Objectives

Societies are increasingly grappling with grand challenges such as climate change, corruption, poverty, gender inequality, and land degradation. The socioecological crisis is a grand challenge that must be addressed through coordinated and collaborative efforts by multiple stakeholders to act together to effect change. Broadly, this course will cover the following:

1. Examine the complexity of grand challenges and being able to analyse the role of different stakeholders in reaching the sustainable development goals.
2. Examine the psychological, behavioural, and cultural mechanisms that support socially harmful behaviours.
3. Examine the importance of data to tackle grand challenges - specifically causal insights.
4. Allow students to form groups and develop policy briefs for confronting a specific grand challenge.

Contents

Overview

Weeks 1 to 5 will consist of lectures with classroom discussions. For the remainder of the term, students will work in small groups on a specific grand challenge. Students will meet regularly among themselves to work out the project and they will meet regularly as groups with the instructor.

Projects will be presented to the class near the end of the term. The final assignment will consist of a policy brief to tackle the grand challenge in question.

Learning objectives

• To be able to evaluate objectively the multi-dimensional impact, opportunities and challenges associated with grand challenges.
• To be able to work collaboratively with others and participate jointly in problem-solving and decision-making processes.
• To be able to develop solutions to grand challenges using behavioural insights.
• To be able to develop empirical studies that provide causal insights into development issues.
• To be able to embrace complexities when engaging in the practice of sustainable development.
• To be able to critically analyse and assess reports and other sources of information pertaining to grand challenges and sustainable development goals.

References

Glennerster, R. and Kudzai, T. (2013). Running Randomized Evaluations: A Practical Guide. Princeton University Press.

Sachs, J. D., Schmidt-Traub, G., Mazzucato, M., Messner, D., Nakicenovic, N., and Rockstr ̈om, J. (2019). Six transformations to achieve the sustainable development goals. Nature Sustainability, 2(9), 805–814.

UnitedNations (2020). Sustainable development goals report 2020.

WorldBank (2015). World development report 2015: Mind, society, and behavior.

Evaluation

First attempt

Exam:

Without exam (cf. terms)  

Evaluation:

Students will be evaluated based on their oral presentations, their comments on the presentations of others, and final written proposals. Students will develop a policy brief tackling a specific grand challenge (analyse the problem, synthesise empirical studies on behavioural biases, and propose solutions).

Retake

Exam:

Without exam (cf. terms)  

Evaluation:

Students will develop a policy brief tackling a specific grand challenge (analyse the problem, synthesise empirical studies on behavioural biases, and propose solutions).