Insegnamento a.a. 2026-2027

The course is organized into two main parts.

1. Public Policy and Public Management

The first part introduces students to the study of the policy process. It examines how public issues become policy problems, how political and institutional actors shape agendas, and how policy alternatives are formulated. Students then study implementation, with attention to the role of bureaucracy, organizational structures, administrative processes, and street-level organizations. This part also addresses evaluation and accountability, showing how public action is assessed and how institutions are held responsible for results. The section concludes by discussing the policy process in the age of governance, where public policy is increasingly shaped by networks of public institutions, nonprofit organizations, private actors, and citizens.

2. Nonprofit Management

The second part focuses on nonprofit organizations as mission-driven actors that contribute to public value and social change. Students learn how to map nonprofit organizations and understand their role in relation to the public sector, the market, and civil society. The course then examines hybrid models, including corporate social responsibility and social enterprise, before addressing board governance, leadership,  organizational accountability, resource mobilization - including how nonprofit organizations secure financial resources and mobilize volunteers - nonprofit lobbying and advocacy, managing international and global organizations, and social entrepreneurship.

Throughout the course, students work on a capstone project that allows them to apply concepts from both public policy and nonprofit management. The project is introduced during the course, developed through a checkpoint, and finalized before the concluding session. Guest speakers from the public policy and nonprofit sectors provide practical insights into professional experience, while mock tests and wrap-up sessions help students consolidate knowledge and prepare for assessment.

• Recognize the distinctive features and roles of governments and nonprofit organizations
• Identify the main challenges that public and nonprofit managers have to face in their work
• Describe  how nonpro!t can secure contributed income

• Analyze a policy issue
• Propose solutions to a policy issue
• Perform basic managerial tasks coherent to the daily work of a public/nonprofit executive

• Lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Practical Exercises
• Collaborative Works / Assignments

Beside class meetings or online lectures this course include other activities:

• Guest speakers’ talks complement acquired knowledge with practical experiences
• Case studies and incidents will be proposed as practical exercises to reflect on complex policy issues and to find appropriate paths of solution
• Group assignments will be in the form of practical problem solving exercise

Two midterms (50%): open and closed answers exam on attending students reading material  (40 minutes time maximum). The multiple choice quiz and short open-ended questions are mainly aimed at verifying the learning of distinctive features and roles of governments and nonprofit organizations and their correct comprehension.

Group project report (50%): to be delivered before the end of the course. The field project consists of developing an innovative project to tackle a policy problem emerging in the City of Milan. Specific feattures of this activity  will be presented in detail at the kick off session  along with the assessment criteria.  These projects will be used to verify the ability of students to apply the knowledge developed during the course  and assess the ability to analyze a policy issue and propose innovative solutions to it. At their discretion, individual groups may request to integrate the faculty assessment with a peer evaluation (optional).

Final written exam (100%): 

The exam will be made up of 5-6 short open- ended questions and 1-2 policy mini-cases. They will refer to the concepts, models and insights contained in the textbooks.  The open-ended  questions are mainly aimed at verifying learning of distinctive features and roles of governments and nonprofit organizations and their correct comprehension. The minicases  cases are used to assess the ability to analyze a policy issue and propose solutions to it.

Hill, M., Varone, F., & Lotta, G. (2025). The Public Policy Process (9th ed.). Routledge.  (selected chapters)

Worth, M. J. (2024). Nonprofit management: Principles and practice (7th ed.). CQ Press. (selected chapters)

Hill, M., Varone, F., & Lotta, G. (2025). The Public Policy Process (9th ed.). Routledge.  (ALL)

Worth, M. J. (2024). Nonprofit management: Principles and practice (7th ed.). CQ Press. (ALL)

The course is organized into two main parts.

1. Public Policy and Public Management

The first part introduces students to the study of the policy process. It examines how public issues become policy problems, how political and institutional actors shape agendas, and how policy alternatives are formulated. Students then study implementation, with attention to the role of bureaucracy, organizational structures, administrative processes, and street-level organizations. This part also addresses evaluation and accountability, showing how public action is assessed and how institutions are held responsible for results. The section concludes by discussing the policy process in the age of governance, where public policy is increasingly shaped by networks of public institutions, nonprofit organizations, private actors, and citizens.

2. Nonprofit Management

The second part focuses on nonprofit organizations as mission-driven actors that contribute to public value and social change. Students learn how to map nonprofit organizations and understand their role in relation to the public sector, the market, and civil society. The course then examines hybrid models, including corporate social responsibility and social enterprise, before addressing board governance, leadership,  organizational accountability, resource mobilization - including how nonprofit organizations secure financial resources and mobilize volunteers - nonprofit lobbying and advocacy, managing international and global organizations, and social entrepreneurship.

Throughout the course, students work on a capstone project that allows them to apply concepts from both public policy and nonprofit management. The project is introduced during the course, developed through a checkpoint, and finalized before the concluding session. Guest speakers from the public policy and nonprofit sectors provide practical insights into professional experience, while mock tests and wrap-up sessions help students consolidate knowledge and prepare for assessment.

• Recognize the distinctive features and roles of governemnts and nonprofit organizations
• Identify the main challenges that public and nonprofit managers have to face in their work
• Describe  how nonpro!t can secure contributed income

• Analyze a policy issue
• Propose solutions to a policy issue
• Perform basic managerial tasks coherent to the daily work of a public/nonprofit executive

• Lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Practical Exercises
• Collaborative Works / Assignments

Beside class meetings or online lectures this course include other activities:

• Guest speakers’ talks complement acquired knowledge with practical experiences
• Case studies and incidents will be proposed as practical exercises to reflect on complex policy issues and to find appropriate paths of solution
• Group assignments will be in the form of practical problem solving exercise

Two midterms (50%): open and closed answers exam on attending students reading material  (40 minutes time maximum). The multiple choice quiz and short open-ended questions are mainly aimed at verifying the learning of distinctive features and roles of governments and nonprofit organizations and their correct comprehension.

Group project report (50%): to be delivered before the end of the course. The field project consists of developing an innovative project to tackle a policy problem emerging in the City of Milan. Specific feattures of this activity  will be presented in detail at the kick off session  along with the assessment criteria.  These projects will be used to verify the ability of students to apply the knowledge developed during the course  and assess the ability to analyze a policy issue and propose innovative solutions to it. At their discretion, individual groups may request to integrate the faculty assessment with a peer evaluation (optional).

Final written exam (100%): 

The exam will be made up of 5-6 short open- ended questions and 1-2 policy mini-cases. They will refer to the concepts, models and insights contained in the textbooks.  The open-ended  questions are mainly aimed at verifying learning of distinctive features and roles of governments and nonprofit organizations and their correct comprehension. The minicases  cases are used to assess the ability to analyze a policy issue and propose solutions to it.

Hill, M., Varone, F., & Lotta, G. (2025). The Public Policy Process (9th ed.). Routledge.  (selected chapters)

Worth, M. J. (2024). Nonprofit management: Principles and practice (7th ed.). CQ Press. (selected chapters)

Hill, M., Varone, F., & Lotta, G. (2025). The Public Policy Process (9th ed.). Routledge.  (ALL)

Worth, M. J. (2024). Nonprofit management: Principles and practice (7th ed.). CQ Press. (ALL)