Public Services Policy & Management is comparative and international in focus. The MSc equips you to understand and evaluate policy options for organising and delivering contemporary public services. The programme is for both mid-career managers and recent graduates planning to enter public and voluntary sector Non Governmental Organisations.
KEY BENEFITS
- Regular and senior speakers from UK-based government departments, public sector bodies, NGOs and policy-making units who discuss the implementation and evaluation of Public Services policy.
- Offers opportunities to select different Public Service areas for in-depth study, drawing on King's-wide expertise.
- Combines in-depth treatment of underlying principles with practical applications, including Human Resource Management and Design of Programme Evaluations.
KEY FACTS
Student destinations
Students are employed in a variety of Public Sector management and policy oriented positions and there is an active alumni network. Examples of past students’ current work include: working in the policy and analysis section of a large London Embassy; NHS management positions with responsibility for multi-million pound budgets; policy adviser to the chairman of a major transport organisation; becoming senior analyst in the Ministry of Industry and Trade of a developing country; policy development for a large NGO; running a policy website. Students have usually progressed to higher level management positions and overseas students typically return home to new fast-track governmental and Public Service positions which build on their expertise.
Programme leader/s
Professor Alison Wolf
Awarding Institution
King's College London
Credit value (UK/ECTS equivalent)
UK 180/ECTS 90
Duration
One year FT, two years PT (Thursday for part-timers starting in 2011), September to September.
Location
Waterloo Campus
Year of entry 2012
Offered by
School of Social Science and Public Policy
Department of Management
Closing date
Early application is advised, but no set date.
Intake
40 - 50 FT and PT
Fees
PT Home: £3750 (2012)
PT Overseas: £7998 (2012)
FT Home: £7500 (2012)
FT Overseas: £15995 (2012)
CONTACTS
Contact information
Postgraduate Officer, Centre for Arts & Sciences Admissions (CASA)
tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 1434 / 7204
fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 7200
Email
Website
PURPOSE
The MSc equips students to understand and evaluate policy options for organising and delivering high-quality Public Services . It combines study of theoretical concepts with analysis of real world policies and their lessons for managers and policy-makers.
DESCRIPTION
Comparative and international in focus, the programme is suitable both for career professionals and for recent social science graduates. It is built around taught core modules, which include: Political Economy of the Public Services; Economics and Management of the Public Services; Management, Finance, Accounting and Audit; Human Resource Management in the Public Services; Research Methods (quantitative and qualitative). Optional modules relate to specific Public Service areas, including Health; Urban Regeneration; Education and Defence but also include in-depth modules on Policy Design and Leadership. You may take options from more than one area. Some optional modules are provided by other Departments and these may be capped.
There is an emphasis on effective provision of public services (including their evaluation), and on the lessons of the 'new public management'; by comparison, the MA in Public Policy emphasises the analysis and understanding of the political process.
Seminars are central to the course and focus on current research and policy implementation. They involve senior policy-makers and practitioners including individuals actively involved with current UK government policymaking.
STRUCTURE OVERVIEW
Core programme content
- Political Economy of the Public Services
- Economics, Organisation & Management of Public Services
- Research Methods for the Public Services
- Human Resource Management in the Public Sector
- Management, Finance, Accounting & Audit
Indicative non-core content
- Key Issues in Health Policy
- Designing Public Policy
- Leadership & Innovation in the Public Services
- New Public Management in the UK Defence Sector
- The Third Sector & Public Policy
- Evaluating Public Policy
- Evidence Based Decision Making in Health Care
- Teacher Development
- Environment, Livelihoods & Development in the 'South'
- Recent Developments in Education Management
- Urban Regeneration
- Health Economics and Health Policy
- Sociology of Health & Illness
- Health Psychology
- Aging in the Global Context
- Aging in Society
FORMAT AND ASSESSMENT
Written examinations and coursework for core modules; coursework only in some extra-departmental modules; a dissertation.
MODULES
More information on typical programme modules.
NB it cannot be guaranteed that all modules are offered in any particular academic year.
Module code: 7SSMM408
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 60
Assessment:
coursework
The dissertation is designed to give students experience in defining and researching a specific topic in the field of public services policy and management, building on the subject knowledge gained through taught courses and applying the methodological principles gained through the research methods course.
The dissertation requires candidates to display a command of both subject matter and research / enquiry techniques; to demonstrate autonomy and self-direction; to communicate complex material and make sound judgements. The mark given will count for 33% percent of the overall programme assessment.
Module code: 7SSMM406
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 15
Semester:
Semester 1 (autumn)
Assessment:
written examination/s
This course will focus on issues in the management and change of the public sector workforce. The first half will explore the nature and changing structure of the public sector workforce; the growth of workforce flexibility and the challenges for management; industrial relations in the public sector; commitment and the changing psychological contract in the public sector; the health and satisfaction of the public sector workforce; and the relationship between human resource management and public sector performance. The second part will explore change in the management of the public sector workforce. It will cover analytic frameworks for the analysis of change, including diagnosis, change strategies and evaluation of change. It will use a number of cases such as the merger of departments (for example the Prisons and Probationary Services), implementing a new workforce strategy (for example the NHS in Wales) and the management of change in a traditional industrial relations environment (for example the Fire Service).
Module code: 7SSMM403
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 15
Semester:
Semester 2 (spring)
Assessment:
written examination/s
Explores the nature and role of finance, accounting and audit in the management of public services and develops an analysis of the role of management (with particular emphasis on financial, accounting and audit) in the delivery of public services.
Course content: introduction to finance, accounting and audit; managing in the changing context of public services; strategic management and managing change in public services; managing public services through finance; managing public services through management accounting; managing public services through financial accounting; managing public services through audit and inspection; managing public services through performance indicators and targets; managing public private partnerships; the future of management, with particularly emphasis on finance, accounting and audit in the public services.
Module code: 7SSMM405
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 15
Semester:
Semester 1 (autumn)
Assessment:
coursework
Coursework: 70%
Examination: 30%
The core aims of the course are to:
- Outline the principal methodologies and methods used in empirical research on the public services
- Explain methods of data collection and analysis, and foster the ability to use these in problem-solving
- Develop familiarity with appropriate data sources
- Develop a practical understanding and command of the methodology and methods of programme evaluation research
- Develop the capacity to assess critically the evidence used in support and criticism of policies towards public services
- Encourage a critical and systematic understanding of the meaning and limitations of evidence-based policy making
Course content will include: statistical concepts: frequency, probability; hypothesis testing, statistical significance; regression and correlation analysis; qualitative methods: case studies, comparative designs; evaluation methodology: issues, levels, evidence; the counterfactual and its implementation; cost-benefit analysis and equity; performance standards and programme implementation.
Module code: 7SSMM402
Credit level: 7
Semester:
Semester 2 (spring)
Assessment:
written examination/s
Examination: 70%
Mid-term test: 30%
This course builds on insights developed in the course 'Political Economy of the Public Services'.
Students will develop a comprehensive understanding, in an international context, of recent important research and policy agendas in the public services, especially those employing the criteria and methods of welfare economics. Leading research on policy implementation and management reform will be evaluated, drawing on work from political science, sociology and psychology as well as economics.
Course content includes: hierarchies, markets and quasi-markets; privatisation and outsourcing; regulation, inspection; and audit; technical change, productivity growth and the cost disease of the services; public choice; fiscal policy and fiscal restriction; public goods and externalities; welfare economics: efficiency and equity; cost-benefit analysis.
Module code: 7SSMM401
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 15
Semester:
Semester 1 (autumn)
Assessment:
written examination/s
Examination: 50%
Coursework: 50%
This course explores, in international and historical perspective, the definition and meaning of the public services, and the role of the 'public sector' in their delivery.
It examines the major economic, political and sociological issues involved in the organisation, production and finance of the public services.
Sessions will explore and evaluate the extent to which policy alternatives can be generalised to the public services as a whole, as opposed to being service-specific.
Course content includes: definition and meaning of public services and the public sector: an international overview; patterns of public service provision and finance over time; patterns of public service provision and finance by country; concepts of individual choice; principal-agent relationships: contracts and trust; motivation: quasi-markets; professions and professionalism; ownership, corporate governance and stake-holding. Topics will be covered with reference to specific applications: e.g. vouchers, retirement care, broadcasting.
Module code: 7SSAM195
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 15
Semester:
Semester 1 (autumn)
Assessment:
coursework
This module aims to develop students understanding of the theory and practice of designing public policy, enabling them to gain a thorough theoretical and practical understanding of how public policy is made in general and how specific public policies are designed and developed. The course is delivered through a mixture of formats that include formal lectures; group exercises; in-depth case studies and outside speakers.
Module code: 7SSG5107
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 15
Semester:
Semester 2 (spring)
Assessment:
coursework
This module starts with a focus on meanings, approaches, and debates resolving around sustainable livelihoods and development from various perspectives. Thematic exemplars will involve in-depth coverage of current issues, such as fair trade, agrarian change, and natural resources management. There will also be focus on discourses of participation and community in development as it pertains to macro- and micro-level implications. This will be linked to broader debates about gendered livelihoods and gender-development debates. The module will involve in-class discussions, based on assigned readings that students are expected to read, as well as documentary analyses linked to the practical coursework assessment
Teaching staff: Dr John Meadowcroft
Module code: 7SSAM009
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:
Semester 2 (spring)
Assessment:
coursework
1 x 1500 word essay (30%)
1 x 3500 word essay (70%)
Evaluating Public Policy introduces the theory and practice of policy evaluation. The aim of the module is to equip students with an understanding of the challenges that different approaches face when attempting to evaluate public policies and the different techniques of policy evaluation that may be used to overcome these challenges. The evaluation techniques studied include Social Experimentation, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Participatory Evaluation, Targets and Performance Measurement and Auditing.
The module aims to:
-Introduce students to the idea of policy evaluation within the context of policy process and the theoretical ideas that underpin different approaches to policy evaluation.
-To introduce students to the practical challenges that face different approaches to policy evaluation and how those challenges might be overcome.
-To ensure students have an understanding of how evaluation takes place in the contemporary world of policy making and have a sound knowledge of (what has been termed) 'the evaluative' state.
-To provide students with the knowledge, skills and techniques required for advanced critical analysis of the theory and practice of policy evaluation.
Module code: 7KNIM110
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 30
Semester:
Full-year
Assessment:
coursework
This course aims to equip you with the skills and knowledge required to identify best evidence for your practice. It focuses on searching for, appraising and synthesising evidence from health care research. You are introduced to a range of electronic databases for accessing evidence and the principles of systematic review. Learning is facilitated through lectures, workshops and a student-directed search for evidence to address a question emerging from your own practice. Issues surrounding research implementation and evidence at the level of the individual practitioner and the health care organisation are addressed. Assessment is by means of a review of literature which answers a focussed question utilising explicit methods.
Module code: 7SSMM409
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 15
Semester:
Semester 2 (spring)
Assessment:
written examination/s; coursework;
The core aims of this course are to: 1. Foster a critical understanding of the context for key issues in health policy. 2. Develop a systematic understanding of the major economic, political and sociological issues involved in the organisation, production and finance of health care services, both nationally and internationally. 3. Develop a critical awareness of key debates in the funding and provision of health care, such as the role of the state and the private sector. 4. Analyse the roles of professionals and users in the making and implementation of health policy through the use of case studies. 5. Explore issues of measuring and managing performance in health care. 6. Examine, through the use of case studies, the making of health policy and how specific health policies can be evaluated. Course content includes: introduction: what is health policy and why study it?; determinants of health: role of health care, public health etc.; funding health care systems; organising health care; role of the state and the private sector in health policy; role of professionals and users in health care and health policy; globalisation and the role of international organisations in health policy; measuring and managing performance; making health policy; evaluating health policy.
Module code: 7SSMM414
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 15
Semester:
Semester 2 (spring)
Assessment:
coursework
Assessment:80% coursework – 20% Assessed Tutorial Participation
Gain knowledge and critical understanding of a range of perspectives and theories on leadership and innovation in the public services; critically understand leadership and innovation in a variety of organisational contexts; gain experience of leadership development processes and exercises in tutorials.
Module code: 7SSMM411
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 15
Semester:
Semester 1 (autumn)
Assessment:
written examination/s
The Course examines the changes in the organisational, financial and operational management of Defence in the United Kingdom, the reasons for those changes and assesses their success, against the background of the international geo-strategic scene, and the globalisation of terrorism. No previous knowledge of the subject is assumed.
Starting with the geo-strategic environment, the course briefly explores the nature of war before discussing the higher direction of defence at the political level, both nationally and internationally, the senior military management, and the relationships between the military and society at large. It examines the management of the human resource in defence, and moves on to discuss the management of force structures and of resource control in defence and the supporting industry more generally. A special case study is made of the procurement of equipment, since this is the driving force in defence expenditure and force structure and has been the subject of the greatest reforming efforts in recent years. This case study will examine and assess the acquisition process and consider its future. The course completes with a discussion of the financial scrutiny and accountability of defence spending.
The course draws on academic sources, contemporary documents and the practices of the UK defence establishment although comparative reference is also made to the methods and processes of other countries.
Module code: 7SSEM040
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 30
Semester:
Semester 2 (spring)
Assessment:
coursework
In recent years, the gaze of researchers and policy makers has focused increasingly on teachers and teacher change. In this module, teacher development is considered as an area of knowledge from a range of perspectives including historical, philosophical, ethical, sociological, ethical, and political. Within these various concepts of 'teacher' are introduced and tensions among them explored. These include notions of the teacher as, for example: domain knowledge specialist; curriculum worker; bureaucrat; exemplary life coach and pastoral carer, and so on. The roles and representations of teachers (for example, as 'professionals' or as 'change agents') are explored in depth. Teachers' careers touching on their social, personal and professional growth are considered e.g., the reflective practitioner, the competence facilitator, the practitioner and practice oriented researcher, the professional leader, educational manager. Participants are expected to use their knowledge and experience of their own and their colleagues' development to interpret and inform their reading and discussions.
ACADEMIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
General entry advice
Minimum requirement is 2:1 in a social science subject OR relevant experience in public sector management
APPLYING TO KING'S
To apply for graduate study at King's you will need to complete our graduate online application form. Applying online makes applying easier and quicker for you, and means we can receive your application faster and more securely.
King's does not normally accept paper copies of the graduate application form as applications must be made online. However, if you are unable to access the online graduate application form, please contact the relevant admissions/School Office at King's for advice.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Your application will be assessed by academic staff in the department; we aim to process all applications within four weeks, but during February, March and holiday periods, applications may take longer to process.
PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPORTING INFORMATION
A personal statement is required.
FUNDING
Self-funded or employer sponsorship.
Student profiles
Public Services Policy & Management MSc
I chose King's for my graduate study mainly because of its prestigious reputation both in the UK and abroad. Most important for me were the excellent teaching staff and well-designed modules, which were recommended by alumni and have guaranteed an exciting, challenging and fruitful year of study.
I was most impressed by some of the modules in my programme, such as Human Resource Management, which was taught by a number of eminent professors in the field and combined informative lectures, interesting case studies and challenging coursework.
I have also attended many seminars organised by both the university and outside organisations, which gave me wonderful opportunities to broaden my vision and connect what I learnt in class with reality.
I funded myself to study here. I plan to go back to my country, China, after graduation and work for the government or other organisations in public services. I believe my training at King's will help me both in seeking employment and pursuing a promising career in public services.
Staff profiles
Public Services Policy & Management MSc
'How best to deliver public services is a major challenge for contemporary societies. Ideas have changed quite dramatically over the last few decades, and the UK has been in the fore-front.
Our programme taps directly into the policy community and its debates. It offers contributions from leading practitioners as well as drawing on students' own public and voluntary sector experience. It is exciting to teach a course that grapples with major public service dilemmas and also links directly with my own research. This concerns governments' roles in higher education and in developing workforce skills - two areas among many with both international relevance and considerable room for more, and better, evidence-based policy-making.'