Students from the School of Public Policy recently returned from Rome, where they met with government officials and policy experts through a study abroad program examining how evaluation shapes public decision-making inside government and international institutions.
The Winter 2026 study abroad course, taught by professors Doug Besharov and Doug Call, combined classroom instruction with meetings across Italy’s public sector, giving students a close look at how policy is assessed, adjusted and improved in practice. Visits included sessions with UNICEF, the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Italian Senate and the Italian National Institute for Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research.
The Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research Systems also hosted a meeting which brought together faculty and students to examine how evaluation functions as a practical tool for strengthening public action. The discussion centered on how performance monitoring and evidence-based assessment inform policy choices across institutions.
The course centers on the challenges of turning policy design into effective action. Students examined how governments and organizations track outcomes, manage costs and improve implementation through evaluation. The course culminates in the preparation of a set of performance measures for an existing or proposed program, reflecting the analytical approaches explored during the study abroad experience.