IMPORTANT: FOLLOW THE POLICY MEMO TEMPLATE AND INSTRUCTIONS
What, if anything, should Dane County Executive Parisi do to make the county’s lakes more fishable, swimmable, or otherwise healthy?
You are a policy intern in the office of the Dane County Executive. Parisi has made the county’s lakes a top priority of his administration and has implemented several initiatives. He wants to know where to direct the attention and resource of his office next. Your first assignment as a policy analyst is to write a 4-page (double spaced, 12 pt font) memo to Dane County Executive Parisi, analyzing policy options to make the county’s lakes more fishable, swimmable, or healthy. Based on research into initiatives proposed by scholars or tried in other, similar localities and using the authorities vested in the office of the Dane County Executive, recommend one action Parisi should take within the office’s existing budgetary and regulatory authority.
This requires at least four kinds of research: (1) What is Dane County currently doing in this policy area? (2) What are some additional possible policy options that have been proposed by scholars or used by other local governments to address similar problems? (3) What evidence do we have about how well these options address the policy problem? (4) What authority does the Dane County Executive have to implement these options?
Research is a major part of this assignment (even though the result is short) because the challenge is to tell a policymaker something they do not already know. This requires digging up new information, new policy ideas, or new evidence that may be relevant to their decisions. After some general research into current initiatives and potential options, you will want to focus on one very specific problem (e.g., farm runoff, lawn runoff, PFAS, an invasive species, etc.). The more narrow your initial focus, the easier it will be to identify relevant research and authorities.
Parisi and his senior policy advisor have agreed to come to our class to discuss some of your findings and recommendations on February 24. This means that memos must be submitted on time. Reluctantly, it is thus my policy to penalize late memo submissions fairly harshly.
What, if anything, should Rep. Katrina Shankland do next about Wisconsin’s groundwater quality or quantity?
You are a policy intern in the office of Rep. Katrina Shankland. In 2019, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos appointed Rep. Katrina Shankland to co-chair the Speaker’s Task Force on Water Quality. This Task Force recently proposed a set of laws that gained bipartisan support. Rep. Katrina Shankland wants to know where to direct the attention and resource of her office (and perhaps the entire legislature) next. Rep. Shankland represents a mostly rural area where groundwater quantity and quality are increasingly perceived as problems. Your assignment as a policy analyst is to write a 4-page (double spaced, 12 pt font) memo to Rep. Shankland analyzing policy options to address the next piece of the groundwater problem. Based on research into initiatives proposed by scholars or tried in other, similar states and using the authorities of the Wisconsin legislature (with the agenda-setting power of Rep. Shankland’s co-chair position and constraints of being part of the minority party), recommend one action Rep. Shankland should take within her role as legislator and task force co-chair,
This requires at least five kinds of research: (1) What is the WI legislature and Speaker’s Task Force on Water Quality currently doing in this policy area? (2) What are some additional possible policy options that have been proposed by scholars or used by other state governments to address similar problems? (3) What evidence do we have about how well these options address the policy problem? (4) What authority does the WI legislature have to implement these options? (5) What stakeholder interests must Rep. Shankland consider, and how do they enable or constrain Rep. Shankland’s ability to initiate, enact, and implement these options?
Research is a major part of this assignment (even though the result is short) because the challenge is to tell a policymaker something they do not already know. This requires digging up new information, new policy ideas, or new evidence that may be relevant to their decisions. After some general research into current initiatives and potential options, you will want to focus on one very specific problem. The more narrow your initial focus, the easier it will be to identify relevant research and authorities.
Rep. Shankland has agreed to come to our class to discuss some of your findings and recommendations on Monday, March 23. This means that memos must be submitted on time. Reluctantly, it is thus my policy to penalize late memo submissions fairly harshly. If you are unable to submit a memo before Rep. Shankland’s visit, we will need to design an alternative assignment.
IMPORTANT: In addition to the requirements for previous memos, I have two additional expectations:
- This final memo must include an appendix–at least one paragraph on a separate page–reflecting on how you incorporated lessons in policy analysis and advocacy (e.g., issue framing) from Stone’s critiques of orthodox policy analysis. This does not mean that you should go out of your way to spin stories and rhetoric aimed at a general audience–you are still writing for a sophisticated policymaker who wants hard-nosed analysis he can use. I just want you to reflect on how the language you use, stories you tell, and policy tools you propose evoke certain kinds of thinking, and to be intentional about how you frame your research, analysis, options, and recommendation.
- In addition to taking Stone’s critiques of policy analysis seriously, I expect you to take my comments on your first two memos seriously.
What, if anything, should Rep. Todd Novak do next about Wisconsin’s water quality?
You are a policy intern in the office of Rep. Todd Novak. In 2019, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos appointed Rep. Todd Novak to co-chair the Speaker’s Task Force on Water Quality. This Task Force recently proposed a set of laws that gained bipartisan support. Rep. Todd Novak wants to know where to direct the attention and resource of his office (and perhaps the entire legislature) next. Your assignment as a policy analyst is to write a 4-page (double spaced, 12 pt font) memo to Rep. Novak analyzing policy options to address water quality. Based on research into initiatives proposed by scholars or tried in other, similar states and using the authorities of the Wisconsin legislature (with the agenda-setting power of Rep. Novak’s position as a member of the majority party with a Governor of the opposite party), recommend one action Rep. Novak should take within his role as legislator and task force co-chair,
This requires at least five kinds of research: (1) What is the WI legislature and Speaker’s Task Force on Water Quality currently doing in this policy area? (2) What are some additional possible policy options that have been proposed by scholars or used by other state governments to address similar problems? (3) What evidence do we have about how well these options address the policy problem? (4) What authority does the WI legislature have to implement these options? (5) What stakeholder interests must Rep. Novak consider, and how do they enable or constrain Rep. Novak’s ability to initiate, enact, and implement these options?
Research is a major part of this assignment (even though the result is short) because the challenge is to tell a policymaker something they do not already know. This requires digging up new information, new policy ideas, or new evidence that may be relevant to their decisions. After some general research into current initiatives and potential options, you will want to focus on one very specific problem. The more narrow your initial focus, the easier it will be to identify relevant research and authorities.
This memo may be very similar to your previous memo–it may or may not have the same options and even the same recommendation if that makes sense. The present challenge is to be very attuned to your audience and his stakeholders. Your analysis is only useful if it can persuade your audience, and he can persuade his colleagues and constituents.