Directions:
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| Each student will be 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. Students
will be expected to find a client for their analysis (real or
hypothetical) and employ the appropriate analytical technique(s) to
address a policy problem. You
may select your subject from your professional environmental or workplace,
a voluntary organization you belong to, or pick a topic that is consistent
with your concentration provided that it covers a real policy decision
affecting the public or nonprofit sector. |
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Picking a Topic
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| To get the most out of this class, students are encouraged to
contact state and local politicians, managers, and political organizations
to find a reasonable public problem or issue that needs analysis.
Students should waste no time in identifying the subject for
their analysis and a primarily 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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Class Discussion of Your Projects
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| You will be required to periodically discuss
the progress of your analysis with your classmates and any lessons you
have learned to date. These
short presentations will allow you to practice how to communicate your
findings to decisionmakers. This
can and should include asking your fellow classmates for ideas and
opinions about how to overcome the obstacles you confront during your
analysis. Time will also be spent at
the beginning of each class discussing any problems you are confronting
with your analysis. Thus, you should
use your instructor and classmates as resources to help you complete your
analysis. Conversely, these
discussions will provide others in the class with a broad overview of the
problems that practitioners confront when performing various types of
analysis. |
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Written Assignments
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| You will be required to submit several
preliminary written assignments. While ungraded,
these assignments serve two
functions. First, they help prevent procrastination and force you to
pick a topic early and perform elements of the analysis while we are
discussing the corresponding readings. Second, they help you learn
how to communicate the key points of your analysis in memo form.
Each student is required to complete the following written assignments: |
 | Problem
memo: Students must develop a two-page memo that specifies the problem to be
addressed, the client (real or hypothetical), and the question(s) that the
policy analysis will address. |
| Alternatives
memo: Students must prepare a 3 page
memo that: defines the problem and frames it as a market or government
failure (i.e., identifies the rationale for government intervention);
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 your data sources used in the analysis and any necessary tables (e.g.,
summary of the alternatives or criteria) or figures (e.g., map of the
causes of the problem).
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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 student 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 |
| 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 |
| Response
to comments |
| Necessary
appendices or supporting materials |
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| A more detailed outline
describing the expected substance and organization of the report can be
downloaded on the following handout. The
report is expected to be clear, concise, and professional. It should communicate your findings effectively to your
client. Final reports will
probably be around 25 double-spaced pages in length but will vary based on
the problem and the type of analysis.
This website also provides
useful style guidelines (Click
here), although you may use other generally accepted style guidelines as
well. |
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Final Presentation
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| You must also learn how to present the
results of your analysis professionally and concisely as many
decisionmakers have busy schedules. Accordingly, you will have only
10 minutes for your final presentation. You should use
appropriate audiovisual materials and rehearse your presentation so you
make the best use of your time. You will be cut off after 10 minutes
and graded only on what is presented during that time period. |
