Designing Policies for Impact: Policymaking in the Age of Digital Transformation
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Designing Policies for Impact: Policymaking in the Age of Digital Transformation
4–8 Maggio 2026
Il corso è disponibile in English
Introduction to the course
Public policymaking today takes place in a context characterised by rapid technological change and increasing institutional complexity. Digital developments are not only generating new policy issues, but they are also reshaping the environment in which public authorities define problems, set priorities and design responses. In this evolving landscape, policymaking cannot rely on linear or purely incremental approaches. Public institutions are required to interpret evolving technological dynamics, anticipate societal implications, manage trade-offs and design coherent and coordinated policy responses. This calls for strong analytical capacity, institutional adaptability and evidence-informed decision-making.
The course “Designing Policies for Impact: Policymaking in the Age of Digital Transformation”, offered within the broader curriculum of the Master in Technology and Public Policy: Achieving Social Impact, focuses on the core stages of the policymaking process in contexts increasingly shaped by technological change. It examines how public problems are identified and framed, how issues enter the political agenda, and how policy options are developed and compared. Participants work on how policy choices are made in practice: defining objectives and a plausible pathway of change, selecting appropriate instruments, anticipating stakeholder responses, and assessing feasibility under conditions of incomplete information and evolving contexts. The course then looks at how decisions translate into implementation strategies within real institutional settings. Particular attention is devoted to understanding how evolving digital environments influence policy priorities, regulatory choices and institutional coordination. The emphasis remains on structured policy analysis, instrument choice and governance capacity.
Digital transformation is addressed throughout the programme as a policy context and as a source of emerging governance challenges. Policy case studies related to technological change are used to apply and test frameworks, enabling participants to examine how established policymaking tools operate when confronted with new and evolving issues. The programme also includes a focused reflection on the role of data-driven and algorithmic systems in decision-making processes, situating these developments within broader questions of accountability, transparency and institutional responsibility.
Each day combines analytical frameworks with applied discussion. Dedicated case work allows participants to test concepts against real-world situations, compare institutional approaches and reflect on practical constraints. The overall objective is to strengthen participants’ ability to design policies that are technically sound, institutionally feasible and capable of generating measurable impact.
Who attends this course
This course is designed for:
- Public officials involved in economic, technological, industrial or social policy design and coordination
- Professionals working in international organizations, development institutions and regulatory bodies
- Policy and public affairs experts in technology companies and digital industries
- Representatives of trade unions, employers’ organizations and other social partners
- Policy analysts, researchers and early-career professionals aiming to work in public administration, international organizations or policy consultancy
Course title and contents
The programme is organised around the core stages of the policymaking process and applies this framework to contemporary governance challenges related to technological change. Participants work through the policy cycle while systematically examining how digital transformation reshapes problem definition, regulatory choices, institutional coordination and accountability mechanisms. Across the week, participants will connect each stage of the cycle to practical design decisions, including what policy levers can realistically be activated under institutional and political constraints.
Each stage is addressed from both a conceptual and an operational perspective, highlighting how analytical tools and governance dynamics interact in practice and how established policymaking approaches can be adapted to technology-related policy challenges.
Problem Identification
The course begins with the analysis of how public problems emerge, how they are framed and measured, and how evidence and competing narratives shape policy priorities. Participants work with structured approaches to define policy problems, clarify assumptions and assess the relevance of evolving societal and technological developments.
Agenda Setting
Participants examine how certain issues gain political attention and enter formal decision-making arenas. Institutional dynamics, stakeholder influence, timing and public debate are analysed to understand how priorities are shaped in changing governance environments. The module considers how political feasibility, institutional mandates and stakeholder coalitions shape which options can realistically move forward.
Policy Development
This module focuses on the formulation and comparison of alternative courses of action. Participants analyse different types of policy instruments — regulatory, financial, informational and organisational — assessing feasibility, coherence and potential unintended consequences. The discussion focuses on how instrument choices work in practice and how these mechanisms may trigger behavioural responses that can support or undermine intended outcomes. Participants also examine how to combine tools into coherent policy mixes and how to manage trade-offs and uncertainty in the design phase. The course also introduces the role of data-driven and algorithmic systems as decision-support tools in the development and assessment of policy options, discussing their methodological limits and governance implications.
Implementation
The course explores governance arrangements, institutional coordination, administrative capacity and multi-level dynamics. Emphasis is placed on understanding the organisational and practical conditions that influence whether policy decisions translate into effective outcomes. Participants examine how implementation capacity, incentives and coordination arrangements can modify the effects of chosen instruments and how delivery constraints should be anticipated during design.
Monitoring & Evaluation (cross-cutting dimension)
Monitoring and evaluation are addressed as integral components of the policy cycle. Indicators, performance measurement and impact assessment are discussed as tools that support accountability, learning and adaptability over time. Monitoring is also discussed as a feedback mechanism that helps identify gaps between expected and observed responses.
What will I be able to do?
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Apply structured analytical tools to identify and frame public policy problems
- Understand how evolving governance contexts, including technological change and digital transformation, influence policymaking environments
- Develop and compare policy options by assessing feasibility, trade-offs and institutional and political constraints, including in contexts characterised by innovation and regulatory complexity
- Apply the policy cycle to technology-related challenges, analysing implications for problem framing, instrument choice and institutional coordination
- Select and justify appropriate policy instruments (regulatory, financial, informational and organisational) in relation to policy objectives and context
- Recognise the opportunities and limitations associated with data-driven and algorithmic decision-support tools within policy processes
- Assess implementation challenges, coordination needs and institutional constraints
- Integrate monitoring and evaluation considerations into the design of impact-oriented policies
