The school teaches graduate and post-graduate courses for public sector executives and (more recently) students wishing to take up public service. It also provides professional training for members of administrative bodies. It receives support from the Swiss Confederation under the Swiss Federal Law on University Funding. IDHEAP is located on the campus of the University of Lausanne.[2][3]
Beyond its teaching activities, IDHEAP also carries out research and counselling missions regarding the public sector. IDHEAP has been designated as the leading institution of the Swiss Public Administration Network,[4] which aims to foster cooperation between the universities of Bern, Lausanne and Lugano, to boost research works and doctoral studies in public administration.
The institute is accredited by the Swiss Confederation (via OAQ[8][9]), and the MPA is accredited by the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation.[10]
The DEAP:[3] a multi-disciplinary full-time course for executives, based on projects that the participants bring with them from their respective areas.
Short executive programs[3] tailored to individual needs, for executives in the public and para-public sectors
Master of Advanced Studies,[12] a Diploma of Advanced Studies[13] and a Certificate of Advanced Studies[14] in Management of Vocational Training Institutions and Education Policy, which was created in partnership with the University of Geneva, the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training and the State of Vaud High Pedagogical School.
Master of Public Administration (MPA) programme
The MPA program[3] is a 90 ECTS executive, flexible length and multidisciplinary program (Master of Advanced Studies), designed for public sector managers or would-be managers. It is also open to anyone wishing to pursue a career in an organization whose activities involve working with the public sector.
The curriculum includes a foundation course (6 core modules of 6 days –one day a week during the academic year), 3 course options of 12 days, chosen among a list of 18 elective courses and an approximately 100 pages thesis covering an original and in-depth research project carried out from an interdisciplinary perspective and supervised by a professor at IDHEAP and an external expert.
Teaching includes group works (both presential and online), simulations, case studies (which may require students to work on real mandates and counselling missions carried out by the Institute) and research works.
The IDHEAP courses are delivered in French (although an international Executive MPA will soon be offered in English). The two other working languages are German and English. Both a student's trimester’s work and the dissertation can be written in French, German, English or Italian.
The average age of a graduate is 37, with a 66/34 split of men/women. 80 percent of graduates already have a university degree, most of them in political sciences, arts, economics, and law.
Research
The IDHEAP teaching and research units participate in research projects financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation and R&D financed by the Commission for Technology and Innovation or the European Union four-year Information Society Technologies framework programs. Some research receives support from programs such as the Swiss Virtual Campus, the Interreg fund (European Cross-border Cooperation) or COST – European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research. Part of the research work carried out at IDHEAP is financed by consulting or experts’ fees.
33 research projects are currently under way at the school. Recent examples include:
BADAC (http://www.badac.ch/), a Database of the Swiss States and Cities, funded by the Conference of Cantonal Chancellors
Conditions for a joint representation of the scope for public action on a local level, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation
eGOV (integrated platform for an online, one-stop government), 5th IST (Information Society Technologies) framework program, for the European Union
Five new research projects were awarded to IDHEAP in 2007 by the Swiss National Fund for Research. In 2007, three doctorates of Public Administration were awarded by the University of Lausanne on the recommendation of IDHEAP.
Also in 2007, the university's Prof. Giuliano Bonoli was awarded the Latsis prize[15] by the Swiss National Research Fund for his comparative research works on social policies.
Mandates and counselling missions
IDHEAP carried out 40 mandates in 2007: these were benchmarking missions, fusion of small towns and administrations, fiscal optimization, efficiency evaluations, organizational audit, satisfaction surveys, marketing audit, and organizational reengineering. Among the main clients, were the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the Swiss Parliament, the Swiss Conference of Universities, the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, the Swiss Federal Office for Migration, the Swiss Federal Office of Social Insurance, the Swiss Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology, the Swiss cantons of Bern, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Valais, Vaud, the cities of Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, and Neuchâtel, The Institute for Research and Debate on Governance, The Lausanne Olympic Capital association and BEDAG SA.
Exchange and partnership agreements
IDHEAP has exchange and partnership agreements with the following:[3]
