NASP is pleased to announce:

Research Strategies in Policy Studies (ReSPoS) Summer School 2017 - 5th edition
Design Matters

Genoa, July 10 – 14
University Main Building, Room Mazzini
Via Balbi, 5

● What is ReSPoS?
ReSPoS is a Summer School deeply focused on research methods in policy studies. With special attention devoted to methodological pluralism, ReSPoS's main task is to grant participants the opportunity to be presented with - and possibly to challenge - different research traditions, by discussing the assumptions, the advantages and the limitations underlying each method. Accordingly, ReSPoS Summer School will help participants to critically evaluate their research projects and to choose the empirical strategy that better suits their research questions.

● What will this edition be about?
This year's event promises to be another great ResPos Summer School, focused on research design. It will cover five topics (i.e., research design in policy studies, quasi-experimental design, Bayesian case studies, QCA and multi-method research). There will be 4 hours and half of lesson per day, granting participants enough time to understand each topic and make questions. Each lesson will be divided into 3 slots: 1. the general presentation of the approach; 2. technicalities and notation details; 3. application.

Moreover, the ReSPoS Summer School 2017 will grant participants the opportunity to discuss their research projects with our faculty through a poster-session. In detail, each participant will be asked to summarize his/her research project in an A3 poster, specifying the topic, research questions, main hypotheses and the prospective empirical strategy (please, download the poster-template here). At the end of each day, participants will have the opportunity to show and discuss their posters with scholars in a 'Research projects - Speed Date'.

Thus, the ReSPoS Summer School 2017 will include:
- The usual mix of not-mainstream (!) methods in policy studies;
- The opportunity to discuss your research project with well-established scholars and
- An ice-breaking social event on Monday evening (networking matters!).

● Programme

» Taking research design seriously
Isabelle Engeli
University of Bath
» Designing quasi-experiments
Paolo Pinotti
Università Bocconi
» Designing QCA for explanation
Alessia Damonte
Università degli Studi di Milano
» Designing Multi-Method Research
Barbara Befani
University of East Anglia
» Dos and don'ts of explanatory designs
Isabelle Engeli
University of Bath

● Venue
The School will be hosted by the Università degli Studi di Genova, in its main building in Via Balbi, 5. The palace, built in the first half of the XVII century, is conveniently located at walking distance from the main railway station of Genova Piazza Principe. Classes and the poster session will be held in the Room Mazzini, 3rd floor.

● Applications
The School welcomes applications from MA students, Ph.D. students and Post-doctoral researchers. Moreover, the School welcomes applications from practitioners and researchers from private and public organizations interested in policy studies.
The deadline for application is April, 30.
Applications are online only. Interested candidates may access the online form here. Remember to attach your curriculum vitae and the poster of your research project to the application form.
The School can unfortunately accept no more than 25 students. If the number of applications exceed our capacity, preference will be given to candidates with some previous knowledge of policy studies and a proven interest in empirical research. Some students will be selected among candidates from the NASP Young Investigator Training Program in Political Studies, supported by ACRI.

● Admission & Attendance
Admissions will be communicated two weeks after the application deadline by e-mail only.
The School will certify the attendance. Preliminary reading materials will be distributed by the School to admitted candidates in advance.

● Fees and services
Thanks to the financial support from our sponsors, the School is free of charges. Only candidates from the NASP YITP will receive help with their travel and stay costs.

● Sponsorships
The ReSPoS School is a NASP (Network for the Advancement of Social and Political Sciences) project. It gratefully acknowledges the fundamental support from the Compagnia di San Paolo.
The School has also been endorsed by the Standing Group "Political Science & Public Policy" of the SISP - Società Italiana di Scienza Politica.

● Scientific committee
Giampiero Cama (University of Genoa), Alessia Damonte (University of Milan), Isabelle Engeli (University of Bath) and Francesco Zucchini (University of Milan).

● Organizing and teaching assistant
Fedra Negri (University of Milan).

● Further info
For any request, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.