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MPA IN GOVERNANCE, 2005-6 – ACADEMIC CALENDAR

(INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL STUDIES/F.H.R. LIM A PO INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL STUDIES, SURINAME)

1. Philosophy of the MPA programme

The MPA Programme in Governance is delivered under the responsibility of ISS in collaboration with the Lim A Po Institute in Paramaribo, Suriname. It is designed for professionals working in the public, private or non-governmental sector, and seeks to enhance their capacity to analyse and deal with the complex issues of governance that present themselves at the local, national, and international (including regional, Caribbean) level.

The programme departs from the idea that governance is not something that is confined to the public sector (‘government’) but has wider dimensions (including the private sector and civil society). The programme focuses on the multiple ways in which public goods are provided. Public goods are tangible and intangible goods that respond to collective needs. Because of their collective character, all individuals in a community will benefit from public goods once these goods have been produced. The production of public goods cannot be confined to the public sector, although actors from this sector have a primary role to play, both as regulators of the circumstances under which the provision of public goods will take place and as producers of such goods themselves. Awareness of the important roles of multiple actors in processes that lead to the provision of public goods is at the heart of the MPA programme in Governance.

2. Learning Objectives

After completion of the MPA in Governance students will have acquired:

· An analytical understanding of the current debate on issues of governance;

· Knowledge of the core object of governance (public goods provision) and the main instruments of governance (the legal framework and public sector management);

· An understanding of the main public goods involved (democracy and the rule of law, and security);

· Knowledge of the core institutions involved in governance (in the public and private sectors, as well as in civil society);

· Knowledge concerning the main interactions of institutions of governance with the international environment, domestic societal actors (civil society) and the private sector;

· An ability to study complex governance issues, report on crucial processes of governance on the basis of independent study, and provide policy-relevant recommendations.

3. Structure and Content of the MPA programme in Governance

The MPA in Governance comprises a total of 65 ECTS (1 ECTS is 28 hours of student work; 65 ECTS is the equivalent of 1820 hours of student work or 13 months of full-time work).

The programme will consist of 12 modules of 4 ECTS each. An additional 17 ECTS will be available for the individual project that is required for completion of the MPA programme; 4 of these 17 ECTS will be available for research skills acquisition. Each module will involve 24 contact hours, 16 hours of exam preparation or essay writing, and approx. 450 pages of readings ^*.

^{* Before the commencement of each subject course participants will receive a syllabus containing a detailed outline of the course, reading material and a list of obligatory and recommended literature. The literature on the list is available for reading in the FHR Library.}

^{A list of general literature on governance in Suriname is included in this briefing book.}

The MPA programme in Governance consists of four main parts:

· 5 foundation modules (a total of 20 ECTS);

· 5 integration modules (a total of 20 ECTS);

· 2 focus modules (a total of 8 ECTS);

· an individual study project of 17 ECTS.

Modules are taught part-time, spread over eight days, starting on a Tuesday and finishing on a Wednesday, with 6 sessions in the evenings and a full Friday. Between the end of a given module and the beginning of the next one there is a two week period, during which students work on their essay or exam.

A. Foundation modules (a total of 20 ECTS; 4 ECTS per module)

Together, these modules provide the foundation for the understanding of processes of governance. The first module provides a general introduction of core concepts and approaches and places the contemporary discussion of governance in a broader historical framework. The second module provides an understanding of the main object of governance: the provision of public goods. The third and fourth modules focus on essential instruments of governance: public sector management and the legal framework. The fifth module deals with important principles of governance (such as accountability, transparency, effectiveness and impartiality) and with attempts to operationalise and measure these.

Foundation Modules

	Subject	Lecturer
1	Introduction to Governance: Concepts and Approaches	Richard Robison
2	Economics for Governance	Howard Nicholas
3	Public Sector Management	Jan Kees van Donge
4	Governance and the Legal Framework	Janine Ubink & Benjamin van Rooij (Van Vollenhoven Instituut, University of Leiden)
5	Principles of Good Governance	Joop de Wit

B. Integration modules (a total of 20 ECTS; 4 ECTS per module)

Building on the first set of modules, the integration modules deepen the students’ understanding of governance by focusing on several major issues concerning current debates on development. The first and second modules discuss two central public goods: democracy and the rule of law, and security. The third, fourth and fifth modules focus on the ‘environment’ in which processes of governance, aimed at public goods provision, take place. Thus, students will learn about the possibilities and limitations of governance. In particular, governance processes are placed against the background of international politics (the third module), the relationship of governance institutions with civil society (the fourth module) and with the private sector (the fifth module).

Integration Modules

	Subject	Lecturer
1	Democracy and the Rule of Law	Donna Gomien
2	The International Economic Environment	Howard Nicholas
3	The International Political Environment and Global Governance	Wil Hout
4	Governance and Civil Society	Kees Biekart
5	Governance and the Private Sector: Public-Private Partnership	Nicholas Awortwi

C. Focus modules (a total of 8 ECTS; 4 ECTS per module)

The focus modules provide students with the possibility of focusing on topics that are important elements of their individual study projects. In the first cycle, the number of focus modules will be limited. A possible way of broadening students’ choice would be by combining the offerings of focus modules with the MBA.

Focus Modules

	Subject	Lecturer
1	Public Finance	Frits van Beek (formerly at the IMF)
2	The Macroeconomics of Suriname	Howard Nicholas
3	Planning methods	João Guimarães (to be confirmed

D. Individual Study Project (17 ECTS)

As a professionally oriented Masters, the MPA in Governance will be completed by an individual study project, which requires students to demonstrate their capability to analyse a complex problem related to governance and to provide analytically sound and well-researched policy-relevant suggestions for responding to the problem. Students in this programme are advised, as professionals with relevant working experience, to draw on their own experiences and working environments for the identification of the problem that is to be addressed in their individual project. On the basis of their research, students write a paper of approx. 10,000 words that is to be assessed by the supervisor and a second reader.