Science and technology (S&T) affect—and insights rooted in understanding of S&T therefore are germane to formulating policy about—practically every issue on the agenda of governments: the economy, public health, education, energy, agriculture, environment, defence, diplomacy, and more (Professor John Holdren, former Assistant to President Obama for Science & Technology and Director, White House Office of Science & Technology Policy). Australia is no less in need of understanding the interactions of science and technology with policy. This understanding includes the evidence S&T can provide to underpin policy, and the areas where science and technology could influence the directions of Australia in the absence of effective policy.
This course provides a comprehensive approach to exploring the interactions between science, technology and public policy across a suite of policy areas. It is built on a teaching collaboration between two ANU Colleges (Asia and the Pacific; and Science), bringing together expertise from the Crawford School of Public Policy and the Australian National Centre for Public Awareness of Science (CPAS).
It will be interactive, and every session will use policy experts along with academic staff to ensure relevance and depth in the analyses. The course will be flexible, and arranged to maximise access by students who may be either full or part-time. It will consist of two 6-unit components; the first will be a prerequisite for the second. The first 6 units will be split between sessions exploring theoretical and practical underpinnings of how science, technology and public policy are undertaken and case studies exploring how these underpinnings play out, and might need to be revised, in real-world public policy situations. The second 6 units will consist entirely of case studies of increasing complexity as students hone their skills in extracting lessons and developing deeper understanding from examples presented by experienced academics and practitioners of public policy.
Students will be allowed to take its first 6 units or the full 12 units as contributions towards a postgraduate qualification, the 12 unit option contributing to a Science, Technology and Public Policy specialization.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Understand major themes in studies of the relationship between scientific/technical evidence and other inputs into policy-making
- Develop robust ways of assessing diverse sources and forms of evidence for policy analysis and policy-making
- Understand key challenges in governing scientific and technological research and innovation, and the salient frameworks put forward for coping with these issues
- Critically reflect on lessons from a series of case studies at the interface of science, technology and public policy
Indicative Assessment
- Mixture of short assignments modelled on policy briefings for ministers and longer assignments synthesising theory and practice and drawing lessons from case studies. (100) [LO null]
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Workload
A standard workload for a 6 unit course is 130 hours including in class time and independent study.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
See Wattle.
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:
- 14
- 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 |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $4440 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $6360 |
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.
