The Nova School of Business & Economics Public Policy Institute (Nova SBE NPPI) concluded, last Tuesday, June 2, the first edition of the ‘Leadership in Public Policy’ program, which brought together 19 young members of party youth organizations on the Carcavelos campus over four days.
The program was developed with a focus on technical skills – rather than ideological positions – to strengthen knowledge areas that are not typically included in political training and to equip young party leaders with the fundamentals of designing, implementing, and evaluating public policies.
A willingness to transform the country is necessary, but not sufficient
In the ‘Leadership in Public Policy’ program, participants from different political backgrounds were challenged to sit in the same room and debate what unites them: the best path forward for the country. For ideas to be translated into effective public policies, it is essential to master the tools that enable the rigorous design, implementation, and evaluation of solutions.
The program was coordinated by Professor José Tavares and featured the participation of around a dozen Nova SBE researchers from key areas of public decision-making, ranging from Welfare Economics to Macroeconomics and Public Finance. In addition to thematic sessions, the program included a more practical component of group work and a final debate simulating the confrontation of arguments and the building of consensus characteristic of democratic public decision-making.
“Public policy evaluation is not an academic exercise; it is an act of democratic responsibility”
The group of instructors brought well-known and influential figures in public policy debate into the classroom: Pedro Martins (Director of the Economics for Policy Knowledge Center at Nova SBE, Full Professor of Economics, and former Secretary of State for Employment), Susana Peralta (economist recognized for her work in Public Economics and Inequality), Pedro Pita Barros (Professor and national reference in Health Economics), Cátia Batista (Professor of Economics and migration specialist), Lilian Lehmann (Executive Director of NPPI), Mónica Ferro (former Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund), among others.
The ‘Leadership in Public Policy’ program is part of the mission of the Nova SBE Public Policy Institute to promote more informed, effective, and evidence-based public policies.