The Core Concepts Express: Belgian Railways as a Teaching Case Connecting Policymaking, Governance, and Strategic Planning

Public affairs programs teach policymaking, governance, and strategic planning as core concepts, yet they are often taught in silos across separate courses. This separation, mostly reinforced by the legacy of the politics-administration dichotomy, leaves many learners able to define terms but less able to see how they co-exist and jointly shape strategic choices in public organizations. This integration gap is addressed here through a teaching case of NMBS/SNCB, Belgium’s state-owned rail operator. Set at headquarters in Brussels, it follows a strategy team preparing a planning-cycle briefing and provides traceable information on governance arrangements, policymaking, organisational positioning and capacities, and political context in a multi-actor governance setting. Exhibits support mapping steering signals and stakeholder pressures, identifying available discretion, and translating context into mandate-sensitive mission/vision language, prioritised strategic issues, and scenario-relevant uncertainties. The case builds analytical skills for connecting governance structures, policymaking dynamics, and strategic planning under contested expectations.