MPA-878 Program Management: Implementing Public Policy

Queen's University School of Public Policy

MPA-878 Program Management: Implementing Public Policy Winter 2016

--- Adjunct Professor – Kevin Costante Office – SPS 312

Meeting Room – SPS 334 Phone – 647-300-6507

Office Hours – Tues. 2-4 and Wed, 2-3 Email – [email protected] ---

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course is intended to:

1. Provide an understanding of the theories, practices and approaches to implementing and managing major public sector programs delivering services to the public. The course will cover the key steps in taking an approved public policy through the development stage to full

implementation.

2. Create an awareness of the challenges of managing a program in the public sector once it has been implemented and facilitate discussion on how these challenges can be addressed.

3. Provide an understanding of delivering government programs indirectly through third party providers, including: not-for-profit agencies, the private sector and public-private partnerships (P3s).

These objectives will be considered through the examination of government programs, primarily in the fields of essential human services including social

services, health care and education, and through transactional customer services for such things as licensing and permits. There may also be some lesser

examination of government programs involving regulatory oversight and the administration of justice and economic development.

Several senior public servant leaders will be invited as guest speakers to talk about their experiences with developing and operating major government programs

COURSE INFORMATION

There is no textbook for this course. There will be two or three required readings every week. The readings and other course information will be available through the QSPS website.

COURSE GRADING

The grading for this course will be based on four components:

1. Course participation - 15%

2. Group Case Study (groups of 3-4) - focus on application of concepts to real or simulated management situations within the public sector. Present findings to class. - 30%

3. Major paper (15-20 pages) - in-depth review of some concept, issue or practice in implementing and/or managing a government program. - 35% 4. In-class Final Exam – 20%

CLASS FORMAT AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The class format is designed to be interactive and students are encouraged to participate fully by asking questions, sharing their thoughts and ideas, discussing current issues and how they relate to the topics and to debate issues in a

respectful manner.

The class participation grade will be based on: 1. Attendance;

2. Evidence of preparation for each class;

3. Contributions to group and class discussions;

4. Familiarity with assigned readings;

5. Quality of questions and comments; and

6. Willingness to question and challenge ideas creatively and conversely to respond appropriately to challenges and criticisms of one’s own ideas and comments.

The topics for the group case studies will be agreed on early in the term in

conjunction with the adjunct professor. Groups of 3-4 will be chosen randomly. Marks will be assigned to the group as a whole.

The group case studies will be presented in class and should be at least 20 minutes in length and be accompanied by suitable visual aids. Following the presentation, there will be 20 minutes for questions and answers and discussion. Groups should be ready to begin presentations by week 8 of the course.

The major paper will be due one week after the last class of the semester. Papers should be 15 to 20 pages in length, with a proper bibliography.

The final exam will be done in the last class and be 75 minutes in length and consist of 3 general questions that will concentrate on the scope of the course.

COURSE OUTLINE - WEEK BY WEEK

Week 1 - Introduction

Topics:

 The path from policy to implementation

 Managing a program upon implementation

 Program Management; Operations; Service Management

 How project management principles apply?

 The impact of Public Sector Reform on implementing and managing public sector programs

Readings:

Peter Aucoin, "Public Management Reform in Canada: Catching the Next Wave?" in Christopher Dunn (ed.) , The Handbook of Canadian Public Administration, (Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2002), 37-52.

Alex Matheson, "Public Management in Flux: Trends and Differences across OECD countries" in Tony Bovaird and Elke Loffler (ed.), Public Management and

Governance, (London, Routledge 2001), 41 -52.

Week 2 - Being a Manager

Topics:

 Role of the Manager

 What does leadership entail at the first level of management?

 Creating and leading teams

 Working in a unionized environment

Readings:

Mark C. Bojeun, Program Management and Leadership, (Boca Raton , Auerbach Publications, 2013), Chapter 11.

P.J. Neal, Rob McKinney and Ellen Bailey, "Ready, Set, Lead: Preparing New Public Sector Managers to Lead", Harvard Business School Publishing, 2015.

Linda A. Hill, "Becoming the Boss", Harvard Business Review, Volume 85 (Jan. 2007).

Week 3 - Program Development

Topics:

 Doing the business case for a new program

 Creation of New Programs - process and pitfalls

 Relationship to public policy, politics, and the broader environment

Readings:

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Government of Australia, Implementation of Programme and Policy Initiatives: Making Implementation Matter, Canberra, 2006 – Chapters 1 and 4.

Guest Speaker- Jim Grieve, former ADM, Early Learning Division, Ontario Ministry of Education, "Implementing Full Day Kindergarten in Ontario Schools, 2010-15".

Week 4 - Delivering Services to Citizens

Topics:

 Managing On-going Delivery - plans and processes

 Continuous improvement and innovation

 Determining and measuring program outputs and outcomes

 Decision making

Readings:

Mohammad Ehsan and Julie M. Simmons, “Do Performance Management

Systems Lead to Better Accountability and Governance?” in Roberto P. Leone and Frank L.K. Ohemeng (Ed.), Approaching Public Administration: Core Debates and Emerging Issues, Emond Montgomery Publications, Toronto, 2011.

Karen J. Fryer, Jiju Antony and Alex Douglas, "Critical Success Factors of

Continuous Improvement in the Public Sector: A Literature Review and Some Key Findings", The TQM Magazine, Volume 19, No. 5, 2007.

Guest Speaker - Sam Erry, ADM, Corporate Policy, Ontario Treasury Board Secretariat, "Service Ontario: Citizen Centered Services".

Week 5 - Clients, Citizens and Stakeholders

Topics:

 Approaches to customer/client/stakeholder relations

 Customer satisfaction and feedback

 Stakeholder management in a political environment

Readings:

Evan Diamond and Ron Cooper, "Citizen Relationship Management", Optimum Online, Vol. 33 (December 2003), 4. Available at

http://optimumonline.ca/article.phtml?id-190"

Steve Martin, “Engaging with Citizens and other Stakeholders” in Bovaird and Loffler (ed.), Public Management and Governance.

Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat, "Guideline on Service Standards, Ottawa, April, 2012

Guest Speaker - Shamira Madhany, ADM, Health, Social, Education and Children's Policy, Cabinet Office, " Working with Stakeholders".

Week 6 - Risk Management

Topics:

 Theory and concepts in risk management

 Practice of understanding, recording and managing risks

 Innovation and risk management

 Issues Management - what to do when things go wrong

Readings:

Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat, “Guide to Integrated Risk Management”, http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/tbs-sct/rm-gr/guides/girm-ggirtb-eng.asp

David Coderre and Gregory Richards, "Integrating Risk and Performance Management: A Proposed Model" Optimum Online, Vol. 44 (June, 2014), 2. Available at Optimum Online.

Week 7 - Resource Management

Topics:

 Financial and capital planning

 Deployment of Human Resources

 Contingency Planning

 Use of outside resources - consultants; partnering with other organizations

Readings: TBD

Guest Speaker: TBD

Week 8 - Program Review and Audit

Topics:

 Theory and concepts in program review

 Managing program reviews

 Audits - internal and external

 Dealing with Federal or Provincial

Auditors and other Parliamentary Oversight Officers

Readings:

James C. McDavid and Laura R. Hawthorn, Program Evaluation and Performance

Measurement: an introduction to Practice. Thousand Oaks, Sage, 2006. Select chapters*

Andre Marin, "Letting the Watchdog off the Leach", Optimum Online, Vol. 39 (September 2009), 3. Available at Optimum Online.

Frank L.K. Ohemeng and Elyse McCall-Thomas, "Program management and

"undesirable" organizational behaviour: standardized Testing in Ontario Schools", Canadian Public Administration, Vol. 56 (Sept. 2013), 1.

Various Annual Audit reports of the Auditor General of Canada and Ontario

Presentations: Group Presentations of case studies – 20 minutes each

Week 9 - The Role of IT in Delivery Client Centered Services

Topics:

 Data gathering and performance measurement

 Organizing to deliver with IT

 Managing IT upgrades

 Integrating IT professionals into your team

Readings:

Jeffery Roy, Tuna Baskoy and Anne Belmonte, “Is E-Government Radically

Approaching Public Administration: Core Debates and Emerging Issues, (Emond Montgomery Publications, Toronto), 2011.

Christine Bellamy, “Moving to E-Government: the role of ICT’s in the public sector”, in Bovaird and Loffler,

Guest speaker: Soussan Tabari, ADM and Chief Information Officer, Community Services Cluster, Government of Ontario.

Week 10 - Delivering Through Not-for-Profit (NGO's) Agencies

Topics:

 Types of Agencies or Guest Speaker

 Alignment of Goals and the role of Agencies vs Government

 Proper Oversight measures and practices

 Funding formulas and other governing instruments, including legislation and contracts

Readings:

Susan Phillips and Karine Levasseur, "The snakes and ladders of accountability: Contradictions between contracting and collaboration for Canada's voluntary sector", Canadian Public Administration, Vol 47 (Winter 2004) 4, 451-474

Presentations: Group presentations of case studies - 20 minutes each, or Guest Speaker - TBD

Week 11 - Delivery through the Private Sector

Topics:

 Models for Private Sector Delivery - P3's, contracting out, privatizing and joint ventures

 Oversight models

 Importance of the procurement approach and managing to the contract

Readings:

Frank Ohemeng and John K. Grant, "Neither public nor private: The efficacy of mixed model public service delivery in two Canadian municipalities", Canadian Public Administration, Vol. 57 (Dec. 2014) 4.

Joan Price Boase, “Beyond government? The appeal of public-private

partnerships", Canadian Public Administration, Vol. 43 (Spring 2000) 1, 75-92. Andrew Erridge, Contracting for Public Services: Competition and Partnership, in Bovaird and Loffler (ed.), Public Management and Governance.

Presentations: Group presentations of case studies - 20 minutes each.

Week 12 - Bringing it all together

Topics:

 Value of Leadership and thinking like a leader

 Ethics in management and the public service

Readings:

John Langford and Allan Tupper, "How Ottawa Does Business: Ethics as a Government Program", in G. Bruce Doern (Ed.), How Ottawa Spends: 2006-07,

Montreal and Kingston, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006, 116-137.