Policy Paper/Project
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Directions:
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| Each
student will be assigned to a group the second day of
class. Since your peers will evaluate your contribution to the project
team, failure to actively participate in the group assignment will
adversely effect your grade. Students
should carefully read through the peer evaluation form that is available
on the course web site. It
will be collected following the completion of your project.
The web page also contains forms used to evaluate the
group presentation and final report. Be sure that your presentation
and final written report addresses these criteria.
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Picking a Topic
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Each group is required to complete a thorough, competent, well-written
policy analysis with “real world” implications and grounding such as a
briefing paper, white paper, or a cost-benefit analysis.
Each group is be expected to identify a hypothetical client for
their analysis and employ the appropriate qualitative or quantitative technique(s) needed to analyze a policy problem.
I strongly advise selecting a topic you are interested in
and view this project as an opportunity to develop a written work product
that can be included in your portfolio when you graduate. |
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| Each group should waste no time in identifying the
subject for their analysis and a primary criterion should be that it can
be completed within the timeframe of the course.
You will soon discover that these analyses require research and
information to support your analysis.
Accordingly, do not invest your time in a large-scale analysis from
which you cannot obtain the required social, political, and economic data. A
list of potential topics is posted on the
class website. Students can also look through newspapers and magazines to help
identify problems looking for analysis. Students are advised
to consult with the professor before investing too much time in a
potential topic to be sure that the project can be completed during the
semester. |
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Preliminary Analysis Memo Assignment
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| Your group will be required to submit a preliminary
written assignment that serves two functions. First, it helps
prevent procrastination and forces you to pick a topic early and perform
elements of the analysis while we are discussing the corresponding
readings. Second, it is designed to help you learn how to
communicate the key points of your analysis in memo form. |
 | Preliminary
Analysis Memo: Students must prepare a 3 page memo that: defines
the problem, client, and rationale for government intervention (e.g.,
market or government failure); identifies the main factors affecting
the problem (i.e., is their a causal model associated with the
problem); identifies alternatives; and, summarizes the criteria that
will be used to evaluate the alternatives.
It should also include as an attachment a list of bibliographic
references and data sources. |
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Final Report
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| You
must also learn how to communicate the results of your analysis in a
professional manner. Accordingly, each group
is required to submit
a final report that counts as a significant portion of your final course
grade. At a minimum, your
final report must include the following: |
| Cover |
| Table of contents |
| Executive summary (1 - 2 pages)) |
| Main
report (i.e., discussion of problem, discussion of evaluative
criteria, discussion of each alternative, projected outcomes of each
alternative, a comparison of the alternatives, a recommended
alternative, and an implementation strategy for that alternative) |
| Supporting
tables and figures |
| Bibliography |
| Appendices
or supporting materials |
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| The report is expected to be clear, concise, and
professional. It should communicate your findings effectively to your
client. Final reports will
probably be at least 20 double-spaced pages, but many will be longer
depending on the problem and nature of your analysis.
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| Final Presentation |
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You must also learn how to communicate the results of your analysis to a
broad audience. Accordingly, you will make a 10 - 12 minute professional presentation that
summarizes the results of your analysis. The presentation will occur
near the end of the class and may be on your draft paper so that you have a
few more days to polish your written findings. |
