I. What is the Public Policy Capstone?
The capstone is an integral component of the Phase IV learning experience. It is intended to allow participants, working in groups, to conduct an analysis of an important public policy question facing the Government of India. It will also serve as an evaluation device for Phase IV faculty and administrators to gauge the quality of participant performance. Participants will work on their analysis throughout the eight week program. Beginning in the first week, participants will be given their group assignments, their policy topic and start the process of examination and research that will be necessary to produce a comprehensive policy analysis document. Classroom sessions are designed to be complimentary and provide additional information to assist participants and all program faculty are prepared to consult and provide guidance to each group as their work progresses. (A detailed schedule for the completion of the capstone may be found below.) The Phase IV program concludes with a public policy conference that will be held in Delhi at the Foreign Service Institute. The three day conference is dedicated to presentations on the results of the analysis that have been conducted by each group. The group presentations will be made to expert panels comprised of Indian Government officials and faculty representatives from IIMB and the Maxwell School.
II. Public Policy Capstone Schedule
Because of the short and demanding Phase IV schedule it will be important for participants to plan their time carefully to complete their analysis and be able to submit a final document that reflects the collective wisdom of the participants within each group. The schedule that follows lists firm dates for the completion of tasks associated with the capstone process. There are no exceptions to these deadlines.
1. Prior to the program: Participants will be contacted by email and will be asked to indicate three policy area preferences they would like to work on in the capstone. Participant preferences will be used by Phase IV faculty to make capstone small group assignments. Every effort will be made to assign participants with shared policy interests to the same small group. It is anticipated that each group will have approximately ten participants will be formed for the capstone exercise.
2. Week I: Phase IV participants will be divided into small groups of approximately 10 officers. A detailed briefing on the capstone will be given by Phase IV faculty on the first day of the program (April 23rd). This session will allow participants to ask questions and to clarify individual and group responsibilities. Participants will be given one more chance to choose their topic areas before the groups are finalized by IIMB and Maxwell. Each group will be responsible for turning in a page identifying the group leader and a one page paragraph about their topic. Each group will be given a dedicated room with internet access to work on their project.
3. Week II: Each group emails a one-page outline for their policy analysis paper on Tuesday morning, May 1st to ias.phase.iv@gmail.com. The one-page outline should have a few sentences and bulleted points that address each section of the Capstone Project as listed in the Capstone Project Structure (Section IV of this document).
4. Weeks III, IV and V: Groups meet regularly to conduct research and analysis and consult with faculty following the “Structure Outline for the Public Policy Capstone” presented below. On Thursday, May 24th each group submits a final draft of their capstone paper to the following email address: ias.phase.iv@gmail.com. There will be no exceptions to this deadline.
5. Week VI: While in Beijing, each group’s final draft will be reviewed by IIMB and Maxwell School faculty to assure that each document fulfills all requirements of the process. Participants will have some time to work on their individual China Reflection Papers.
6. Week VII: While in Shanghai each group will receive faculty comments on their draft analysis. Each group makes suggested changes and begins to prepare for Week VIII and the Public Policy Conference in Delhi.
7. Week VIII: Each group makes its presentation of their public policy analysis to an expert panel of practitioners and academics. This will be the last week to finalize the individual China Reflection Paper.
III. Key Dates and Deadlines
Dates Tasks
1. April 23: Small group assignments; public policy question given to each group; capstone briefing; and, first small group meetings to discuss public policy assignments.
2. April 23 - 26 Groups will meet on their own time to discuss their paper topics. Access will be given by LBSNAA for the location of each group’s private room.
3. April 26 Each group needs to select a group leader and write a one paragraph description of their paper. This information needs to be emailed to ias.phase.iv@gmail.com by 6 p.m.
4. May 1: One page capstone policy paper outline due. (To be submitted electronically - ias.phase.iv@gmail.com).
5. May 24: Final draft of the capstone policy paper due. (To be submitted electronically - ias.phase.iv@gmail.com).
6. June 4: Faculty comments on capstone policy paper sent to each group electronically.
7. June 12: Groups are required to submit an electronic copy of their PPT presentation and final capstone policy paper to ias.phase.iv@gmail.com.
8. June 13-15: Group presentations of capstone policy paper analysis.
9. June 14 Last day for submitting the China Reflection Paper.
Each participant will submit their own paper to ias.phase.iv@gmail.com.
IV. Capstone Project Deliverables
The required capstone project deliverables are as follows:
1. Policy Paper: Each group will turn in a 15-20 page policy paper. The Policy Paper is the core of the Capstone project. The paper will be reviewed by select faculty from IIMB, Maxwell and LBSNAA. It must have an executive summary and all sources must be cited.
2. Policy Paper Presentation: Each group will make a presentation of their policy paper in Delhi during the last week of the program. The presentations will be evaluated by a panel of experts.
3. Team Evaluation: Each member of a policy paper group will evaluate the input of their fellow group members. Team Evaluation forms will be given to each group prior to the end of the program.
4. China Reflection Paper. Each participant will write a 3-5 pp. paper regarding one specific aspect of the China Exposure Visit that positively or negatively impressed you. Explain the nature of the policy and why you reached that decision. If positively impressed, explain how India might replicate the policy; if negatively impressed, explain how China might have structured the policy differently. The paper is to be written in an informal, journalistic style; it will be evaluated by faculty participating in the program.
V. How will the Capstone Projects be Evaluated?
Presentation 30 %
China Reflection Paper 20%
Peer Evaluation 10%
Capstone Paper 40%
VI. Capstone Project Structure
1. Understanding the Problem
A. What is the policy problem being addressed?
• Here the problem may be described along with the symptoms (evidence concerning the undesirable outcomes that are observed). Quantitative evidence regarding the extent and implications of the problem can be most useful.Somewhat more subjectively, you should attempt to ascertain:
• Is the problem a crisis or an anticipated crisis or just a normal problem?
• Can the problem wait awhile before it is addressed? What are the consequences of not attending to the problem immediately?
• Is there a consensus within the policy community over the problem or are there differences? And if there are differences, how sharp are they?
B. Framing the Problem
Here you attempt to look past the symptoms to understand what is leading to those undesirable outcomes. For example, traffic congestion may be observed in terms of the liters of petrol being consumed by slow moving traffic and the amount of time that commuters and truckers are spending on the roadway while moving slowly. But these are only symptoms; they are not the root cause of the problem. The root cause can be attributed to a basic failure of the market. Commuters do not take into account the costs that their use of the roadway imposes on others. That is, this is a classic version of an ‘externality’ – a failure of the market.
C. Model the Problem by Identifying Policy Variables
There are a number generic policy instruments that are used in all countries. These include such instruments as: (a) imposition of rules/laws, (b) creation of incentives through subsidies and taxes, (c) creation of market mechanisms or relaxing existing rules that impede markets, (d) direct supply of goods and services through government bureaucracy, and (e) creation of insurance or cushions to overcome the costs of adjusting to new environments. These will be elaborated upon in an early session of the training.
2. Choosing and Explaining Relevant Goals and Constraints
What are the goals that may be desired from the particular policy? Generally the principal goals are economic efficiency and equity. By economic efficiency we mean the net benefits associated with a policy alternative; net benefits include estimates of the direct benefits from the policy less costs of operating and administering the policy in addition to compliance costs. Equity implications may be defined in terms of various groups of stakeholders including different income/wealth groups as well as variations across regions, genders, urban-rural, etc. Constraints cannot be ignored. Among the constraints that should generally be considered are (a) budget constraints, (b) administrative constraints or at least administrative challenges, (c) political constraints (what will be necessary in a democratic decision-making environment to gain acceptance of a policy, (d) other possible constraints such as social, cultural, or historical.
3. Technical evaluation of alternative policies in light of the goals and constraints
This is the centerpiece of the technical analysis. Each policy alternative needs to be evaluated in light of each of the goals and constraints. (In some instances the policy analysis consists of a comparison of the status quo vis-à-vis one potential policy.) How can this be done?
A. Economic Efficiency Goals
For economic efficiency goals, the issue focuses on the costs and benefits to society (without regard to whoever receives them). The classic analytical tool for such analysis is Cost Benefit Analysis. While it is not anticipated that the teams will carry out fully developed analyses of the costs and benefits of alternative policies, empirical support for the anticipated costs and benefits associated with the alternative policies should be provided.
B. Equity Goals
For equity goals, the primary stakeholders affected by the alternative policies should be identified and with an assessment made of the impacts of the alternative policies on these stakeholders.
C. Budgetary and Administrative Feasibility
Each alternative should also be assessed with regards to its budgetary and administrative feasibility. Particularly important in this regard is the feasibility of the policy to be implemented within the local environment. Furthermore, these constraints may interact. For example, administrative feasibility may be dependent upon additional budgetary expenditures which will then affect the budgetary feasibility of the alternative.
4. Evaluation of the policy environment
The intent of this section will be to attempt to ascertain the feasibility of getting alternative policies (either one which is technically most reasonable or another alternative).
A. What are the primary departments that are concerned with these policy alternatives and what is the likely stand of each?
B. Who will ultimately have to approve the policy?
C. Linked to the discussion of equity above (point III. 2) what interest group politics might enter into the decision? How are these interests organized and how cohesive are they?
D. How are the various segments of the media likely to respond to these alternative policies? How might the Government try to work through the media to communicate the policy preferences?
5. Recommendations
A. Statement of the preferred alternative policy
Describe the preferred alternative and summarize the rationale for its choice.
B. Describe the implementation strategy
Outline the steps that should be taken to get the policy adopted and implemented. It is also desirable to outline the provisions that should be made to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the policy.
6. Additional Requirements:
A. An Executive Summary must be included
The Executive Summary is critical since, given the time constraints of busy policy makers, this is likely to be the portion of the paper most fully studied by your audience. The Executive Summary should summarize briefly (1) the nature / extent of the problem, (2) the alternatives considered, (3) highlights of the analytical findings with respect to the goals and constraints, (4) the recommended policy and (5) the next steps necessary for policy adoption and implementation.
B. References
Fully cited references of the materials used to complete the analysis.
When to Cite - Any time you use someone else's words or ideas whether you quote, paraphrase, summarize, or otherwise refer to their work, you are required to cite the source.
Things to Cite:
1. Direct Quotations: Be sure to include quotation marks in your paper.
2. Paraphrases and summaries of another's words, arguments, or opinions.
3. Statistics, charts, or graphs compiled by someone else.
4. Information that is not considered common knowledge.
What Does Not Need to be Cited:
1. Your own ideas and discoveries.
2. Common knowledge: something that most readers would likely know. A guide for citing articles can be found at http://library.syr.edu/cite/index.html
C. Appendices
Here you would include tables, graphs, and other materials used in support of the analysis but which are only tangential to the main flow of the argument.
