SUP-150Y
SUP-150y: PAC Seminar
2017-18
Julie Boatright Wilson Faculty Assistant: Gina Abbadessa
Taubman - 440 Taubman 485
Description
This PAC seminar is designed to provide support and direction to students writing a Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) in the areas of Social and Urban Policy. The course operates like a small, non-profit consulting firm in which each student or small group of students has a client and consults with that client. Students are expected to draw on the skills developed in the PAC seminar and other core and elective courses at the Kennedy School as well as insights from faculty advisers, seminar faculty, and fellow students to analyze the “problem,” develop potential strategies to address it, weigh the pros and cons of each strategy option, and produce a final product that includes recommendations for their clients.
Most of the class sessions in the fall semester draw on current and former student PAE projects. The goal of the seminar is to provide you with a real-time, professional opportunity to reinforce the skills you have learned in your coursework, develop new skills, and produce a professional product for a client.
Because of its focus on the PAE, this course is intended for MPP-2 students. Non-MPP students who are interested in the course should contact the instructor regarding a reading and research alternative to the PAE.
How the seminar will be conducted
The primary purpose of the seminar is to help you identify a topic and client; to provide you with information on and help you develop skills in research design, field research methods, and the structure of policy analysis; help you develop and refine your skills in written and oral presentation; and, improve your capacity and skills in dealing with a client. In addition to the PAC seminar faculty instructor, you will have an individual PAE advisor. For some of you that advisor might be the PAC seminar faculty; for most of you that advisor will be another faculty member or senior research associate who is knowledgeable about your PAE topic or the specific research methods you will employ. Thus, much of the specific substantive support for your particular PAE will come from your primary advisor. It will be your responsibility to manage this advising relationship.
Class sessions will be devoted to discussing PAEs and helping you develop the skills needed to complete a PAE; all assignments after the first few weeks will be focused on your PAE topic and those of your classmates. The PAC seminar will meet most Thursdays in the fall semester and during February and potentially, depending on the size of our class, early March of the second semester. Although you have your own project and will be primarily focused on that, the progress of the projects of others in the class is also part of your course responsibility. Many of the best suggestions for how to strengthen your project will come from others in the course; likewise, others in the class will benefit from your insights and suggestions. In other words, this process works best and everyone’s final product is much better if each of you spends some of your time thinking about what others in the class are doing.
Based on requests from students over the past several years, we will also spend time on professional communications skills. As we discuss research design and research methods in the context of specific PAEs, we also want to pay attention to and analyze the structure of PAEs, the way they are written and the use of graphics. I encourage you to also take advantage of the offerings of the Kennedy School Communications Program to strengthen and broaden your skills in this area. The goal is to help you to produce the best possible product for your client.
The Kennedy School holds every Thursday from 4:10 to 6:00pm for PAC Seminar activity. Please note that all sessions will be held in the scheduled time slot, though we will not meet every Thursday and may end before 6:00 on many Thursdays. If our class is large, we will need to hold class more than once a week and meet for more than two hours a session to provide every student a chance to present his or her final product.
How to Select a PAE Topic
You are free to select your own PAE topic and, as mentioned above, we will spend part of the first few PAC Seminar sessions talking about how to select a topic and a client. It is useful, however, to do a bit of “homework” before the first class.
· Are you a little confused about what a PAE is? Many students reach their second year in the program without having read a PAE. If you would like to look at a few PAEs before making your decision about a client and topic, consider going to one of these sites:
o PAE site on KNET: https://knet.hks.harvard.edu/DPSA/MPP/PAE/Pages/PAE-Samples.aspx
o Research methods on demand: This site is organized around various research methods you might employ to address your PAE question. But there are a number of outstanding PAEs posted as examples for each of the methods. http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/hksresearchmethods
o The Canvas site for out class. We have posted a number of PAEs because we will be discussing them in class throughout the fall semester.
· Do you want to work alone, with a partner or in a larger group? Working alone allows you to pursue a topic that is important to you and to craft your question in a manner that takes you in a direction you and your client want to go. Working with a partner – or even with two or three partners – allows you to take on more complex challenges, undertake more field work, and build a team with a broader range of talents and skills than any single individual is likely to have. But having one or more partners can complicate the process of clarifying your topic and writing your final document – as well as allocating work over the course of the project. You might want to read “Tips and Tricks about working in PAE pairs based on Jieun Baek and Laila Matar’s Experience,” a short memo written by two students who partnered for their PAE. https://knet.hks.harvard.edu/DPSA/MPP/Documents/Tips%20and%20Tricks%20about%20working%20in%20PAE%20pairs.docx
· Do you want a local client or are you interested in a client elsewhere? There are many advantages to having a client in the greater Boston area or within a few hours’ travel time. One of the most important advantages of having a local client is that you can spend more time on site over the course of the year. But you may have a specific location in mind or may be open to having a client in any location as long as the topic is one you really want to spend the year working on. If you have a client at a distance, you may want to see if they have any resources to contribute to the project. While they cannot pay you for your time, covering your air fare and other site visit expenses would be useful. The School and its various centers have some funding for travel and other out-of-pocket expenses, but we can’t guarantee that there will be enough funding for everyone.
· Are you looking for ideas for potential clients and topics? The MPP office gathers information from potential clients on topics and posts this information on line at: https://knet.hks.harvard.edu/DPSA/Career-Advancement/Lists/PAE_Database/AllItems.aspx You should also talk to your classmates. Many had interesting jobs this summer working for organizations that might like a PAE.
· Do you have a particular topic you want to pursue but need to find a client? If you know what topic you want to focus on for the year, consider using the alumnae/i database to find a potential client. Also talk to faculty and your classmates. The potential network for finding clients is quite large.
As you consider your PAE topic, you also need to ask yourself some questions about your client.
· Can you work with this client? Is this someone whose personality and style suggests openness to working with a student on a major project?
· Will he or she have time to spend with you? The names of people who are heads of large, important organizations may look good on your resume, but these individuals may not have the time to work with you on your PAE. Can this person open doors for you -- connect you with people you will need to talk to, get data and information to you in a timely manner? People farther down in the organization may have lots of time to spend with you, but no ability to open doors or access the information you need.
· Is this the kind of person you can talk with if your findings lead to recommendations he or she might not have anticipated? If your findings suggest that your client’s proposed solution is not likely to be effective? Or does he or she have an unmovable preconceived idea of what the answer is and where the organization should go next?
· Even if the client is in broad agreement with your policy analysis, does he or she have sufficient authority to implement your proposed recommendations in whole or in part?
We will spend time talking about clients and student client relationships throughout the semester.
How your advisor will be assigned
Although the final decision pairing students with faculty advisors will be made at the School level, these decisions are influenced by the recommendations of course faculty. In making my recommendations, I take your preferences into consideration. Our goal is to carefully match topics to faculty in a way that best taps faculty expertise and interest. In addition, we guarantee that every student has an advisor and that no advisor has too many students to supervise responsibly. Although you cannot request a specific advisor and be guaranteed an assignment to that person, I do take your requests – both with whom you want to work and with whom you feel you could not work – into consideration in making my recommendations for suggested advisor assignments. Final adviser assignments are made by Jack Donahue, faculty chair of the MPP program; Suzanne Cooper, Academic Dean for Teaching and Curriculum; and the PAC seminar leaders.
In general, students will have only one primary advisor for their PAEs. However, you should feel free to consult Julie Wilson or any other faculty member during office hours or by special appointment for advice on any issues related to your PAE, including client, partner, and advisor relationships. The Kennedy School is a rich intellectual environment. This is a great opportunity to take the initiative to tap deeply into it and develop relationships that might be useful not only for your PAE but also for finding a job after graduation.
Course Requirements
All major deadlines, as outlined below, are set and enforced by the School’s administration. All students are expected to complete a PAE by Tuesday, March 27th. In addition, participants are expected to attend the seminar and meet regularly with their advisors. Finally, during spring semester, each student is expected to make a formal presentation of her/his PAE problem, findings and recommendations and to listen to and comment on the presentations of fellow students. These presentations will be scheduled at a later date.
Date / ProductMonday, September 25, 2017 / Topic Selection due by 09:00 a.m., by completion of the electronic form (link available on Knet).
Monday, October 23, 2017 / 1. Prospectus due to advisor, PAE seminar leader, and client
2. Human Subjects Review Form to be completed and submitted to PAE seminar leader
Wednesday, October 25, 2017 / Winter funding common application due
Wednesday, November 29, 2017 / Progress Report due to advisor and PAE seminar leader
Thursday, February 8, 2018 / First Draft due to advisor and PAE seminar leader
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 / Final PAE due to MPP Program Office (L-133) and copies to be hand-delivered to PAE seminarleader and advisor. Reception to follow!
Each student is required to meet with Julie Wilson at some point during the fall semester and again in early- to mid-February. Think of these meetings as check-ups: my chance to find out how you are doing and your chance to get advice. We should try to schedule the second meeting so I have a chance to read your first draft before we meet.
Some of you, particularly concurrent Medical School and Law School students, will need to complete your PAE early because you will be back on your other campus spring semester. Or, the time you have available to work on the PAE may be broken up by the time demanded of residencies.If so, please talk with Julie Wilson as soon as possible to discuss workable deadlines. Although the final deadline is absolute, other deadlines may be negotiable under these circumstances.
Grading for SUP-150Y
Students will receive one grade for the PAC seminar, even though the course extends across two semesters. That grade has several components – one for the PAE (e.g., analysis, presentation, usability, overall quality) and one for participation and professionalism (e.g., responsibility and professionalism of interactions with client, other students, advisor, and PAC leader). The grade for the PAE is given jointly by the PAC seminar leader and advisor.
1) Advisor Assessment of Final Product: Your faculty advisor will evaluate your final PAE product and professionalism throughout the PAE-writing process. He or she will provide comments via an online grading database.
2) PAC Seminar Leader Assessment of Final Product: Julie Wilson will evaluate your final PAE product. She will provide comments via an online grading database.
3) PAC Seminar Leader Citizenship Assessment: Julie Wilson will also evaluate your “citizenship” based on timely and appropriate submission of intermediate products; quality of presentations and other participation in the PAC seminar; peer feedback and other contributions to fellow students’ PAE projects; professionalism in dealing with advisor, partner, or teammates; professionalism in dealing with client; and client feedback.