Postgraduate Diploma in Development Policy and Practice

Purpose

The Postgraduate (PG) Diploma is a professional development qualification, with a strong focus on application, for those with a Level 7 qualification and appropriate professional experience. Its primary purpose is to enable South African and other African working professionals in the mid-level public service to engage with current thinking and practice in the specialised field of public policy design and implementation in developing countries. This qualification will advance their knowledge and capabilities for their current work and potential new roles in the domain of development policy and practice and potentially further postgraduate study at an appropriate time.

Rationale

Given the need for a larger number and wider range of skilled officials and public leaders in South Africa and the rest of Africa, there is a significant need for specialised training for senior public servants. It is for this purpose that the Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice (GSDPP) was established. The GSDPPs goal is to help make government service at the highest level an aspiration for the most able of each generation. It seeks to build an esprit de corps and communities of practice amongst government leaders in South Africa and in Africa more broadly and to promote links between leaders in government and leaders in other fields of human endeavour such as science, business and the arts. Graduates from the Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice will ensure both excellence and commitment to public service.

This qualification has been developed for those who either do not have the necessary academic qualifications for entry into a Master's qualification, or who are not at a stage in their professional lives to undertake such a qualification. Learners will recognise the value of the core qualification and its relevance to their ongoing work in the public sector. The Postgraduate Diploma in Development Policy and Practice (PG Dip in Development Policy and Practice) will strengthen and deepen the professionals' knowledge in this specialised field, and provide them with strategic skills to be more effective in their work.

This qualification is designed for middle and senior managers in the public service who require a rigorous training in development policy issues.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Entry into the qualification via RPL is not possible. The qualification is geared to support senior-level public officials to align their prior academic learning to the practical realities of policy, strategy and implementation. As such, some prior exposure to the rigorous thinking required to complete an undergraduate Degree, Level 7, is a necessary pre-condition for the development of the graduate.

Entry Requirements

• An approved Level 7 qualification.

This qualification consists of compulsory modules at Level 8 totalling 120 Credits.

• The Practice of Strategic Policy Making for Development, 25 Credits.
• The Practice of Policy Implementation, 25 Credits.
• Introduction to African Economic Development, 10 Credits.
• Public Leadership I, 20 Credits.
• Research and Policy Numeracy, 10 Credits.
• Foundations of Development Policy, 20 Credits.
• Public Leadership II, 10 Credits.

1. Demonstrate enhanced policy formulation capabilities.
2. Understand how to help bridge the gap between broad policy goals and strategies and the details of design and implementation that are the key to development effectiveness.
3. Demonstrate skills, personal insight, and inter-personal capabilities to support change within individual public agencies, across government, and at the interfaces between government, citizens, the private sector and civil society.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of appropriate tools for use in specialised, priority areas of development policy.
5. Understand policy-making and implementation by demonstrating, in assignments related to policy challenges (usually in their own workplaces), self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems; using data and information at their disposal; and communicating the conclusions clearly.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Identify a 'good fit' between policy design and a country's economic, political and social context and institutions to help build momentum for policy change by engaging multiple government and non-governmental stakeholders in the policy formulation process.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the African Economic and Development context within which public officials and others in the development sector operate.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the key factors impacting on African economic growth, both past and present.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Understand the implementation realities with complex public policy problems.
• Address the multiple management functions within the public sector (including budget planning; management of public expenditure and administration; procurement and parastatal governance).
• Identify the many options available to policy makers (in terms of solutions) and explore different options, experiment, and learn about what works and why, to facilitate the making of sound judgments on implementation.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Reflect on the role of leaders in setting priorities, mobilising commitment within an organisation to these priorities, and orchestrating support from external stakeholders.
• Explore small group dynamics from both theoretical and practical perspectives, with a focus on how leaders can be more effective facilitators of effective group work.
• Engage critically with the ethical dimensions of leadership within government.
• Reflect on ongoing leadership challenges and experiences personally and within the broader workplace environment, including the effectiveness of efforts to orchestrate external stakeholders.
• Deepen and consolidate ongoing practice with tools to enhance self-awareness, reflective perspective-taking, and more effective day-to-day self-management; critically explore their individual strengths and weaknesses as facilitators of group work, with a focus on improvement in areas of continuing challenge; and engage in a structured reflection on specific ethical work-related challenges.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Apply statistical tools and techniques to available data in order to answer specific questions related to development policy, planning and practice.
• Access and interrogate data using either the available web interface or spreadsheet programmes and become proficient both as users and consumers of quantitative data, bivariate and multivariate analysis in their respective policy and planning environments.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• Demonstrate knowledge of a range of different policy areas such as: Social Policy, Trade and Industrial Policy, Governance and Ethics, Regional and Local Governance and Economic Development, and Sustainable Development.
• Understand the different policy challenges, e to engage with a range of issues.

Integrated Assessment

Assessments will include written assignments. For some courses, there will also be a written examination. Assessment will include application of analytical policy skills to workplace challenges. In core courses, assignments are individually tailored to the learners' workplace situations, by agreement between the learner and the course convenor.