Unit Catalogue

This unit introduces students to the role of evaluation in policymaking processes and the ways in which evidence is applied in formulation and assessment of policy work. Students develop a critical understanding of the skills and knowledge required to assess theoretical frames through which evaluative processes are formulated and implemented. Critical evaluation of forms of evidence, methodologies for collecting and analysing evidence, provide an opportunity to examine the role of evidence and evaluative processes within the broader policy ecosystem. A range of socio-cultural, environmental, political and technical contexts that influence evidence are critically examined with a view to the assessment of legitimate sources of evidence and their application to evaluative processes. The unit provides a sound foundation in critical evaluative processes and the application of evidence that will prepare them for more in-depth analysis of evaluative methodologies and the conceptualisation of evidentiary processes in diverse socio-cultural contexts.