Appropriate policy education in the South African context: a study of the Public Policy Partnership.

Abstract

This study deals with appropriate policy education in the South African Context, using the Public Policy Partnership (PPP) as a case study. The first part of this portfolio is a theoretical framework, which looks at the evolution of public policy as an academic field of study and the study of public policy in a changing, global environment. This section highlights the challenges in terms of public policy within governments and the skills that policy practitioners need to be equipped with in order to address these problems. Part Two of this study looks at the PPP as a case study. The PPP was chosen as a case study as it is a current example of a public policy training and education programme within the new South African dispensation. The PPP is a programme based on partnership. It is the goal of the PPP programme to create a new breed of public policy practitioners who are able to make a meaningful contribution to policy-making, implementation and analysis in post 1994 South Africa. The PPP is a long-term policy training programme which consists of various programme components, namely: Winter Institutes, internship, and postgraduate study. These components are all dealt with in detail in Part Two. Part Three is a final report which discusses the current context of policy-making in South Africa in terms of the challenges that are discussed in Part One. It is important to address these challenges within a local context, as these are the problems that public policy practitioners in post 1994 are faced with. Accordingly, these public policy practitioners need to be equipped with specific skills and competencies in order to deal with such challenges effectively. This section also looks at some of the key issues that arise out of Part Two (case study) in terms of the PPP approach to public policy education in South Africa., namely: the student of public policy, an interdisciplinary approach to public policy education, skills and competencies acquired through the PPP programme, and the sustainability of the PPP programme.

Public Policy Partnership (PPP) as a case study. The first part of this portfolio is a theoretical

framework, which looks at the evolution of public policy as an academic field of study and the

study of public policy in a changing, global environment. This section highlights the challenges

in terms of public policy within governments and the skills that policy practitioners need to be

equipped with in order to address these problems.

Part Two of this study looks at the PPP as a case study. The PPP was chosen as a case study as

it is a current example of a public policy training and education programme within the new

South African dispensation. The PPP is a programme based on partnership. It is the goal of the

PPP programme to create a new breed of public policy practitioners who are able to make a

meaningful contribution to policy-making, implementation and analysis in post 1994 South

Africa. The PPP is a long-term policy training programme which consists of various

programme components, namely: Winter Institutes, internship, and postgraduate study. These

components are all dealt with in detail in Part Two.

Part Three is a final report which discusses the current context of policy-making in South Africa

in terms of the challenges that are discussed in Part One. It is important to address these

challenges within a local context, as these are the problems that public policy practitioners in

post 1994 are faced with. Accordingly, these public policy practitioners need to be equipped

with specific skills and competencies in order to deal with such challenges effectively. This

section also looks at some of the key issues that arise out of Part Two (case study) in terms of

the PPP approach to public policy education in South Africa., namely: the student of public

policy, an interdisciplinary approach to public policy education, skills and competencies

acquired through the PPP programme, and the sustainability of the PPP programme.