As in so many other areas, data have become a core enabler of transformation for public action and public policies. The analysis and mining of data collected and produced inside and outside the public administration can generate the ability to provide better services to users, better target institutions’ actions, and to implement more finely tuned and agile public policy management.
With this in mind, and to increase the number of graduates endowed with these skills, GENES school, ENSAE Paris, the Ecole Polytechnique and Telecom Paris – all three members of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris) – joined forces to launch the Masters of Science and Technology (MSc&T) called “Data and Economics for Public Policy”, at the start of the previous school year (2023).
To help strengthen this curriculum, France’s Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Postal Affairs and Press Distribution (Arcep), has joined this programme as of today, and will remain until the end of 2026 – operating as an educational partner, through the joint production of courses and in-class lectures.
The aim of this MSc&T Data and economics for public policy at the Ecole Polytechnique is to provide a two-year course that is the only one of its kind in France, devoted to public policy design and assessment, and drawing on partner schools’ expertise in economics, econometrics and data science, along with their solid experience in training engineers and senior civil servants.
Students take on projects rooted in concrete cases, and based on public data (Policy in action project), benefit from lectures from reputed public policy experts (12 lecture series in public policy) as well as internships with select partners.
This programme targets a recruitment pool in France and around the world, to increase the number of qualified graduates. The MSc&T will be expanded gradually to guarantee ongoing excellence in the level of instruction. There were five students in the inaugural year (2023). Eight students (six of whom are female) will begin the programme in 2024.
It is in this context that Arcep has committed to become involved, through conferences and seminars on topics that fall under its purview, such as data-driven regulation, collecting and disseminating data on digital technology’s environmental impact, and submitting case studies relating to the challenge of regulating electronic communications or digital technology, submitting test subjects, offering internships and supporting students.
The Authority is strongly committed to enabling students to develop highly sought-after skills, in both data science and economics, with the possibility of specialising in the issues of sector-specific regulation, as a way to foster the emergence of graduates with a rich understanding of public policy issues thanks to a multidisciplinary approach.
“This education partnership is a first for Arcep, and I am thrilled to contribute to this programme and to share practical regulatory cases with the students. And let me already wish them all the best in obtaining their Master’s degree! I have no doubt that these future experts’ views on regulation, and the combination of their knowledge of economics and data science will be invaluable for Arcep,” said Arcep Chair, Laure de La Raudière.
“At a time when regulatory authorities are becoming increasingly informed thanks to data, we are delighted about this partnership with Arcep, which represents both an opportunity for students and recognition for the quality of this programme and of our "Sectoral Policies" option,” explained Pierre Boyer and Franck Malherbet, the programme’s co-directors and professor at École Polytechnique and professor at Ensae Paris, respectively
