriented problem solving with relevance for public policy and administration
• analyzing and critically assessing different sources of information and utilizing these to structure and formulate academic arguments on crises, change, and reform in the public sector

General competence

The student is capable of

• carrying out an independent, limited research or development project under supervision and in accordance with applicable research ethical standards

The teaching is given as a combination of lectures and seminars. Active student participation is encouraged.

The following coursework requirements must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• Coursework 1: Submit outline of course paper that is presented at a seminar with obligatory attendance. Each student is also tasked to comment on the outline of another student. The outline should be between 2-3 pages. The submitted and presented outline is approved by the lecture after the seminar.

The purpose of the coursework requirement is to present the overall theme and specific research question for the course paper.

All required coursework must be completed and approved by the given deadline in order for the student to take the exam. If the course requirement is not approved, the student will be given the opportunity to submit an improved version by a given deadline.

The exam in the course is an individual course paper. The paper must have a scope of 3500 words (+/- 10 percent). Front page, list of content, and reference list are excluded from the word count. Font and font size: Arial/Calibri 12 points. Line spacing: 1,5.

The course paper can be submitted in Norwegian or English.

Students awarded a fail grade are given one opportunity to submit an improved version of the course paper for assessment.

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

Grade scale A-F

The exam papers are assessed by one internal and one external examiner.

At least 25% of the exam papers will be assessed by two examiners. The grades awarded for the papers assessed by two examiners form the basis for determining the level for all the exam papers.

Espen D. H. Olsen