Instructor:
John Whitehead
e-mail: whiteheadjc@appstate.edu
Community Based Research Project
In this course teams of students will conduct a benefit-cost analysis of an off-campus project or policy following the basic steps of BCA. This course will integrate your academic work with a hands on application with the community. In this way, you get the opportunity to apply what you learn in class through a hands-on project. Your research will add a practical dimension to the course lectures and readings and you will have the opportunity to do some much needed analysis for agencies with limited resources. Plus, hands-on research is one of the best ways to learn economics.
Early in the semester, upon identification of a research topic and a willing client, students will participate in a scoping meeting with each client. Faculty and students will work collaboratively with community clients to discover what the needs of the community are and how students can help meet a particular need. Meetings between faculty, students and the community client will occur as needed throughout the semester.
In order to reflect on what you have learned from your experience, you will be required to produce (1) a nontechnical report for your client, (2) a technical report for your professor, (3) create a presentation for your client and (4) create a debriefing presentation for your classmates. The reports are due during on the last day of class. The client presentation will take place at an agreed upon time with the client. The class presentation will take place during the final exam period. Each of these is worth 40 points for a total of 160 points. Participation is worth another 40 points for a total of 200 points.
Grades will be based on adherence to sound BCA principles, completion of work and responsiveness to client needs. Your participation grade will be based on a one paragraph self-assessment of the effort that you made during the semester. Each self-assessment must be signed by each member of the group.
Report Guidelines
The draft report should include the 10 steps of a benefit-cost analysis.
Formatting:
Typed
Double-spaced
1" margins
Times New Roman 12 point font
5-7 pages
Attach all excel files electronically
Include title page and references
The final report to the client should adopt some "fancy" formatting.
BCA Steps:
Clarify issues of standing
Identify the alternatives
Set out assumptions
List the impacts of each alternative project
Assign values to these impacts
Deal with unquantified impacts
Discount future values to obtain present values
Identify and account for uncertainty
Compare benefits and costs
Suggestions for future research
Presentation Guidelines
10-12 minute MS PowerPoint presentations
The first slide should be a title slide containing the title of your presentation, the date of the presentation, your names and your client.
The presentation should include the information on each of the steps of a benefit-cost analysis. Do not include the excruciating details in your presentation (these are appropriate for your technical report).
A good rule of thumb is one or two slides for each of the steps, except for the monetization step which will require more slides.
PowerPoint Guidelines from Capital University.
An example presentation ...
References
2009 Clients