This course examines the range of ways that leaders have a social impact in everyday social interactions with others through to making strategic decisions that impact a range of stakeholders. Drawing on research from a range of disciplines including organisational psychology, sociology, philosophy, and management science students taking this course will acquire knowledge and practical skills to enable them to grapple with ethical dilemmas and exercise power to achieve organisational outcomes and create a more equitable and inclusive society.

Specifically, the course focuses on developing the following leader capabilities:

• Intrapersonal – problem solving and decision-making when value-conflicts exist, personal courage to speak-up, resilience for personal wellbeing, being proactive.
• Interpersonal – understanding power dynamics in society and organisations, emotional intelligence, conflict management when value-conflicts arise.
• Management – managing complexity, advocating for change, critical thinking and strategic management.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Identify through research the range of ways that leaders have a social impact (Ask & Remember);
2. Explain how leaders can use and abuse power (Acquire & Understand);
3. Critique relevant pro-social leadership theories and the role of leaders in achieving a positive societal impact (Appraise & Adapt);
4. Integrate frameworks to make decisions involving ethical dilemmas (Aggregate & Analyse);
5. Consider the intra- and interpersonal competencies involved with achieving a positive social impact (Apply & Evaluate); and
6. Develop personal awareness by reflecting on the leadership capability required to make decisions that balance social and economic goals (Assess & Create).

Research-Led Teaching

This course examines social impact - work that addresses social challenges. In the first part of the course, students consider their personal social impact identity, which evidence suggests is an important pre-cursor for achieving social impact. In the second part of the course, students learn about, and put into practice, a process for designing interventions to achieve social impact and address complex social challenges. The course draws on research conducted by the course convenor and world-class research on social impact.

Field Trips

There are no field trips for this course.

Additional Course Costs

None.

Examination Material or equipment

There will be a final invigilated examination in the exam period.

Required Resources

Readings will be provided on Canvas in Week 1 and then as necessary.

Recommended Resources

Recommended resources will be provided on Canvas in Week 1 and then as necessary.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Written comments
• Verbal comments
• Feedback to the whole class, to groups, to individuals

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Use of AI is rapidly growing in all sectors, particularly the use of Large Language Models, of which there are many proprietary brands. In this course students may choose to use or to not use AI tools. In any case where AI tools are used, the student must do so in a way that is consistent with the ANU Academic Integrity principles for use of GenAI, as well as accurately cite and reference what tools were used, and advise in an appendix how they used the tool. Guidance on how to do this appropriately is provided in the assessment requirements on the course Canvas page and the ANU provides further broad guidance in the ANU Gen AI LibGuide. As part of handling a potential breach of academic integrity, students are reminded that they may be requested to meet with the Convenor to discuss any assessment submission, including responding to questions on the content of submissions and on their understanding of the course concepts assessed by the submission.

Publication of Final Results

The release of final grades may change before the end of the semester. The last return of assessment date (4th Dec 2025) provided in the Assessment Summary table is the latest expected. If results are released earlier, then the assessment item(s) will be returned earlier as well.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Course Overview and Introduction	Seminar participation
2	What is social impact and why is it important?Social impact in-action: Guest speaker	Seminar participation
3	Leading social impact: Personal stories	Seminar participation
4	Leading social impact: Personal stories and coaching	Seminar participation
5	Leading Social impact: Student presentations	Seminar participation.Due in-class: Assessment 2 - Leading social impact presentation (individual assignment)
6	Social impact intervention design: A process model and problem diagnosis	Seminar participation. Due 4pm Fri 29 August: Critical analysis of leading social impact presentation.Group formation for Assessment 3.
7	Social impact design: interventions and theory of change	Seminar participation
8	Social impact project work	Individual groups meet with Course Convenor about social impact project
9	Social impact design: implementation, evaluation and adaption	Seminar participation
10	Social impact project pitch	Seminar participation. Due in-class seminar: Social impact project pitch presentations (group assignment)
11	Social impact power dynamics: in-class simulation	Seminar participation.
12	Debrief simulation and exam prep	Seminar participation
13	No classes this week. Start of end of end-of-semester examination period.	Final examination during the exam period

Tutorial Registration

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. There are no tutorials for this course, only a three hour seminar.

This course is delivered in seminar mode of 3 hours per week. There are no tutorials for this course.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Seminar participation (Individual - 10%)	10 %	*	*	1,2,3,4,5,6
Leading social impact presentation: Galvanising collective action (Individual - 20%)	20 %	18/08/2025	12/09/2025	1,2,3
Leading social impact presentation critical analysis (Individual - 20%)	20 %	29/08/2025	12/09/2025	4,5
Social impact project (Group - 20%)	20 %	*	24/10/2025	4,5,6
Final examination (Individual - 30%)	30 %	30/10/2025	04/12/2025	4,5,6

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using 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. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Students are expected to participate in all seminars, as well as all items of assessment in line with 'Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning", clause 2 paragraph (b).

The course will be taught face-to-face.

Examination(s)

There will be an invigilated final examination in exam period at the end of the semester.

Assessment Task 1

Seminar participation (Individual - 10%)

Seminars provide a forum for structured discussion, problem-solving, argument, and opinion on topics and issues canvassed in this course. Each student is expected to make a consistent, informed, and considered contribution to seminar discussion and debate. Students are also encouraged to ask considered and relevant questions.

Specific requirements: The following criteria will be used for assessment:

• Quality of contribution to seminar discussions. The contribution should demonstrate that students come to class prepared e.g. read required materials.
• Active participation in seminar activities;
• Demonstrate an ability to apply concepts and theories presented in the course.
• Submission of short handwritten responses to exercises in some seminars.
• N.B. Students will not receive marks for simply attending seminars, the assessment is based on the quality of their contribution to seminar discussions.

Due: All seminars. The assessment is worth a total of 10%.

Assessment feedback: An indicative mark and feedback based on week 1-6 seminar participation performance will be provided by Friday, 29 August. This written feedback will be provided and available on the Canvas course site. A final mark will be provided by Friday, 24 October.

Assessment Task 2

Leading social impact presentation: Galvanising collective action (Individual - 20%)

Leaders seeking to address social challenges often need to inspire others to take action. This assessment aims to develop students' ability to craft and present a narrative to galvanise collective action. Students will receive further information and guidance about this values-based approach to constructing a leader identity in Seminars 3 and 4. Students will also coach each other for this assessment. The assessment requires students to present their 3-5 minute narrative to the class in the week 5 seminar. No presentation slides are allowed for this assessment. Presentations will be video recorded, which will enable later validation and verification of assessment if required (in accordance with point 7 in the ANU Student Assessment (Coursework) policy), and students will use the recording to aid with assessment task 3 (Presentation critical analysis).

Further instructions will be provided in the week 3 seminar and marking criteria will be provided on Canvas by week 3.

Due: Week 5 seminar in-class (student presentations during weekly seminar)

3-5min presentation

Return of assessment with feedback: Friday 12 Sept (the presentation and critical analysis [assessment task 3] will be marked together).

Assessment Task 3

Leading social impact presentation critical analysis (Individual - 20%)

Students are required to watch their recorded video presentation from the week 5 seminar, available on ECHO360, and write a critical analysis of the presentation. The written critical analysis should include what worked well and what needed to be improved in the presentation.

Further instructions will be provided in the week 3 seminar, and marking criteria will be provided on Canvas by week 3.

1,000 words excluding references (+/-10% of 1,000 is acceptable). If an assignment exceeds this word limit, the portion of the assignment exceeding the word limit will not be marked.

Due: 4 pm Fri 29 August via Canvas.

Return of assessment with feedback: Fri 12 Sept (the presentation [assessment task 2] and critical analysis will be marked together).

Assessment Task 4

Social impact project (Group - 20%)

In this assessment, students will work in groups of 3-4 to design a social impact project that addresses a social challenge. Groups will select a social challenge from student presentations in the first part of the course, and students will work on a social challenge where they have a lived experience of the challenge.

Students can form their own groups or request assistance from the course convenor. Groups will be finalised in the week 7 seminar. Groups will prepare a social impact project pitch and deliver this in the week 11 seminar. No written report is required; students will be assessed on their ability to present a convincing pitch that applies the social impact process model covered in seminars. Presentations will be recorded, and presentation slides should be emailed to the course convenor on the day of the presentation. The presentation slides should include citations and a reference list. The group can decide who presents, there is no requirement for all students to deliver the presentation, however, all students must be present at the time of delivery. Groups are required to share a draft presentation and meet with the course convenor in week 9 to receive feedback on this assignment before finalising it and presenting it in week 11.

Marking Criteria: Further instructions on the task and marking criteria will be provided on Canvas in week 6.

Presentation - 15-20 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A - Presentations will be video recorded, which will enable later validation and verification of assessment if required (in accordance with point 7 in the ANU Student Assessment (Coursework) policy).

Presentation and presentation slides due: Week 11 seminar.

There will be a peer evaluation for the group assignment, and the course convenor will use this to decide whether all students in the group receive the same mark for the group assignment.

Assessment Task 5

Final examination (Individual - 30%)

In this final assessment, students are required to complete an examination. The exam will be about power and social impact and students will need to explicitly draw on their experience of the week 11 simulation in their responses to exam questions. Therefore, it is critical students participate in the week 11 seminar activity to prepare for the exam.

Due date: Examination period (invigilated exam)

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

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.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day.

Requests for Assessment Adjustment (Assessment Extension and Extenuating Circumstances Application) should be submitted via ANUHub.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

All assignments will be marked and where appropriate feedback will be provided either: in class, or in person by appointment with the course lecturer, or via the course Canvas site.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Unless specified otherwise in the assignment requirements, resubmissions are permitted up until the due date and time, but not allowed afterwards.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information. In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service — including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy. If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes. Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students