Batten X

The purpose of this course is to help participants gain fluency in the fundamentals of policy research: understanding causality, combating biases in data collection and analysis, accounting for different interpretations of data, and—most importantly—how data can become policy (and why some policies are based on bad data or no data at all). The course will cover topics such as the opportunities for and limitations of identifying causal relationships in policy research, bias and ethics in data collection, and an overview of the most popular methods for statistical analysis in research today. Throughout the course, we will explore some of the key studies over the last decade that have had a meaningful effect on US policy.

Which representatives and senators truly drive progress on specific public issues? Who gets things done, for example, when it comes to health care, or education, or defense? And how do they move specific legislation effectively through Congress?

Craig Volden, Professor of Public Policy and Politics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia and Co-Director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, along with Alan E. Wiseman, Professor and Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair at Vanderbilt University and also Co-Director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking,  will answer these questions and more in this unique half-day course.

The Batten School’s approach to leadership is one of evidence-based behavioral science. We view leadership as “the capacity to integrate, motivate, and enable a group of individuals toward achieving a common goal.” As researchers and academics, we are singularly poised to help other academics understand leadership, management, and organizational behavior. Under this view of leadership, we believe that everyone has the potential to become a leader, that leaders are made rather than born, and that leadership should be taught based on scientific evidence.

In recognition that UVA School of Engineering’s core values call on engineering faculty to be leaders in their school, departments, labs and classrooms, Batten has partnered with UVA Engineering for a series of courses designed to develop engineering faculty as effective leaders.

The series includes eight courses taught by Batten faculty at a pace of one, 90-minute session per month from September 2019 through April 2020. Engineering faculty are welcome to participate in the entire series or individual courses; those who complete at least six courses will receive a record of course completion from Batten. There will be no out-of-pocket costs to faculty; registered faculty’s UVA education benefit to be applied directly to the series ($4,360 combined tuition and professional development benefit per year), which costs $250 per course or a discounted price of $1,500 for all eight courses.

People can disagree about almost anything from the best strategic direction for a company to individual disagreements about political views and values. These disagreements can take the form of office politics, political maneuvering, or public policy problems. In a professional setting, differences of opinion can impede progress and stall work productivity. The question remains: How do you make progress when working with people who disagree with you—even when it seems practically impossible?

In this course, award-winning professors at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy will help you gain a more nuanced understanding of how to overcome disagreements, how to approach those who hold different opinions and views, and how to influence others.