A Guide to Writing a Capstone Public Policy Report

About the Author

For the last 11 years, the author has been a professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Prior to this, he was the executive director of the National Governors Association (NGA) for 28 years. This bi-partisan organization represents the nation’s governors and state governments on domestic policy issues that come before the U.S. Congress. Prior to NGA, he worked for seven years at the non-partisan U.S. Congressional Budget Office, serving the last two years as the Deputy Director.

He has written numerous professional articles and authored or co-authored four public policy books. The author received his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the University of Connecticut.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the students in my previous capstone classes at the University of Virginia who worked hard to develop rigorous analytical frameworks as the foundation for their papers.

Copyright Information ©

Raymond Scheppach 2024

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The story, the experiences, and the words are the author’s alone.

Ordering Information

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Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Scheppach, Raymond

A Guide to Writing a Capstone Public Policy Report

ISBN 9798886939385 (Paperback)

ISBN 9798886939392 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023918655

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published 2024

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

[email protected]

+1 (646) 5125767

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank Eric Patashnik, previously a professor at the University of Virginia and currently at Brown University, for assisting me in teaching the capstone class the first several years. Our many conversations were very helpful in creating the outline of this book.

Second, I would like to thank Erica Fitzpatrick of Church Street Editorial for not only editing the manuscript but, more importantly, indicating places where more research was needed. Finally, I would like to thank Maxwell Halbruner, a former student at the University of Virginia, for gathering data and calculating various metrics.

Preface

I have been fortunate to teach the capstone course for students in the Master of Public Policy (MPP) program at the University of Virginia (UVA) Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy for more than 10 years. Before joining the faculty of UVA, I spent 35 years working on both federal and state public policy issues in the Congressional Budget Office and for the nation’s governors as the executive director of the National Governors Association (NGA). The NGA is at the critical nexus between state and federal domestic policy. This nexus is key. Except for Social Security and Medicare—and perhaps national parks and forests—states administer all domestic programs. The programs may be authorized and partially or totally funded by the federal government, but they are operated at the state level. I value the learning experience I gained working with political leaders from federal and state governments on major domestic policy issues such as welfare reform and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

In talking to and observing students over this 10-year period, I have found that their greatest challenge is translating the concepts described in books on cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis into performing that analysis, and then writing a report. The first goal of this book is to fill this void by providing detailed steps on how to quantify various measures, with illustrative examples.

A second goal of this book is to help students write an analytical, not a descriptive, paper. The foundation of an analytical paper is a problem statement that defines the public policy issue and the outcome definition that must be consistent with the problem statement. Next, the writer must establish metrics for the various criteria so that the evaluations are rigorous. Finally, cost-effectiveness must be calculated correctly. In the political world, cost is the major driver of policy decisions, and so this part of the analysis is critical.

A third goal is to integrate financing into the discussion of federal and state policy. Too often, students talk about policy as though it were one decision. It is not: Authorizations and appropriations generally go through different committees at different times. Many authorizations never receive an appropriation and thus never become operational. Exceptions to this statement exist for entitlements, such as Social Security and Medicare, where the authorizing language automatically creates spending authority, and certain other mandatory spending programs such as farm support programs. Most times, however, particularly at the state and local government levels, where entitlements are rare, there are two different actions-authorization and then appropriation. Both steps are important, but each raises multiple political and implementation issues.

A fourth goal is to bring political realities into the discussion. Political calculations often dominate policy, and we need to recognize this reality.

A fifth goal of this book is to heighten the focus on policy implementation, a subject generally given short shrift in most policy books, even though more policies fail because of poor implementation than because of improper conceptualization.

Students often initially want to evaluate federal policies. However, state and local governments, even school districts, have more policy levers. Students can often study policies at these levels of government in more depth, which in the end they may find more satisfying. State and local projects also often have sponsors with more passion and interest in the analysis.

Raymond Scheppach

Charlottesville, Virginia

June,2023

Chapter 1

Introduction

Many schools of public policy require their students to write a capstone or master’s thesis as the culmination of their academic work. This document is a requirement for graduation, and students often use it as an example of their work when applying for jobs. It is also an opportunity for students to bring together everything they have learned in their courses. (See Appendix A. Choosing a Topic.) This report should be rigorous and analytical, not a simple descriptive paper. The following five areas are foundational to your paper’s analysis:

Problem statement. The problem statement must define a public policy issue that imposes substantial costs on society. The statement should be simple, and it should not include the solution as part of the problem. Although the problem statement can be narrow, it should not eliminate potential alternative policies. The problem statement is your paper’s critical starting point: If it is wrong, then your entire analysis will be flawed.

Outcome definition. The outcome definition must also be correct and relate to the problem statement. The outcome should be the goal of the program, and it must be measurable in physical, not monetary units—for, example, the number of graduates of a high school or college, not the number admitted or in attendance.

Calculation of cost-effectiveness. This measure should be the dominant consideration in determining your final recommendation. If it is incorrect or missing, then your paper will—be of little value as a decision document in the political world.

Data from primary sources. It is important to always use primary sources as opposed to secondary sources from a newspaper or a research organization. The most accurate data are generally from the federal government, as these data are based on a high standard for collection and are generally reconciled with other federal data. For example, Gross Domestic Product is measured by collecting data on both the product and income sides that are then reconciled, thereby enhancing their quality.

Reliance on data and metrics. Use data and metrics throughout your paper. Whether your focus is on tons of carbon dioxide emissions or the number of vehicle-miles driven, provide substantial data and compare them with other data from other regions to provide perspective on the problem.

This guide discusses these five foundational issues in depth because they are what will make your analysis rigorous, which in turn will make your final paper valuable in the policy world. In addition, the guide provides context and information about other components of a quality capstone paper.

The Ivory Tower and the Mud Hut

Generally, to create a quality paper, you must have one foot in the ivory tower and one foot in the mud hut. By ivory tower, I mean using the correct concept, collecting the best data and incorporating the best evidence from other studies. You must also pull together reliable historical data and use proven methodologies to make estimates and projections, particularly for outcomes and costs (and thus, cost-effectiveness measures). In other words, push the envelope to quantify the critical variables.

By mud hut, I mean developing relationships with individuals who are deeply involved in the issue you are researching. (See Appendix B. Creating a Mud Hut of Advisers.) These relationships are often with two types of individuals: academics and researchers currently working in your topic area and individuals involved in