Program: Certificate, Collaborative Governance

Program: Certificate, Collaborative Governance

Department: Public Policy and Administration

Number of students enrolled in the program in fall, 2011: 10

Faculty members completing template: Rob Wassmer (PPA Chairperson), Ted Lascher (PPA Professor),
and David Booher (PPA Adjunct Professor)

Date: 1/22/2012

Period of reference: 2006-07 to present

Background

The Certificate in Collaborative Governance is available only to students enrolled in the Master’s
Program in Public Policy and Administration (PPA) at Sacramento. It is a two-course sequence
satisfying the PPA elective requirement for these master’s students. Holders of the certificate learn
how to build consensus among often competing interests to resolve complex public policy issues.
Such issues have no clear solutions and usually involve multiple government agencies, nonprofit
organizations, and the private and public sectors. Collaborative governance, often referred to as
deliberative and participatory governance, calls for active participation of advocacy groups,
businesses, non-governmental organizations and citizens in government decision-making. Experts in
public policy are calling the emerging field of collaborative governance an important new
development for the health of democracy.

After input from students and planning by faculty, two graduate courses (PPA 270 and 272) were
created. One class (PPA 270) covers an introduction to collaborative policy-making and includes
discussion of theories underlying the collaborative approach, key elements of the approach, and
challenges to collaborative policy making. The course includes a number of exercises and simulations,
although these are much less extensive than in PPA 272. The second class (PPA 272) focuses on
advanced practice in collaborative policy. These two courses build on fundamental concepts needed
for collaborative governance taught in other PPA core courses. Meeting planning and agenda
preparation are included in the content of PPA 200. Fundamental negotiation theory and practice is
included in the content of PPA 210. Communication concepts and conflict theory are included in the
content of PPA 240A. The PPA faculty deems these important concepts for all graduates of the MPPA
program.

1) Please describe your program’s learning-outcomes trajectory since 2006-07: Has there been a
transformation of organizational culture regarding the establishment of learning outcomes and the
capacity to assess progress toward their achievement? If so, during which academic year would you say
the transformation became noticeable? What lies ahead; what is the next likely step in developing a
learning-outcomes organizational culture within the program?

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The two courses that comprise the Certificate in Collaborative Governance are PPA 270
(Collaborative Policy) and PPA 272 (Collaborative Policy Making Advanced Practice). Since the
inception of these courses during the 2006-07 academic year, instructors have included learning
objectives for them on the syllabi that students receive at the start of the semester. These
learning objectives were originally developed during the creation of the certificate. They have
been refined over the six years that these courses have been taught through informal discussion
among the three instructors who have taught them (Booher, Lascher, and Leach), and through a
formal discussion of the Certificate in Collaborative Governance that has occurred each year at the
Department of Public Policy’s Annual Retreat. Given that the courses for this certificate are
taught within the Department of Public Policy and Administration, and this department has a
strong tradition of establishing learning outcomes, assessing how well they are being achieved,
and if necessary making changes to better achieve them, the culture of learning-outcomes
surrounding this certificate is strong.

2) Please list in prioritized order (or indicate no prioritization regarding) up to four desired learning
outcomes (“takeaways” concerning such elements of curriculum as perspectives, specific content
knowledge, skill sets, confidence levels) for students completing the program. For each stated outcome,
please provide the reason that it was designated as desired by the faculty associated with the program.

The three desired learning outcomes for the PPA Certificate in Collaborative Governance (not

prioritized) are:

1. Students will understand the context for collaborative governance in modern public
administration including basic theories and analysis of problems with traditional decision
making methods, how to assess whether collaborative methods are appropriate in a specific
situation with conflict, common challenges that face the collaborative approach, and the
available evidence as to gains and losses from collaboration in practice. This was designated
as desired because successful professional practice in collaborative governance begins with
analysis and understanding of specific contexts and situations of public policy problems and
assessment of whether collaborative policy is an effective method to resolve problems for a
specific policy issue in a specific context. This priority learning outcome is supported by these
course-specific learning objectives for PPA 270 and 272:

a. Understand basic theories and analysis of problems with traditional decision making
methods that underlay the collaborative approach.

b. Recognize common challenges that face the collaborative approach.
c. Know how to conduct an assessment of whether a collaborative process may or may not

be appropriate.
d. Know the available evidence as to the gains and losses from collaboration in practice.
e. Understand options in a conflict situation and be able to determine when collaboration is

or is not part of an appropriate response.

2. Students will understand the best practices for collaborative policy making methods and the
keys to effective collaboration skills. This was designated as desired because research has
documented best practices for collaborative policy methods and students need this
knowledge to be able to apply collaboration tools and methods to address important public

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policy problems that cannot be resolved using traditional practices. This priority is supported
by the following course-specific learning objectives for PPA 270:

a. Understand the components of the collaborative approach identified as critical by the
Center for Collaborative Policy Making.

b. Understand the keys to effective collaboration identified by Straus.

3. Students will have the skills to use specific tools and methods of collaborative policy making
practice and understand how to assess the need for specific methods in a specific public policy
problem area. These tools and methods include principled negotiation to achieve a successful
outcome, use of collaboration to improve organization effectiveness, use of public
participation in public policy issues, inter-organizational cooperation, involvement of
stakeholders in public policy decision making, and design of conflict assessments to determine
if and how a specific collaborative process is appropriate for a specific public policy problem.
This was designated because research and practice has identified specific methods that are
useful in addressing complex public policy problems that may not be effectively addressed by
traditional public policy practices and students require skills in these methods in order to help
public administration agencies achieve effective outcomes in the resolution of many public
policy problems. This priority is supported by the following course-specific learning objectives
for PPA 272:

a. Know how to act in a collaborative manner, and encourage collaboration in others, in
settings such interagency networking, public participation processes, formal collaborative
groups, and day-to-day teamwork and internal agency processes.

b. Be able to prepare a design for a conflict assessment.
c. Be able to prepare an interagency Memorandum of Agreement.
d. Be able to prepare a media strategy and press release.
e. Be able to prepare a design for a public participation plan.
f. Understand and apply the core values and ethics of collaboration to a variety situational

challenges, including group problem solving, organizations, networks, and public
involvement.
g. Be able to assess real time challenges to collaboration and use a number of tools to
respond appropriately based upon the specific context.
h. Know how to organize and lead collaborative processes.

3) For undergraduate programs only, in what ways are the set of desired learning outcomes described
above aligned with the University’s Baccalaureate Learning Goals? Please be as specific as possible.

This is a graduate only program.

4). For each desired outcome indicated in item 2 above, please:

a) Describe the method(s) by which its ongoing pursuit is monitored and measured. b) Include a
description of the sample of students (e.g., random sample of transfer students declaring the major;
graduating seniors) from whom data were/will be collected and the frequency and schedule with which
the data in question were/will be collected. c) Describe and append a sample (or samples) of the
“instrument” (e.g., survey or test), “artifact” (e.g., writing sample and evaluative protocol, performance
review sheet), or other device used to assess the status of the learning outcomes desired by the

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program. d) Explain how the program faculty analyzed and evaluated (will analyze and evaluate) the
data to reach conclusions about each desired student learning outcome.

Unfortunately, there has been no previous measurement of the achievement of the above listed
Certificate in Collaborative Governance learning objectives. If it were to be done, it would be best
accomplished through three summative measures: (1) a survey of certificate alumni to assess their
opinion both on how well the three desired outcomes listed above fits what they think they need to
practice collaborative governance, and then how well the specific learning objectives of PPA 270 and
PPA 272 have been achieved through their completion of the Certificate in Collaborative Governance,
(2) a similar survey of potential employers of certificate holders to see if these three desired outcomes
are appropriate to what they need from such a graduate, and a survey of actual employers of
certificate holders to see how adept these graduates are at the three desired outcomes in their work
environment, and (3) a survey given to students in both PPA 270 and 272 that would ask their opinion
on how well the learning objectives for the course have been achieved. Faculty who teach the two
Certificate in Governance required courses could then discuss tabulated results with an eye toward
possibly changing the curriculum and/or pedagogy in a way that would better achieve a learning
objective not currently achieved at a desired level.

6) Has the program systematically sought data from alumni to measure the longer-term effects of
accomplishment of the program’s learning outcomes? If so, please describe the approach to this
information-gathering and the ways in which the information will be applied to the program’s
curriculum. If such activity has not yet occurred, please describe the plan by which it will occur.

Per the above paragraph, this has not yet been done. However, it is something that we will
complete next year. The reason for not doing it this year is that the Master’s in Public Policy
and Administration Program, also administered by the Department of Public Policy and
Administration, is going through its own program review.

7) Does the program pursue learning outcomes identified by an accrediting or other professional
discipline-related organization as important? Does the set of outcomes pursued by your program exceed
those identified as important by your accrediting or other professional discipline-related organization?

No, it does not. There is no such accreditation process for programs in collaborative governance or
policy making, no doubt because there are few of them and the field is relatively young.

8).Finally, what additional information would you like to share with the Senate Committee on
Instructional Program Priorities regarding the program’s desired learning outcomes and assessment of
their accomplishment?

None.

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