TO: Prospective
Client Organizations
FROM: Humphrey School of Public Affairs
Global Policy Area/Masters of
Development Practice
DATE: July 6, 2016
SUBJECT: Call for Capstone Project Proposals for
the 2016-2017 Academic Year
The
Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota is accepting
proposals from organizations for the 2016-2017 academic year global policy area
(GPA) and Master of Development Practice (MDP) graduate student capstone courses.
We
are looking for project proposals from public, nonprofit and intergovernmental organizations
working in international political, economic, security, human rights,
humanitarian/relief, development or environmental fields. The description and
guidelines for submitting a proposal is in the attached request for proposals
(RFP). Please e-mail your proposal and any questions to the faculty at the
contact information below.
Proposals
for the 2016-2017 academic year are due September 9, 2016. Please contact us if you would like to
discuss your project idea in further detail.
Contact
Information:
Mary T.
Curtin, Diplomat in Residence (mtcurtin@umn.edu)
Sherry
Gray, Director, International Programs, (grayx260@umn.edu)
Robert
Kudrle, Freeman Professor of International Trade and Investment Policy (kudrle@umn.edu)
David
Wilsey, Director, Master of Development Practice, (dwilsey@umn.edu)
OR
Global
Policy Area
Humphrey
School of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota
232 Hubert H. Humphrey Center, 301 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 USA
Telephone (1-612) 626-5674; Fax 625-3513
University of Minnesota
232 Hubert H. Humphrey Center, 301 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 USA
Telephone (1-612) 626-5674; Fax 625-3513
A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR GPA AND MDP CAPSTONE
PROJECTS
The Humphrey
School of Public Affairs (HHH) at the University of Minnesota ranks among the
top professional schools of public affairs in the United States and is widely
recognized for its role in examining issues, providing leadership and
management expertise, and shaping policies at the local, state, national and
international levels.
Graduate
students at the HHH are committed to public service, dedicated to addressing
economic, social and political concerns throughout the world and are prepared
with the tools and knowledge to develop, assess and evaluate approaches to
current and emerging issues.
All HHH graduate-level
capstone courses are designed to mutually benefit the client, the community
being served, and the students. The project team consists of three to five master-level
graduate students who address challenges and identify opportunities for a client
organization or who conduct research on a pressing social, policy and/or
development question of interest to the organization. Graduate students draw
upon their professional experience and academic knowledge from content or issue
areas, from key process skills including project management and teamwork and
from various methods for gathering, analyzing and reporting data. The project
team will approach the assignment with initiative and professionalism that
results in a carefully considered final product. Faculty members will guide the research,
writing, and presentation of the final product.
The Humphrey
School is looking for potential capstone clients for the academic year
2016-2017.
Timeline:
Global policy and MDP capstone graduate students will be assigned to projects
and form teams in the fall of 2016 and conduct the project primarily in the
Spring 2017 semester, completing the project by May 2017.
·
September-October: Capstone projects selected and graduate student
teams formed.
·
November -December: Graduate student
teams and capstone clients work together on a contract (memorandum of
agreement) and team work plan. Students
will prepare for the project (planning, research, skills preparation)
·
Mid-December to mid- January: Possible time period for preliminary research,
especially if any overseas travel required.
·
January – April: Students will carry out project work
·
May: Students will submit the final
product, including any written materials or tools, and a formal presentation;
the client will submit an evaluation of the students as specified by both
parties in the contract, and the capstone project will conclude.
All
details and dates will be outlined in the jointly drafted memorandum of
agreement.
Proposal
Guidelines
Selection
Process
Humphrey
faculty teaching the global policy and MDP capstone courses will review all
submitted proposals and select proposals that:
·
focus on a global issue;
·
have a clearly defined research question or policy project;
·
are realistic for the students to complete within the
proposed timeline;
·
state clearly whether or not the students would be required
to travel in order to conduct research, with full information on the length and
nature of the travel.
Ownership
and Use of Final Report
Unless otherwise
agreed upon in writing, the graduate students and the client shall jointly own
the intellectual property rights, including copyright, in the materials and any
other intellectual property developed as part of the capstone project, as
subjected to University of Minnesota policies. The students may choose to make
public the project in the University of Minnesota Library Digital Archives, to
share with prospective employers, and to make available for future researchers
or graduate students undertaking similar capstone projects.
Costs
Students are
not compensated for their work on the HHH capstone project for the client. In
the event that any international travel is involved in the project, the client
is expected to cover some of the costs or expenses. This could include
transportation, lodging, food, printing, language interpreters or other
agreed-upon expenses. Expenses will be negotiated by the client and the student
team in the contract.
Mutual
Expectations
Successful
capstone projects are grounded in good relationships between the client, the graduate
students and the faculty advisor. Good relationships involve mutual respect and
an understanding of the expectations of all parties involved. Thus, the
following list seeks to outline the mutual expectations and responsibilities of
the client, the graduate students, and the faculty.
Graduate students
will:
·
deliver a work product that fulfills the project’s objectives
and the client’s expectations;
·
bring commitment, energy, and personal areas of expertise to
working on the project;
·
utilize the best of their abilities and experience;
·
engage openly and fairly with clients, faculty, other
students and stakeholders;
·
be resilient and maintain a positive attitude toward
unexpected challenges or project changes;
·
be the direct beneficiaries of the project.
Clients
will:
·
prepare a concrete, feasible project proposal with well-defined
proposed deliverables;
·
provide a single contact/liaison person for the project;
·
support and communicate well with students and faculty;
·
mentor students and treat them as partners in the project;
·
allow revision of the project when necessary;
·
provide useful feedback during and after the project (used to
inform project grades);
·
cover agreed upon expenses for students’ international
travel/project costs, when necessary.
Faculty advisor will:
·
create a supportive and challenging learning
environment for students;
·
build a well-defined framework from which students will work
that involves a set of class meetings, activities and assignments;
·
offer intellectual and technical expertise, experience and
referrals;
·
support the client as needed to make sure that the project
progresses to a successful conclusion;
·
act as a liaison between the Humphrey School, the client and
the students as needed;
·
facilitate opportunities for students to think about their
project within the larger international/global political/development/humanitarian
framework in which it takes place;
·
provide helpful feedback and grade the project at its
conclusion.
Please use the following template in submitting project
proposals:
PROPOSAL APPLICATION
(1)
Date
(2)
Name of
organization
(3)
Address of organization
(4)
Name of contact
person in your organization for the capstone project
(5)
Phone number of
contact person in your organization
(6)
E-mail Address
of contact person in your organization
(7)
Description of
project
·
A brief overview of the issue that the proposed project will
address.
·
An explanation of your organization’s mission
·
A specific list of activities the client would like the students
to engage in (i.e., program evaluation, cost-benefit analysis, data collection,
financial analysis, research, planning)
·
Specific skills the client is looking for (i.e., foreign
language proficiency, experience with specific software, statistics, evaluation
skills, familiarity with the issue or problem)
·
Potential risks for the student (difficult travel, cultural or
political sensitivities)
·
Stakeholders in the project (who is the project serving?) and
whether these stakeholders, if relevant for the proposed project, may be
vulnerable (e.g., refugees, victims of torture, children)
(8) Research Question
The proposal should have a clearly stated purpose and
research or policy question. This will focus the project and identify the scope
of the work for the students.
(9) Proposed Deliverables
The proposal should specify what you, the potential client,
want to see in the final report. For example, the potential client wants a
cost-benefit analysis or recommendations on how to improve water resource
management in rural villages.
(10) Assumptions and Special Considerations
If the project will involve working with vulnerable
populations, culturally sensitive issues, or challenging environments, this
section serves as the place to explain these aspects of the project. In order
to identify assumptions, some questions that you may want to ask are:
·
Is a language other than English required for fieldwork,
research or information? Will a translator be required? What cross-cultural skills are needed?
·
Will students need to gain access to restricted information?
·
Are there deadlines or timing issues that students and
faculty need to be aware of?
·
Are there any extra expenses involved in the project, such as
fees?
·
Will students have to make extra preparations for
international travel such as vaccinations, special forms of documentation and/or
visas?
(11) Evaluation Criteria
Identify how you will evaluate the students and their work
after project completed.
(12) Audience
Identify who will use this report and how they will use it.
For example, the report will go to the board of directors and be used to
determine how the program is doing and how can it be improved.