In Winter 2022, this course is on campus with remote adjustments only for participants with unavoidable travel restrictions/visa delays.
Grounded in the discipline of public environmental policy, the course considers the complexities around public policy-making for the environment and sustainability. The course considers how policy is made and the institutional settings within which it is made, how problems and policies are framed, implemented and evaluated, and the inherent challenges in choosing appropriate policy instruments to meet an objective. The course focuses particularly on Australia’s public environmental policy and institutional settings. Comparisons with international case studies will be made. Interactive lectures and seminars provide students with opportunities to analyse specific environmental policy issues in theoretical frameworks and over different time scales. Once a general overview of how environmental policy is created we apply a structured analytical tool to assess whether existing environmental policies in Australia are adequate to meet the challenges of environmental management in a changing climate. Topics explored include water, forestry, biodiversity and climate policy, sustainability in business and industry, public and civil society participation in policy-making, and comparisons will be made with overseas environmental policy examples.
This course is offered as an intensive over 2 weeks. Participation during this 2 weeks is required. Each day will consist of a series of lectures, seminars and group discussions. Active participation by students is strongly encouraged.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Identify and examine the basis of environmental policy and how it is developed and implemented in Australia, as well as in other relevant jurisdictions.
- Describe and evaluate key environmental public policies, as well as information and tools to support them.
- Evaluate alternative choices of policy design and policy instruments in the context of major environment and sustainability issues, including in both Australian and international contexts.
- Recognize and articulate the role of politics and the media in environmental policy development and evaluation.
- Employ advanced research, writing and presentation skills, including to construct written and oral material relevant to the public policy sphere.
- Participate in, and lead group learning processes and activities in the context of environmental policy.
Other Information
If you do not meet the requisites for this course, it may be possible to receive a permission code. If you are prompted for a permission code on ISIS, please request one online via the following form.
Indicative Assessment
- Prepare a policy brief (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Seminar presentations and group discussion (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
- Policy in the News journal (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
- Policy analysis report (40) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours throughout the session including:
- Face-to face component which will consist 60 contact hours delivered intensively over 2 weeks comprising lectures, seminars and group discussions
- Approximately 70 hours of self directed study which will include preparation for lectures, presentations and other assessment tasks accross a longer period of time.
Students are expected to actively participate and contribute towards discussions.
Inherent Requirements
To be determined
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Dovers, S. and Hussey, K. 2013. Environment and sustainability: a policy handbook. 2nd edition. Sydney: Federation Press.
Preliminary Reading
- Frieberg, Arie. 2010. The Tools of Regulation. The Federation Press. NSW. A practical, comprehensive but simple and accessible guide to modern regulation in Australia (all regulation, not just environmental).
- Moran, M., M. Rein, and R.E. Goodin (Eds.) (2008), The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy, Oxford University Press Inc., New York. An extremely thorough (though occasionally dull…) handbook on public policy - origins of the discipline, processes, impacts, constraints, instruments etc across all sectors, not just the environment sector. Some terrific case studies, which will be used during the course.
- Bridgman, P. and Davis. G. 2004. The Australian policy handbook. 3rd ed. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. A short policy handbook, intended for practitioners.
- Howlett, M. and Ramesh, M. 2003. Studying public policy: policy cycles and policy subsystems. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. An excellent, standard policy text, with good coverage on different schools of thought and the policy and related literature.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 2
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $4440 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $6000 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3214 | 21 Feb 2022 | 28 Feb 2022 | 31 Mar 2022 | 27 May 2022 | In Person | N/A |
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4653 | 04 Jul 2022 | 15 Jul 2022 | 15 Jul 2022 | 19 Aug 2022 | In Person | View |
