POLS 240-Env. Politics and Sustainability
Winter 2025
Final Project- Policy research project presentation
Overview: Studies have shown that if you want to make change in society, one of the most far reaching and effective ways is to use public policy. Public policy is a catch all term for those decisions (and non-decisions) of government that hold the force of law including legislation, rulemaking, and court decisions, to name a few. As a society, we debate about the best educational policy, listen for candidates’ policy positions on healthcare, and navigate the world of tax policy each spring when filing our income taxes. In the U.S. system of federalism, public policy can be made at the local, state or national level. Public policy can be complex and requires research or expertise to understand fully. Policy tools like taxes, fines and regulations serve to nudge or force citizen behavior towards particular ends. In the case of carbon, energy and climate change, public policy, like the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, is being used to shift the markets towards more sustainable technology to meet society’s needs for heat, electricity and transportation. But things may be changing….
Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is for you to learn more deeply about a specific policy area (listed below) and how it might change under the incoming presidential administration and government, and then present your findings to a small group of your classmates. This will require you to look at the history, the studies and current political news related to this policy area.
Instructions and learning strategies:
Ideally, you will start with the module that covers the area you are researching and build from there. There will be an even distribution of students into each policy group so that students studying the same topics can collaborate, share resources and learn from each other during 3 class periods when the annotated bibliography and outline draft/final copy are due. During the Final Exam period, each small group will split up into a new small group with representatives from each policy area research collaboration group and present their findings. At the end of the presentations, students will have a larger classroom discussion about where policy “ought” to go using evidence from our class and research.
To be more clear, start in the Canvas learning module(s) that your policy area is covered in and look for the resources in that module that apply. Then use the LibGuide to research more. Throughout the quarter, I recommend keeping up with political news related to your policy area. The LibGuide will also include sources and information about how to stay current on these developments. For our first class, I will assign your policy area and small group that you will collaborate with to make your presentation. The next 3 classes will be collaboration on the project for the purposes of creating individual presentations that each person will give to a different group of students. On the last day, students will split up into new groups with each policy area represented and give the presentation to each other in these small group formats.
Research: History of a policy area is pretty easy to come by, getting up to date on the current/modern policies can be a little more challenging. Figuring out what the new administration can do or is proposing to do might be the trickiest part. The first 100 days of any presidential term are very active because a president is judged immediately on how effectively they can use the presidency to make the changes they were voted to make. There will be a lot happening, our focus is on the proposals related to the environment. In addition to my resources, you are also welcome to use your own but keep in mind that bias and misinformation are rampant right now because of the rise of citizen journalism and other trends. This is nothing new for environmental policy. If you feel suspicious of a source, you are free to run it by me or a librarian. It’s always a good idea to look at multiple sources to confirm. Fact checking is encouraged.
Requirements and grading:
Jan 16 1:30-2:45pm – Meet in person to find out policy area assignment and meet your policy area collaborators. No work is due in class this day.
Annotated Bibliography (15 points due March 6 in class and on Canvas)- Meet in person to discuss sources and begin building outline of presentation. Instructions for Annotated Bibliography are available in the Canvas Assignment (5 class sources and 5 additional sources).
Outline draft (due March 11 in class and on Canvas)- Meet in person to continue working on presentation with collaborators. Outlines should include history up to current, proposed changes
Final Outline draft (15 points due March 13 in class and on Canvas)- Meet in person to continue working on presentation slides with collaborators.
Final Presentation End Product (70 points due March 18): 10 minute Presentation on your policy area and its and a copy of the Slides, Notes and Bibliography, due in class Tuesday, March 18). You can submit slides/notes/bibliography electronically on Canvas.
Include in your explanations of the policies some of the logic behind policies some of the logic behind the policies (i.e. encouraging or discouraging consumption of certain products, creating economies of scale, supporting industry adoption of sustainable practices, materials and fuels, etc.).
Present your findings (recorded) using a PowerPoint or other presentation technique that shows and tells your audience about:
- The history of the policy area, including the major and relevant federal and state laws passed and their features, as well as major issues/problems/statistics, events and actors. (20 points)
- The current status of the laws that govern your policy area. What law(s) currently have authority over your policy area and what do they do? Are they working? Why or why not? (20 points)
- Provide information about the proposals of the current government which is controlled by the Republican Party and is also known as the Grand Ole Party (GOP). You should include any proposals from President Trump that could impact these policies, including nominations and appointments, as well as Congressional efforts to pass legislation. What are the expected effects of these proposals and how likely are they to pass? This information will all be found in the news and news analysis that you read for this project (20 points)
- Be prepared to share a reflection of what more you think should be done in the policy area you researched based on what you learned in the modules. (10 points) Please include this as a separate slide or document with your final presentation slides.
- Please include your references on the final slide in APA citation format.
- Please note: up to 10 points can be deducted for excessive typos and/or issues with grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. Additionally, if your presentation slides are confusing overloaded with text and/or not including enough information for your audience to follow you or if you fail to provide a proper references slide, up to 20 points may be deducted from your total score.
- Annotated bibliography needed by March 6th