Q Copyright 2022 Post University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Due: by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday at the end of Unit 5 MINI CAPSTONE PROJECT OVERVIEW Your Mini Capstone project will consist of a 15-20 page paper designed, over the duration of this course, to introduce you to specific portions of the Capstone project that you will have to write to complete your degree. You will have multiple deliverables assigned that correspond to the materials being discussed in the readings. You will find this makes the Mini Capstone project seem much more manageable, and you will add to the project as you learn about the various public policy concepts presented in this course. If you work on this each week, the final Mini Capstone project will evolve seemlessly. The Mini Capstone project has four separate assignments and you will be working on these throughout the duration of this course. Here are the specific deliverables: ? Unit 1 Public Policy/Topic Selection o 1 – 2 paragraphs ? Unit 3 Introduction o 1 – 2 pages ? Unit 5 Policy Overiew and Background o 6 – 8 pages ? Unit 7 Stakeholder Analysis, Solution, and Conclusion o 8 – 10 pages NOTE: This Mini Capstone project is based on research - not personal opinion. The tone should be professional. Do not use personal pronouns. You are required to follow APA style, including properly formatted in text citations, a title page, running header and reference page, with properly formatted citations. The Mini Capstone project is an applied policy plan. It requires students to relate theory to practice. It should be clear to the reader that this is not a theoretical or abstract academic exercise, but one that you might do as a professional public administrator. Examples of what might appear in each section have been provided below. Use these as guides, but be aware that they are not comprehensive and you will have to provide much more detail and analysis in your paper. When you submit the final Mini Capstone project at the end of Unit 7, you should incorporate all sections of the project that you worked on for your selected public policy/topic. You will take the feedback provided by your instructor on the assignments PAD616 – Public Policy Unit 5 Mini Capstone: Policy Overview & Background Copyright 2022 Post University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED submitted in Unit 3 and Unit 5 and apply it to those sections before submitting the final Mini Capstone project. Incorporate the Unit 7 component (Stakeholder Analysis, Solution, and Conclusion) into the final Mini Capstone project file. Do not submit it separately. Your final Mini Capstone project will range between 15-20 pages once it is complete. UNIT 5 MINI CAPSTONE- POLICY OVERVIEW & HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: You will continue to work on your Mini Capstone project for the public policy/topic that you identified and provided a summary about in Unit 1 and an introduction for in Unit 3.This component of the Mini Capstone has two sections for the Policy Overview & Historical Background. The first section entails presenting Social, financial, economic, political, or environmental or other factors that have impacted the public policy/topic you selected. In the the second section, you will provide a detailed description of the Issue evolution related to the public policy/topic you selected. B. Policy Overview and Historical Background. Expand upon the ideas in your introduction. This is an in depth narrative description of the issue that includes the historical context. This section should be approximately 6 to 8 pages in length. The following are brief examples of what might be included for the Policy Overview and Historical Background section. Your section should include greater detail. 1. Social, financial, economic, political, environmental or other factors. What factors have created or exacerbated the present policy or problem? Discuss any social, economic, political, environmental or other factors that may have influenced the public policy/topic you selected. Social, financial, economic, political, environmental or other factors example: “Today, many people consider water to be a human right and a public good (Carini, 2011). A recent study found that more than half of respondents believe they have a right to water; less than a third viewed it as a commodity (Noga & Wolbring, 2013). Throughout history, water has been considered both a public good and a commodity. The citizens of ancient Rome, for example, had access to unlimited supplies of water through an elaborate system of public fountains that were fed via an elaborate network of aqueducts. The high cost of constructing and maintaining the system was born by commercial and military interests (Carr, 2016).” “The earliest water systems in the United States were constructed in Boston, New York and Philadelphia in the 1790’s (Cutler & Miller, 2006). These were built exclusively by private companies, often under the authority of special charters granted by the city for the provision of fire protection. Interestingly, many elected officials of the day believed public drinking water was too Copyright 2022 Post University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED important to be left to the profit motives of private industry. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, cities were unable to absorb the prohibitively high cost of water infrastructure (Cutler & Miller).” In recent history, water quality in inner cities has lead to intense political debate about public health issues and environmental racism and justice. According to the U.S. Census, Flint is 57% black, 37% white, 4% Latino and 4% mixed race; more than 41% of its residents live below the poverty level. A formerly prosperous industrialized city, Flint faced economic hard times as the auto industry - specifically General Motors began plant closures and downsizing in 2008. Working and middle class residents were thrown into poverty, tax revenues declined, and Flint was run by a succession of state-appointed emergency managers in an effort to balance the city's budget. 2. Issue evolution. How has the issue evolved since its inception? Now that you have provided the historical context for your problem, explain the current state of affairs using data to show the extent and impact of the problem over time. Issue evolution example: At present, Flint provides public water to 31,000 customers, including private homes, hospitals, schools, and businesses. It continues to supply residents with bottled water and filters and will do so until a permanent plan is in place to ensure that residents have clean water from a reliable source. Flint’s mayor has been quoted as saying that the cost to replace Flint’s water pipes could be as high as $1.5 billion. The estimated annual cost for bottled water, filters and associated supplies could reach $43 million. Conservative estimates of the public health costs related to the lead exposure are likely to add $395 million. Include a thorough review of the relevant literature for each of these sections. Seek out scholarly sources to ascertain the facts rather than ill-supported contentions that might suffer from bias or personal opinion. Peer reviewed journal articles, government reports and think tanks should be your first resources for scholarly thought, primary source and contemporaneous accounts. Scholarly research undergoes a rigorous set of protocols that hopefully reduces the bias that is often associated with punditry. Blogs, Wikipedia and about.com are not acceptable sources. There is no “I” or “We” in a research paper. There is “The court held…” or “Agencies have…” but never an “I” or a “We”. Explore your topic with a goal of understanding the problem in greater detail. This section highlights researching capabilities. Research scholarly information on the topic. Synthesize the relevant literature in order to better understand the features of the problem and to get a good sense of what are Copyright 2022 Post University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED the possible causes of the problem. Too often, administrators attempt to solve problems without gathering the appropriate data and conducting some type of causative analysis. This exploration provides the basis for building a viable solution because after conducting this research, you should have a far better understanding of the nature of the problem, in all of its complexity, as well as have a sense of possible feasible alternatives. Examples of what might appear in each section have been provided above. Use these as guides but be aware that they are not comprehensive and you will have to provide much more detail and analysis in your paper. Remember to include a title and reference page. Students: Be sure to read the criteria in the grading rubric on the next page, by which your paper will be evaluated, before you write, and again after you write. Copyright 2022 Post University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Evaluation Rubric for Unit 5 Assignment: Policy Overview & Historical Background CRITERIA Exemplary Proficient Meets Minimal Expectations Unacceptable 30 points 24 – 29 points 18 – 23 points 0 – 17 points Factors Thoroughly discusses the factors that have created or exacerbated the present policy or problem; presents social, economic, political, environmental or other factors that may have influenced the public policy/topic selected. Adequately discusses the factors that have created or exacerbated the present policy or problem; presents social, economic, political, environmental or other factors that may have influenced the public policy/topic selected. Discussion of the factors that have created or exacerbated the present policy or problem is unclear or inadequate; presentation of social, economic, political, environmental or other factors that may have influenced the public policy/topic selected is missing or inadequate. Does not discuss the factors that have created or exacerbated the present policy or problem; or present social, economic, political, environmental or other factors that may have influenced the public policy/topic selected. 30 points 24 – 29 points 18 – 23 points 0 – 17 points Issue Evolution Thoroughly discusses how the issue has evolved since its inception; after providing the historical context for the problem, explains the current state of affairs using data to show the extent and impact of the problem over time. Adequately discusses how the issue has evolved since its inception; after providing the historical context for the problem, explains the current state of affairs using data to show the extent and impact of the problem over time. Discussion of how the issue has evolved since its inception is unclear or inadequate; after providing the historical context for the problem, explanation of the current state of affairs using data to show the extent and impact of the problem over time is unclear or inadequate. Does not discuss how the issue has evolved since its inception; does not provide the historical context for the problem, or does not explain the current state of affairs using data to show the extent and impact of the problem over time. 15 points 12 – 14 points 9 – 11 points 0 – 8 points Style Coherence Organization Well-planned and well-thought out. All paragraphs have clear ideas, are supported with examples and have smooth transitions. Good overall organization, includes the main organizational tools. Most paragraphs have clear ideas, are supported with some examples There is a sense of organization, although some of the organizational tools are used weakly or missing. Some paragraphs have clear ideas, support from No sense of organization. Paragraphs lack clear ideas with no transition between paragraphs. Style and coherence issues Copyright 2022 Post University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Sentences are complete in thought and concise, eliminating unnecessary words or phrases. Sentence transitions are present. Words used are precise, unambiguous and used properly. The tone is appropriate for the assignment. and have transitions. Style and coherence issues are present but do not detract from the overall quality of the paper. The tone is appropriate for the assignment. examples may be missing and transitions are weak. Style and coherence issues are present and detract from the quality of the paper. The tone is generally appropriate for the assignment. detract from the quality of the paper to the extent that the reader is unable to understand the writer’s meaning. The tone for the assignment is not appropriate. 15 points 12 – 14 points 9 – 11 points 0 – 8 points Grammar Spelling Writing assignment is free of errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. Writing assignment is mostly free of errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. Writing assignment contains several minor errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation, but does not detract from content of the passage. Writing assignment contains several errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation which detracts from content of the passage. 10 points 8 – 9 points 6 – 7 points 0 – 5 points Format and APA Consistently demonstrates correct use of in-text citations in the appropriate APA format; includes a title and comprehensive reference page. Mostly demonstrates correct use of in-text citations in the appropriate APA format; includes a title and reference page, but it may contain errors. Occasionally demonstrates correct use of in-text citations in the appropriate APA format; a title and reference page is included, but it may be incomplete or contain errors. Does not demonstrate correct use of in-text citations in the appropriate APA format; does not include a title and reference page.