F1GD 5855 - Human Centered Governance in Practice (New course)

***UPDATED for 2025/26***

The relationship between governmental institutions and citizens is founded on trust. This crucial trust has been declining throughout the past decade, eroding the foundation of the democratic rule of law in many countries. In this course, we will study how the relationship between government and citizen as it is now has come about, through a historical, legal and philosophical lens. From this starting point, we will explore the causes of the declining trust, using not only ideas of governance, but also using (social) psychology to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics at play. This will bring us to question the world-view that many public institutions operate from, to explore new avenues that can reshape the relationship, and to develop skills and techniques to rebuild the trust on both interactive and systemic level.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will gain an understanding of the current (conception of the) relationship between governments and citizens.
• Students will be able to identify and observe their personal biases as well as cultural/organizational biases and to communicate these effectively.
• Students will gain tools to identify and access citizens’ needs, for instance in the context of creating effective policies and interventions.
• Students will develop tools to communicate the needs of citizens effectively, for instance in the context of procedural justice.
• Students will be able to identify new paradigms to define the relationship between governments/institutions and citizens.

Professional Skills

Team work; oral communication; understanding stakeholders; conflict resolution; creative thinking; critical thinking

Prerequisites (optional, 300 characters maximum)

none

Feedback will be provided weekly throughout the course in a dynamic and interactive way. Self-awareness and self-reflection is a cornerstone of this course, and the students will be asked to listen and reflect on each other’s insights. Feedback on the group presentations will be given directly after the presentation. Feedback on the essays and the final reflection will take place at the end of the course. Students are welcomed to approach the instructor with questions for the essay if need be.

• Active class participation: 10% (this includes engaging with the provided texts and sharing personal insights from the reading in class. Students will be asked to ‘journal’ as they read, and share their interpretations in class).
• Podcast: 25% (each week (not in the first two weeks), one group will create a podcast in which they explore their understanding of the provided reading, and connect it to their expertise and experience)
• Written assignment 25% (in class written assignment on one or several of the topics of the course, where the student is asked to explore more deeply their understanding of their relationship between government and citizen)
• Group assignment (30%) and reflection (10%): In the final week we will hold a simulation, for which the students will be required to prepare and engage with the methodology of the simulation. Students will be graded on their ability to apply techniques that have been taught in the course, and reflect on the dynamics of the simulation. The reflection will be a short essay at the end (1500 words).
• See above for percentage of grading. The group presentations will take place once a week, and will require the students to plan and coordinate time outside of class to prepare. The personal essay is to be handed in in week 10 of the course, before the final simulation, but the students are encouraged to work on this throughout the semester. The group assignment will require the students to apply what they have learned throughout the semester, and the final reflection will follow on from this.

• In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
• Reading and Preparation for Class: 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester
• Research and Preparation for Group Work: 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester
• Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 2 hours a week / 24hours a semester