Purpose: To use the criteria and review each alternative
Task: Prepare a document projecting the likely outcome of each alternative using evidence (i.e., citations and data) and employing evaluative criteria to recommend a preferable alternative.
Elements to include:
- A short introduction outlines the main points of your document. It should include a brief recap of your problem statement, the alternatives you’re evaluating, and the relevant criteria for assessing how well each alternative addresses the problem you’ve defined.
- A detailed description of each alternative as analyzed by each criterion (this should be the bulk of the work)
- You can submit appendixes and/or an Excel file for more details.
- Outcomes matrix that provides values for each alternative and evaluative criterion.
- Look at the sample policy analyses in Weimer and Vining (Chapters 1, 9, and 16) as examples, and review Bardach and Patashnik (Step Five) for tips and guidance.
- In particular, matrix construction can follow Weimer and Vining pp. 355-375.
- Note: The description of the assumptions, calculations, and other details that led to the values in your outcomes matrix are at the heart of this assignment – be thorough and precise.
- Recommend one of the alternatives as the course of action for your client to pursue. Justify your recommendation based on the performance of the alternatives on the criteria. It is unlikely that one of the alternatives will perform the best on all of the criteria; therefore, you will need to explain the tradeoffs inherent in choosing one alternative and not the others (see Bardach and Patashnik “Step Six” for guidance here).
Notes
- You may have some aspect of implementation as an evaluation criterion that will cause you to consider the challenges of implementing your alternatives. We will add implementation for your next assignment, but now is a good time to begin to feel the implementation of your recommendation.
- After writing the recommendation, you may find that you are recommending something distinct from or combining the alternatives you outlined initially. This is good as you’re a step closer to a good recommendation, but it means you need to revise your alternatives (and supporting literature). This is a part of an iterative process of conducting a policy analysis.
- Include an Appendix that covers details about your assumptions and your costing work. Most students like to have their calculations reviewed now, so please attach a relevant Excel spreadsheet.