Reference no: EM133490733

Assignment: Public Service Issue Paper

Instructions

Each group project will culminate in the submission of a policy brief of 12 to 15 pages.

There are two ways the final project can be approached:

I. Groups can select a public service professional that currently works in a public sector organization. In the interview, inquire about the biggest challenge they are facing in their current position. Through an interview and follow-up research, groups will develop a policy brief to help propose a recommendation to improve upon the challenge faced by your group's interviewee.

II. Groups can select a public policy issue that is of interest to the members. Groups will locate a public service professional that is currently working in a public organization on this specific issue. Through an interview and follow-up research, groups will develop a policy brief to help propose a recommendation to improve upon the selected public policy issue.

Your policy brief is expected to be informed by thorough background research as well as an interview with someone who works in the public sector. Some best practices for structuring and achieving such interactions will be provided by the instructor. Each project should cover the following four areas. Be careful to read the instructions for each section thoroughly before beginning your projects Each policy brief should cover the following four areas:

I. Definition of the Challenge or Problem: You should begin by clearly defining the problem or challenge under consideration. This includes identifying the issue, defining its parameters (i.e. discussing the scope, magnitude, and extent of the problem), and discussing any known or perceived causes of the problem. Your problem definition should be empirical, comprehensive, and non-biased. In other words, you should look at the problem from all relevant perspectives, present those perspectives fairly, and do so in an empirically sound manner.

II. Identification of Relevant Stakeholders and Actors: Next you should clearly define the affected community. This includes identifying all stakeholders who are impacted by the problem and what their primary concerns/perspectives are. It's important to consider all groups and individuals who might impact and/or be impacted by the problem, regardless of whether the impact is considered to be primary, secondary, or tertiary.

III. Identification and Analysis of Alternatives: You should review the evidence gathered through your research, including alternative solutions, potential effectiveness, best practices, etc. This is where you discuss potential actions that can be taken in/by the affected communities, what the potential pros/cons (i.e. costs and benefits) of those actions are, and what's been learned about these potential actions in other communities. This discussion should be evidence-based and should be informed by both your background research and your discussions/interactions with your selected interviewee.

IV. Recommendations and Rationale: Finally, your policy brief should conclude with a series of evidence-based recommendations. This should include a list of actions that you recommend the affected institutions, organizations, and/or communities may take in order to address the problem. Group recommendations should be directly relevant to the assigned problem and communities (as defined in the first two sections of your paper), and they should be informed by your research and discussed in light of the relevant evaluative criteria (i.e. cost/benefit, efficiency, effectiveness, equity, feasibility, etc.).