POLS 3366 Case Study Project A: Proposal
The case study project is to complete a comprehensive assessment of a real managerial or policy
issue that has been addressed by a specific government organization (e.g., EPA, DOT, DOD,
etc.). You need to recognize important considerations and come up with alternative suggestions
to analyze. The case study should complete a 6-8 paged (double-spaced) analysis paper that
incorporates theoretical and practical perspectives discussed in class sessions. Students can
choose to work independently or in a group of 2-3 members. There is a discussion thread to
facilitate your conversations for group study.
For this proposal assignment, prepare a 1-2, double-spaced, page write-up of a public
management or policy issue that you propose to study throughout the semester. If you want to
work in a group, find your group members first. No group member change will be permitted after
submitting this assignment. When writing a proposal, please include:
1. The organization (or government entity if local/school district) and its case that you study
throughout the semester
2. Problem statement
3. Data, reports, and academic sources that you will potentially use
4. How you will access and gather the necessary data and information
5. Timeline that you expect to finish each section of your case study
A few suggestions:
Here are some things to consider in choosing a topic. (1) Your proposed study should make
sense to others; if available, get feedback from others before submitting your proposal. (2) You
should study something that you find interesting. (3) Study something that others will think is
important. (4) Choose a government organization and its pressing issue for which data are
available.
For grading, I will see through how specifically your write-up discusses the case, what your
critique is, why it is important to address, which data or factual information may support your
analysis, and what implications you will potentially discuss. This assignment is worth a total of
five (5) points of your final grade. Be clear about expectations before you turn in this
assignment.