Issue Papers are short analyses of controversial issues in public policymaking, management, and administration
Issue Papers are short analyses of controversial issues in public policymaking, management, and administration
Term Project – (Issue Paper)
Issue Papers are short analyses of controversial issues in public policymaking, management, and administration. The term project provides practical experience in critically analyzing policy issues and preparing concise yet thorough summaries for busy policymakers.
Each student will select a unique public policy issue for the analysis and explain the policy issue using one of the paradigms of public policymaking (incrementalist or rationalist). See Chapter 10 in Henry.
If you choose to explain your issue using the Incrementalist Paradigm of Public Policymaking, select and incorporate one or more of the six subsets (Elite, Group, System, Institutionalist, Neo-Institutionalist, Organized Anarchy). If you use the Rationalist Paradigm of Public Policymaking, select and incorporate one or more of the analytic models/theories (Rational Choice Model, The Public Goods and Services Model). You can also choose the Strategic Planning Paradigm.
The issues may be federal, state, or local, but should have broad appeal. In other words, an issue that is entirely specific to your employer would not be appropriate for this assignment.
Possible topics include but are not limited to criminal justice, health and welfare, education, economic policy, taxation, international trade and immigration, environmental protection, civil rights, federalism, national defense, or nonprofit administration issues. Through the writing and research process, you will develop a critical understanding of individual and social behavior through the concepts, theories, and social sciences methods.You are required toincorporate material from both textbooks Henry and Shafritiz).
By the third week, each student should provide me with a short summary (one-paragraph) description of the specific issue he or she has selected. The description should include the specific proposal or policy problem to be analyzed. If you have difficulty finding an issue, I will guide you. The summary allows me to give you individual feedback.
The paper should be through the lens of a policymaker as if you were preparing it for a policy maker (or group of policymakers) with only superficial knowledge of the issue. Final papers must be 12-15 pages in length (not including title page or appendices) and should follow the format below. (Include the following headings in the issue paper: Introduction, Background, Alternatives, and Recommendations.)
- Introduction
In this section, you should specifically identify and define the issue or problem you are studying and outline its importance. Describe the paradigm(s) and model(s)/theory(s) used to explain your policy issue. You can also use this section to limit the issue (i.e., describe the aspects of the issue you will not touch upon).
- Background
In this section, you should briefly describe the history of the issue, literature review, trends, and current status. You can also provide context by describing relevant developments in other localities, states, or countries.
III. Alternatives
This section should describe various policy options that are available to address the issue. In some cases, there may be essentially two options (“yes, we should do this”, and “no, we should not”). With each alternative, you must also specifically describe the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed alternative. In this section, you can apply another paradigm and/or analytic models/theories to explain issue alternatives.
IV. Recommendation
In this section, you should weigh the evidence and recommend (one or more) of the alternatives described in section III. You must be specific about how you reached your conclusions and on what evidence you based your recommendation. In this section, you can apply other analytic models/theories to explain issue recommendations.
Support all information with academically qualified references; however, emphasis should also be placed on original thought. The paper aims to provide a practical exercise that integrates public policy/management theory with practical application and gives you the experience to identify and define the principles, strategies, and theories in the public sector.
The paper should be typed and be 12-15 pages in length, not including the cover page. Only one source page will count toward the 12-15 pages. Include a minimum of five (5) academic sources, including the textbook. (Wikipedia is not an academic source.) Cite all references using the APA citation style. Papers are evaluated using the distribution/general education learning goals and the students’ ability to synthesize the material and provide a critical analysis of the issues. This paper should reflect graduate-level work in content, appearance, organization, grammar, and effort.
Requirements: 13 pages | .doc file
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