Emergence of the Indicative Societal Cost-Benefit Analysis

In this article, we describe the emergence of a new Finance course in line with the concept of the Societal Cost-Benefit Analysis (SCBA). By means of an in-depth case study, we reconstruct the process of dissatisfaction and corresponding discussions among lecturers and students of the Master Integrated Care Design with regard to the learning aims and content of the Finance course, which is a study module of this master. During the period 2015-2021, the aims and content of this module were revised and remoulded several times in order to define a Finance course that was able to both sufficiently and creatively connect the domain of Integrated Care with that of Finance. In this process of reiterating revision both lectures and students played a crucial role. The ultimate result – the indicative Societal Cost-Benefit Analysis – was unexpected and unplanned, producing an outcome that surpassed the sum of its separate parts. In short, the process, as we describe in this case study, bears all the hallmarks of emergence. Moreover, the analysis shows how this process of emergence in combination with emergent leadership led to a practicable and encouraging outcome, which satisfied and committed all stakeholders, setting an example that is worth following.