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Unit of study_
GOVT4603: Wicked Problems and Policy Innovation
2025 unit information
Students have encountered the study of public policy and administration in theory as well as practice. This unit builds on, and challenges, their understanding by looking at wicked problems: those that are multi-dimensional, multi-scalar, and inter-disciplinary. It encourages them to engage deeply with the challenges of contemporary policy-making. Because the topics are "wicked", the approach to them will be flipped so that rather than going from the general to the specific, the reverse will be the case. Students will be challenged to take what appears to be a simple problem, but as it is a sub-set of a broader and more complex set of issues, to go from a narrow to broad conception of it.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Arts and Social Sciences
| Study level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Government and International Relations |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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24 credit points at 3000-level in Politics and International Relations stream, including GOVT3601 and a minimum of 126 credit points |
|---|---|
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. Introduce the key theoretical debates about the causes and consequences of wicked problems in public policy.
- LO2. Develop an understanding of the theory and practice of governing wicked problems in the context of a wide range of other social, political, economic, cultural, environmental, technological, justice, security, and geopolitical issues.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 2 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
