Course Curriculum:
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Within the PSC PhD Program 'Plant Sciences and Policy' you will follow these courses:

• Basics of Policy Sciences: choose 1 course
• Policy Workshops A - E: choose 4 courses

Choose the remaining credit points from:

• Colloquium 'Challenges in Plant Sciences'
• Courses on Research Skills: see course catalogue
• Poster presentation at an International Conference (max. 1 CP).
• Or organisation of Panel at PSC PhD Symposium (3 CP)

Basics of Policy Sciences

Please note: we are currently selecting additional possible courses to be added to this list!
These courses from the ETH Main Course Catalogue meet our criteria to be of high added value for a basic introduction into the political sciences.
For registration to these courses please go to: ETH myStudies

Policy Workshops A - E

March 1 and April 11, 2012
Workshop A: Evidence-based Policy-making in Plant Sciences
Objective: Facilitating the use of science in policy-making and regulation

Details and Registration

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Dr. Holger Gerdes, Ecologic Institute, Andreas Hauser, FOEN, Dr. Christian Hirschi, Institute for Environmental Decisions, ETHZ, Dr. Christian Pohl, Dept. of Environmental Sciences, ETHZ, Dr. Andrew Seidl, IUCN, PD Dr. Thomas Widmer and Kathrin Frey, Dept. for Political Science, UZH, Dr. Andrea Pfisterer
PSC
2 Credit Points

The aim of this course is develop skills and actions to improve the effectiveness of science in informing policy-makers. By addressing a broad range of issues associated with the science–policy interface, the students will learn:

• to communicate findings to policy-makers in a useful form
• to establish research questions and agendas in the policy process
• to provide tools for policy-makers to access scientific information and expertise
• to ensure transparency and evaluation of scientific results

April 18 and Mai 30, 2012
Workshop D: Building Political Support
Objective: Identify the institutions, procedures and agenda of policy activities

Details and Registration

Sarah Bütikofer, Global Governance, ETH Zurich, Marcel Falk, chief communication officer, Swiss Academy of Sciences, Daniela Pauli, Swiss Biodiversity Forum
2 Credit Points

During the last decades different ways of bridging science and policy have been explored. Many researches believe in passing on information is a sufficient task of academic policy culture. However, policy is understood as a principle or guideline for action in a specific context. Thus, in this course, the students shall learn what kind of actions is necessary to implemented policies in different sectors, such as public agencies, the civil society or the private sector. Who are the main actors and when do they need to be involved?
Details coming soon

Fall 2012
Workshop B: Stakeholder Engagement
Objective: Exercise multi-stakeholder approaches

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Dr. Minu Hemmati, Berlin, www.minuhemmati.net. and Dr. Andrea Pfisterer, PSC
2 Credit Points

Implementing policy programs such as for example for the conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems will involve changing habits and adopting new techniques. Human nature, social theory and experience of implementation all suggest that individuals and groups are reluctant to do this if they do not see the benefits to themselves. The obvious way to convince people of the benefits of proposed changes is to involve them as equal partners in the process of analysis of the issue and the development of policy proposals. In this course, students will learn how to build and work with a multi-stakeholder group.

During the course of the workshop, students will:

• Gain a basic understanding of Stakeholder Engagement and multi-stakeholder processes
• Get an overview of possible issues within Plant Sciences where Stakeholder Engagement could play a role
• Understand the different possibilities and forms of involvement the government uses to engage stakeholders
• Learn to identify and analyse stakeholders
• Know different levels of involvement and how to plan them; understand their strengths and weaknesses
• Know criteria and methods for evaluating stakeholder engagement processes

Spring 2013
Workshop C: Communication Strategies
Objective: Develop communication strategies

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Jacopo Pasotti, www.jacopopasotti.com and Dr. Andrea Pfisterer, PSC
2 Credit Points

Scientific knowledge is not effective if retained in the hands of the researcher. The policy-makers do not generally go about seeking knowledge to assist them in understanding every decision they must make. Scientific knowledge must be distributed from the researcher to the policy-maker so that it can be used in making policy decisions. In this course, students will learn how to develop communication strategies and get accustomed to different communication tools and best-practice examples.

Fall 2012
Workshop E: Developing a Policy Action Plan
Objective: Overview of how to organize the process for developing a policy action plan

Lecturers: tbd
2 Credit Points

In this course the students will learn how to develop a policy action plan. Policy action planning often involves the preparation of a logical framework consisting of objectives, indicators, means of verification and assumptions and risks. Preparing such frameworks will enable the students to develop, monitor and assess fundamentals of policy-work.