Public Policy & Government Decision-Making Fundamentals

Course Code: PSF-105

Pillar: Foundations of Public Service

Course Overview: Public policy turns public needs and priorities into coordinated government action. A practical understanding of how problems are defined, evidence is considered, options are assessed, and decisions are made helps public servants contribute more effectively without entering political debate.

Learners develop the awareness to support stakeholder-informed decisions, implementation, monitoring, and continuous improvement while keeping public value, feasibility, accountability, and institutional responsibilities in view.

Learning Outcomes:

• Explain the purpose and importance of public policy in government.
• Understand the public policy cycle and how policies move from problem identification to implementation.
• Recognize how evidence, citizen needs, stakeholder input, and public value influence policy decisions.
• Apply structured thinking to government decision-making.
• Identify common risks, trade-offs, and constraints in public sector decisions.
• Support effective implementation of policy decisions through communication, coordination, and follow-through.
• Understand how monitoring and evaluation improve policy outcomes.
• Develop a practical policy and decision-making improvement brief.

Target Audience: Public servants, policy and programme support officers, service-delivery teams, supervisors, planners, performance teams, citizen-service professionals, and employees supporting government decisions or implementation.

Course-specific Learning Experience: Learners engage through focused video overviews, audio deep dives, study guides, practical examples, reflection prompts, workbook activities, applied tasks, discussion activities, knowledge checks, and end-of-module quizzes. Activities guide learners through problem definition, evidence review, stakeholder consideration, option analysis, decision support, and implementation planning.

Course Structure: 5 modules / 20 lessons.

Special Feature: Every module concludes with a Putting It All Together audio deep dive that connects the key lessons and supports reflection and practical application.

Pathway Focus: Understand policy. Support sound decisions. Improve implementation.