PUBPOL 5658

Fixing the Future: Policy Solutions for Development Dilemmas

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

This course will address dilemmas or contradictions impeding progress toward achieving sustainable and equitable development goals. Discussions will revolve around six wicked development dilemmas and will provide students with the tools required to develop options for governments seeking to avoid systemic problems on their paths toward sustainability. These development dilemmas include the value vs. wealth proposition, eliminating poverty in the context of resource intensity, cleaner production, governance with common values, the role of government in sustainability, and the capacity of intergovernmental systems.

Enrollment Priority Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students or with permission of instructor.

Last 4 Terms Offered 2025SP, 2024SP, 2023SP

Outcomes

• Use system thinking by visualizing the larger dynamics of the system while keeping in mind human tendencies and behaviors. In this course, combine the analytical tools of systems thinking with human-behavior centered problem solving to make sense of complex human systems and challenge their engrained biases.
• Use creative thinking tools to expand their perspectives and think as if the box never existed to envision the emergence of a new human paradox.
• Structure open discussions around difficult issues specially those related challenges inherent in global efforts to achieving a more sustainable and equitable future.
• Articulate the future policy environments that will support future sustainability efforts.

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