The focus of study in this subject is on policy-making and implementation and the place of theory and research in policy formation. In the first part of the subject students explore the nature of public policy - addressing constructs of policy and policy-making and approaches to analysing public policy. The political and social practices of policy-making and implementation in Australia are contextualised and examined at the local, national and global levels. The second part of the subject takes examples of policy-making in the field of social sciences and examines the role of theory and research in the problematisation of issues and identification of solutions. The identification of competing interests, relations of power and key players in understanding, analysing and responding to policy and its outcomes will be undertaken.