PA 770

Policy Analysis

Recent executive, legislative, and judicial actions throughout the United States have weighed on the possibility of legally recognized gay marriages, as well as spurred the strong emotional debate on both sides of the issue. In California, the state budget’s current windfall has given the legislature and Governor options on which services to increase and whether to cut taxes. In San Francisco, issues such as traffic congestion, forced school integration, and affordable housing fill the agendas of local councils.

Why are there differing opinions on the best public policies to solve these issues? What are the best policy choices that should be made? At the heart of these issues and questions is the work of policy analysts. These skilled professionals assist public decision-making by using their analytical tools to assess and recommend courses of action to address public problems.

This class is designed to introduce you to this work and give you real, practical experience in doing it. It is a "skill-set" class, as opposed to a "knowledge-base" class. That is, its purpose is to expand your marketable skills to help you in your professional life. Even so, as you and your classmates apply these skills to real problems for this class, you will gain in-depth knowledge on a wide variety of policy issues.