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E-study | Created: 08/29/2023

Champion Class Series: Former President Bill Clinton, Inaugural Champion

NASPAA is thrilled to have the Champion Class series kick off with former President Bill Clinton as the inaugural Champion. We greatly appreciate him taking the time to impart his knowledge to our students and for all he has done in his distinguished career in public service. The Champion Class interview of former President Bill Clinton was conducted by Dean Victoria DeFrancesco Soto of the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas, and covers issues such as why public service matters, leadership challenges and making decisions when lacking proper data, and working with coalitions when facing complex policy issues.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Critical Thinking, Teamwork, Problem Solving, Communication, Motivation, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Decision Making, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Policy Analysis/Policy Process, Public Management
E-study | Created: 08/24/2021

Government for Citizens: Managing Interministerial Conflicts in E-Government Implementation

Beginning in the 1980s, South Korea became recognized around the world for many successful rollouts of e-government initiatives. This case study analyzes the Government for Citizens (G4C) project, an e-government program that aimed to streamline civil application procedures by providing citizens with online, integrated, one-stop services. The G4C project encompassed the functions and systems of several ministries and agencies. Unlike many of its predecessors in South Korea, however, the project’s rollout led to serious interministerial conflict and tension, which in turn fell into the lap of the Special Commission on E-Government Korea. This case study illustrates the G4C project’s processes and outcomes by focusing on the role of the Special Commission on E-Government Korea and the decision dilemmas the Commission encountered while facilitating effective coordination. Studying this case can help students understand key problems and challenges public managers are likely to confront when executing e-government initiatives that involve multiple stakeholders. Analysis of the case should focus on how intergovernmental conflicts can be managed and resolved appropriately and how fragmented e-government policies can be integrated across ministries. Students can identify relevant stakeholders, their distinct interests, and their priorities before making recommendations about how to coordinate a variety of needs and values while promoting collaboration between agencies.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Technology, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Policy Analysis/Policy Process, Strategic Planning
E-study | Created: 08/24/2021

The Future of Telemedicine? Policy and Regulatory Debates in South Korea

This case explores the politics surrounding the South Korean government’s attempts to promote telemedicine projects in the 2010s. It provides the conflicting perspectives of two main actors: the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare (KMHW) and the Korean Medical Association (KMA). The KMHW sought to expand the use of telemedicine projects to reduce regional healthcare disparities and promote job creation and economic growth in relevant industries. The KMA and other interest groups opposed the KMHW’s efforts. The KMA was concerned that the expansion of telemedicine would diminish healthcare quality, spark disagreements over policies and regulations, and cause financial harm to some health care providers.

Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Technology, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Policy Analysis/Policy Process, Regulation
E-study | Created: 06/21/2023

The DMS Pandemic Simulation

Could your students handle the next pandemic? In this time-sensitive simulation, players hone skills in crisis management, multi-party negotiation, and communication while managing the impact of a deadly disease. To succeed, they'll need to balance economic, budgetary, political, and public health outcomes, working with the other teams to devise a regional response. Each team plays as the government of one of four distinct countries, and each player takes on the responsibilities of a cabinet minister's policy portfolio. Games can be 15, 30, 60, or 90 minutes long, with several difficulty levels for replayability. End-of-game data reports provide great opportunities for discussion, review, and improvement. Requires at least 4 players; if you'd like to run an event for over 100, contact us at sims.admin@dmsinetwork.com.

NASPAA has been working with DMS Academy to revamp the Pandemic Simulation with new features, content, and functionality to reflect NASPAA's objectives from its new Strategic Plan and DEIJA Action Plan. This simulation was used during the 2018 and 2021 NASPAA Student Simulation Competition.

To access this simulation, please visit the DMS Academy Simulation portal.

Equity and Diversity, Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Critical Thinking, Teamwork, Customer Service, Communication, Diversity, Budgeting and Finance, Communication, Decision Making, Diversity, Ethics, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Policy Analysis/Policy Process, Project Management, Public Management
E-study | Created: 04/02/2024

DMS Host Nations: Migration Simulation

The Host Nations Simulation puts students in the roles of government leaders working together to manage policies, balance budgets and satisfy their citizens as they manage an influx of refugees following the collapse of their home country. Those who are already familiar with the Host Nations simulation will see new content and new learning objectives that specifically target the DEIJA facets of refugee migration management in the simulation. The Host Nations simulation will challenge and teach students to deliver effective and equitable policies, consider the diverse needs of various populations, interpret data to evaluate and reorient policy decisions, practice inclusive decision-making and navigate challenging and asymmetrical intergovernmental relations. The Host Nations Simulation, which was featured at the 2024 NASPAA Simulation Competition, is the best opportunity for students who want to find their public servant voice and gain real-world experience without real-world risks.

To access this simulation, please visit the DMS Academy Simulation portal.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Equity and Diversity, Finance, Health and Health Care, International Organization, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Critical Thinking, Teamwork, Problem Solving, Communication, Diversity, Advocacy, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Community Engagement, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Diversity, Ethics, Implementation, International Development, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Policy Analysis/Policy Process, Strategic Planning
E-study | Created: 08/09/2021

School Resource Officer Crisis at Tolman High School

In October 2015, the City of Pawtucket, Rhode Island faced a crisis. During an after-school confrontation at Tolman High School, a School Resource Officer (SRO) grabbed a student and flipped him over in front of a crowd of students and staff. A classmate recorded the incident on his cell phone, and it quickly went viral on social media before a national audience. The case study describes the implementation of the SRO program in Pawtucket, the incident itself, and its aftermath. This crisis unfolded in the age of social media, illuminating new challenges not seen in the past. Relevant stakeholders included school and city officials, teachers, students, and community organizations. The case gives students the opportunity to analyze the actions of different stakeholders during a time of heightened tensions and widespread publicity. This case aims to teach students about the management of a high-profile crisis. They will have the opportunity to analyze the actions of different stakeholders, including school and city officials, teachers, students, and community organizations. Skills taught include crisis communication, decision making, and leadership. The case is appropriate for graduate and executive level courses in education, communication, and leadership

Children and Families, Equity and Diversity, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Communication, Decision Making, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 07/07/2020

Video Interview: Seema Bansal and Shoikat Roy on Black Lives Matter in India

Seema Bansal, Head Partner & Director, Social Impact and Shoikat Roy, School Education Consultant for the Boston Consulting Group, discuss Black Lives Matter in India in this 18 minute video interview. View the video at: https://youtu.be/fUeryK25BBw

Equity and Diversity, Diversity, Race and Identity
E-study | Created: 04/08/2020

Video Interview: Martin O’Malley on Leadership in a Crisis; Utilizing Technology & Data; & Social Innovation

Having the experience as a past Mayor of Baltimore, a past presidential candidate, and the former Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley offers an exceptional perspective in this 13-minute interview that branches across all levels of government. Leadership in a crisis, utilizing technology and data to improve government by building trust, and the potential social progress and innovation that can occur through adversity are a few of the topics former Governor O’Malley discusses with LBJ School Professor Don Kettl. View the video at: https://youtu.be/zoWwMGCZ4qA

Public Sector/Government Agency, Technology, Leadership
E-study | Created: 04/17/2020

Video Interview: Philip K. Howard, founder of Common Good 

Philip Howard is a noted lawyer, founder of nonprofit called Common Good that organizes around nonpartisan government reform, and devout commentator on the effects of modern law and bureaucracy on human behavior and the workings of society. In this 17-minute video, Howard and Professor Don Kettl discuss problems with the current bureaucratic system of governance, some potential areas for government reform, and how this topic intersects with the current pandemic and COVID-19. View the Video at: https://youtu.be/uiP0ogDvzEc

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Regulation
E-study | Created: 04/10/2020

Video Interview: Interview of Chris Mihm, Managing Director for Strategic Issues at the US General Accountability Office (GAO)

In this fifteen minute interview, Managing Director for Strategic Issues at the US General Accountability Office (GAO), Chris Mihm discusses the general roles of the GAO, important lessons learned from past stimulus acts, and projects how that knowledge will help government confront problems in administering oversight for the Coronvirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Mihm concludes this dialogue with an interesting perspective on what the skills current policy students will need utilize governments of the future to address the needs of society. View the Video at: https://youtu.be/uiP0ogDvzEc

Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Public Management
E-study | Created: 04/01/2020

Video Interview: Steve Goldsmith on Local Government Innovation

Steve Goldsmith serves as a current Harvard Kennedy School Professor, was previously a Deputy Mayor of New York City under Michael Bloomberg, and was also a two-term Republican Mayor of the City of Indianapolis from 1992-2000. In this eleven-minute interview, Professors Kettl and Goldsmith discuss issues, strategies, and concepts such as: effective strategies for leading cities, leveraging technology to improve government services and drive innovation, and operating across vertically integrated governments to efficiently utilize horizontal agencies to confront challenging tasks. View the Video at: https://youtu.be/KCeuT98xRHY

Public Sector/Government Agency, Technology, Change Management, Leadership
E-study | Created: 03/26/2020

Video Interview: Admiral Thad Allen on the Implications for Leadership in Dealing with the Covid19 crisis

Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen served as the Incident Commander of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and later replaced Michael Brown as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator in the midst of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in September of 2005. In this 12 minute interview, Allen speaks about the importance of leadership during a crisis, his role in directing the Hurricane Katrina response efforts, and his expertise in an evaluation of the COVID-19 pandemic. View the Video at: https://youtu.be/O1eeHEkv_lY

Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Implementation, Leadership
E-study | Created: 03/20/2020

Video Interview: Danny Buerkli, Co-Founder of staatslabor, on Issues of Complexity Theory as they Apply to Covid-19

12 min video on the big issues of complexity theory as they apply to the virus, by Danny Buerkli. Danny is a Co-Founder of staatslabor and former Director at the Centre for Public Impact. A companion piece to a module developed by Don Kettl that faculty can use right now to begin discussing the coronavirus in coursework through a systems thinking lens. View the Video at: https://youtu.be/pZXYYN8BqZo

Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making
E-study | Created: 12/01/2020

The Family Support Initiative: Managing to Impact Change

Justice Christine Cahill (ret.) transplanted the FSI project from the University of Michigan Law School for implementation in King County, WA, by her organization, the Child Justice Advocacy Center (CJAC), which focuses on child welfare issues. Externally, the FSI relies on authorizers and referral partners with widely varying interests to refer cases and cooperate in addressing clients’ legal needs. Organizationally, the FSI is managed by Jennifer Clancy of the CJAC, which also employs and houses the social worker. Other project partners – the Washington Justice Center and the Parent Support Association – employ the remaining team partners and contract their services to the FSI project. Internally, the multi-disciplinary aspect of the team brings together professions not accustomed to collaboration to address and manage clients’ legal issues.

Jennifer Clancy, Project Director for the CJAC and protagonist of this case, implemented and supervises the project. As we meet Clancy, two social workers, two attorneys, and one parent ally have left the project in its short two-year history – a turnover rate of 167 percent. Upon the most recent departure, Clancy faces the decision to shut down the time-limited pilot or reengage stakeholders and modify aspects of governance and management to address deficiencies in communication and accountability that are impacting staff performance, engagement and satisfaction.

Children and Families, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Decision Making, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
E-study | Created: 11/13/2020

Air Quality Management Policy in South Korea: Blind Men and the Elephant

This case depicts the policy challenges and strategies of Mi Young Hong, the Director of the Air Pollution Control Department in South Korea’s Ministry of the Environment (MOE). Hong encounters various obstacles and opportunities as she design and enforce air quality regulations that directly affect the life and health of citizens. As students read, they will gain a concrete understanding of the possibilities as well as the frustrations that inevitably come with managing a controversial government agency in a political environment.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
E-study | Created: 03/25/2020

Video Interview: Mike Nichols, President of the Coalition for the Homeless

Community Development, Nonprofit and NGO, Poverty, Social Services, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Engagement
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 03/03/2020

Competitive Analysis for Nonprofit Organizations

This module explains Porter’s Five Forces Framework for competitive analysis in private sector organizations and its subsequent adaptation to public agencies by Vining. The module then discusses he applicability of these frameworks to the analysis of nonprofit organizations and suggests several adaptations. The adapted framework is illustrated using the example of a specific nonprofit - The Greater Twin Cities United Way.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Implementation, Leadership, Nonprofit Management, Operations Management, Program Evaluation, Project Management, Public Management, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 02/18/2020

Stakeholder Analysis

This module is designed to teach users about stakeholder analysis techniques, focusing in particular on the use of Power vs. Interest Grids and Stakeholder Influence Diagrams. After studying this module, users will have a basic understanding of what these stakeholder analysis tools are and how they can be applied in practice to enhance strategic planning and management efforts.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Community Development, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Implementation, Leadership, Nonprofit Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 02/13/2020

Privatization and Performance in Northern California’s Battle with the Opioid Epidemic

Privatization and Performance in Northern California's Battle with the Opioid Epidemic is a single, comprehensive case study that examines administrative efforts to combat opioid drug abuse in Northern California. In response to rising opioid addiction and drug overdose deaths, coupled with state-level mandates for local areas to provide drug treatment options, county administrators in Northern California pursue a regional consortium offering treatment services through contracted arrangements with private sector providers, known as the Nor Cal Rehabilitation Services Consortium(NCRC). Although based upon real-world events, various aspects of administrator names and titles, agency characteristics, and caseload details are fictionalized and curated for classroom activity and assessment. The broad purposes of the case revolve around identifying and developing central aspects of public administration research methods, program evaluation, and performance management. To this end, the case study and teaching plan center on creating a comprehensive evaluation design, including developing various components such as research questions, logic models, sampling and data collection approaches, and data analysis techniques. This case relates to timely administrative issues that are occurring within municipal and county-level health and human service departments across America.

Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Program Evaluation, Quantitative Methods
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/1970

Video Interview: Charles Bolden, former NASA Administrator

Public Sector/Government Agency, Science, Communication, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
E-study | Created: 11/29/2019

Sustainable Agriculture and Its Implementation in Hong Kong

Countries around the globe are looking for long-term, sustainable solutions for increasing food production. Some have turned to sustainable agriculture in order to provide sufficient food sources without over-exploiting ecosystems. This e-case introduces the main goals and principles of sustainable agriculture. It features two cases in Hong Kong to demonstrate the sustainable agricultural practices as well as the management and policy initiatives taken by some local organizations as well as the public sector. Views of some key stakeholders involved will be presented to illustrate benefits and challenges of practising sustainable agriculture in Hong Kong. Learners can use the e-study to build up a basic understanding of sustainable agriculture and its implementation in Hong Kong, and then further explore how an individual member of a consumer society could play a part in sustainable agriculture.

Education, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Implementation
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/14/2019

Managerial Challenges of Digital Government Projects in Urban Government: Department of Parking Management in the Gangnam District

The Gangnam district government in the City of Seoul, South Korea, faced a challenge all too familiar to urban governments around the world: growing parking demand and a corresponding shortage of parking spaces. As the gap between parking service demand and parking space supply increased, the Department of Parking Management (DPM) in the Gangnam district government dealt with an increasing number of illegally parked vehicles in residential and commercial areas as well as on public streets. Illegally parked vehicles generated not only terrible traffic, but also complaints from different citizen groups, such as drivers who received parking tickets and residents and business owners who could not use their assigned parking spaces when needed. Facing these citizens’ complaints about illegal parking, Mr. Joo, head of the DPM, adopted new digital technologies (e.g. online parking payment systems, GIS/GPS-equipped parking enforcement vehicles) to provide timely and effective responses to such complaints. The DPM’s adoption of new digital technologies, however, created other challenges. Once the new technologies came online, Mr. Joo and his team struggled to balance improving the performance of new technology-enabled parking services with promoting citizen end users’ participation in the development of online parking services and managing resistance from parking employees concerned about the potential use of the new digital technologies to directly monitor their work.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Technology, Change Management, Economics, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
E-study | Created: 09/17/2019

Logic Models

The module introduces readers to logic models, including their purposes, components, creation and uses. The module takes readers through a step-by-step process for creating a logic model and provides examples that show a variety of different kinds of logic models.

Education, Nonprofit and NGO, Science, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Implementation, Nonprofit Management, Operations Management, Program Evaluation, Project Management, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 08/21/2019

Purpose Mapping

The e-case demonstrates why and how to do purpose mapping, a technique designed to help people gain clarity about what their real purposes are in pursuing any endeavor. The result is a statement-and-arrow diagram - a map - in which different purposes are linked and the endeavor’s ultimate purpose (mission) is identified along how it is supported or achieved by pursuit of specific goals and objectives.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Implementation, Leadership, Operations Management, Policy Analysis/Policy Process, Program Evaluation, Project Management, Public Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/17/2019

Conflict Management using Public Participation GIS (PPGIS): Locating Undesirable Public Facilities in South Korea

This case study will help students to learn comparative analytic perspectives and conflict management using an innovative approach. It helps students understand the use of the Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) method as a scientific and systematic tool for participatory governance to reduce conflict in allocating undesirable facilities.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Decision Making, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Strategic Planning
E-study | Created: 11/07/2018

Introduction to Cultural Landscape Management

Cultural landscapes, where human settlements are in harmony with nature, are important assets for sustainability. This e-study introduces the basic concept of cultural landscape management. It covers the definition of cultural landscape, the categories of cultural landscapes, values and significance of cultural landscape conservation, some common management challenges as well as initiatives taken by international and local organisations to manage cultural landscape sites. Learners can use the e-study to build up a basic understanding of what cultural landscapes are and what kinds of management issues may involve, and then further explore how an individual or a group or organisation can work to conserve and safeguard natural and cultural resources in a sustainable manner.

Education, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Implementation, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/05/2018

Strategic Human Resource Management in Local Government: The Case of Goyang’s Preferred Appointment System

Through a new human resources approach, the city of Goyang, South Korea was able to provide clear and fair career opportunities for its employees. This case study will help students understand the conditions and requirements necessary for the adoption and implementation of strategic HR practices in local governments.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Technology, Change Management, Human Resources
E-study | Created: 11/05/2018

Missing and Runaway Person Search through Information Sharing across Government Agencies in South Korea: A Case of Interagency Collaboration

As an example of interagency collaboration, this case allows students to think further about feasible and sustainable conditions of interagency collaboration where a collaboration network should evolve as government agencies learn more about its possibilities and challenges, and be continuously refined based on emerging demands and changing environments.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 10/03/2018

For the Birds

This case describes how Amanda Fellows, a newly hired Environmental Specialist with limited experience in the electric utility environmental sector, exercised leadership within a shifting authorizing environment in which integral relationships were strained and the organization’s culture was not focused on environmental excellence.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Communication, Decision Making
E-study | Created: 10/03/2018

The Future of Manned Spaceflight in the United States

There are five major learning objectives in this case: asset specificity, agency theory, stewardship theory, market management, and contracting for high-stakes, costly mega-projects. The case enables instructors to lead students through discussions of these topics by offering a retrospective view of several elements of the space industry in different time periods: development and operation of the Space Transportation System (STS, also known as the Space Shuttle), development of a commercial market for space technology, and issues facing NASA at the time it retired the STS.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Technology, Communication, Decision Making, Network Analysis
E-study | Created: 08/01/2018

North Point, Maine Police: Tackling Organizational and Community Issues

Chief Kelly Bloom walked into his office to find the North Point Press on his desk with an oddly familiar story on the front-page – the leaked memo he had just sent out to his command staff yesterday. This case will help students to develop problem identification, potential solution development, and reflection skills.

Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Change Management, Communication, Human Resources, Leadership, Strategic Planning
E-study | Created: 06/18/2018

Taking Action Toward Equity in Youth Work

Youth work is a dynamic practice that engages youth of all ages with adults in community-based experiences to learn, reflect, and grow. This e-study will help users learn to navigate power-sharing between dominant and marginalized voices for more equitable policies and practices at an individual, organizational and systemic level.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Education, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Decision Making, Diversity, Ethics, Human Resources, Nonprofit Management, Operations Management, Youth Work
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 05/31/2018

Team-Based Inquiry: Incorporating Evaluative Practice in the Development Cycle

This e-case offers guidance, tools, and examples of use of a form of evaluation that supports non-profit organizations in making data-driven decisions and reporting on their impacts. Through four phases, Team-Based Inquiry (TBI) supports all types of non-profit professionals as they seek to clarify their goal, gather feedback, improve strategies, and take action.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Community Development, human_services, International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Aging, Arts and Culture, children_andamp;_families, Education, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Health and Health Care, Poverty, Media and Marketing, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Science, Technology, Transportation, Urban Planning, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Ethics, Human Resources, Implementation, International Development, Leadership, Nonprofit Management, Program Evaluation, Project Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 05/06/2018

Public Good through Private Sector Paradigms: The City of Long Beach Civic Center

“Public-private partnerships,” or P3, are nothing new. Win-win opportunities for the public achieved through private sector paradigms are often highly coveted models for municipal officials. However; the new Long Beach Civic Center, currently under construction, is a new level of P3 engagement. This e-case details the Long Beach project and questions how best the public sector can apply contemporary collaborative practices.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Community Development, Advocacy, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Ethics, Leadership, Operations Management, Project Management, Quantitative Methods
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 03/01/2018

Fostering Success? An Equity Initiative Goes Sideways

Fostering Success launched an equity initiative to meet its ambitious goal of high school graduation parity in the surrounding county. A consultant led the agency through several required trainings and in starting an Equity Team. 

Equity and Diversity, Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Change Management, Communication, Decision Making, Diversity, Human Resources, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 02/05/2018

Managing a Controversial Ballot Campaign: The Charter School Initiative in Washington State

This case is useful in an educational policy class, undergraduate level policy course, or graduate public policy courses in which students are learning about how stakeholder mapping and advocacy coalitions can help with managing the policy agenda.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Education, Social Services, Advocacy, Nonprofit Management, Public Management
E-study | Created: 02/01/2018

U-PASS: A Fare Deal for Students?

This case allows students to imagine themselves within the role of a representative and decision maker carrying out a policy design process in a highly-sensitive and challenging economic and political environment.

Finance, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Transportation, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
E-study | Created: 01/23/2018

Learning to Use Data in a Public Human Services Agency

This E-Case tells the story of how the anxious and demoralized staff of Maryland’s newly-created Office of Eligibility Services (OES), together with its new Executive Director, overcame their lack of data analytics training and an aging data infrastructure to successfully implement and monitor the governor’s high priority Medical Assistance to Families (MAF) expansion, as well as facilitate day-to-day outreach, eligibility, and enrollment functions.

Human Resources
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 09/14/2017

Scaling up Social Innovation: The Case of Crossroads Foundation

Non-Governmental Organizations are looking for ways to scale up their impact in communities. However, they encounter enormous challenges to find the resources, the people and the networks needed to grow. Crossroads Foundation, a Hong Kong-based International NGO, has been able to scale up through a voluntary, flexible and adaptable governance structure to reach more than 580 thousand recipients in 109 countries. Examining the features and challenges of the internal and external governance structure of Crossroads, this case study provides a framework to understand how social innovation can scale up. This case can be used for topics such as nonprofit management, collaborative governance, social innovation, and scaling up.

Nonprofit and NGO, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 08/22/2017

Building Equity and Addressing Structural Racism in Public Service Provision

This e-case highlights the work of John Edmonds, an African American leader at Olmsted County, who has taken a novel approach towards addressing structural racism in human service agencies. The e-case centers on the creation and expansion of the Disproportionality Integration Group (DIG) - a cross-division workgroup at Olmsted County that develops and implements strategies to address systemic and organizational barriers in the area of racial disproportionality. John’s journey holds lessons for public managers who want to undertake this work in their own organizations.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Diversity, Human Resources, Leadership, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 06/28/2017

Ripe for Change: Just Food’s Recovery from Executive Misconduct

This E-Case details a Lawrence, Kansas, food bank’s experience with—and recovery from—executive fraud. Organizational stakeholders describe their experiences working through this crisis and the ways in which the misconduct case impacted staff, board members, clients and the community at large. This example can be used to consider board member responsibilities, ethical leadership, and nonprofit governance issues broadly.

Ethics, Human Resources, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 06/02/2017

SWOT Analysis

This learning module is designed to teach users about SWOT analysis. After studying this module, users will: understand what SWOT analysis is and when it should be applied; understand benefits and limitations of SWOT; conduct personal and organizational SWOT analyses; learn from examples and receive additional tips, resources, and references.

Community Development, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Community Organizing, Human Resources, Nonprofit Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 05/25/2017

A Youth Work Lens on Human Development

Successful youth workers build relationships supported by mutual respect, personal choice, voluntary participation and quality, informal learning. This e-study explores how the values and principles of a “youth work lens” can offer new strategies for both youth and staff engagement in youth-serving agencies--advocating for policy and practice that honors the development of people across the lifespan.

Education, Nonprofit and NGO, Ethics, Human Resources, Leadership, Nonprofit Management, Youth Work
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 05/01/2017

Community Building Policy in Seoul, South Korea

By 2011, Korean society suffered from pervasive social disorder, including a high suicide rate, troubled schools, murder and other crime, deepening unemployment and poverty. As a policy response to these serious social ills, Seoul’s Mayor Park Won-soon offered community building as a solution to the problems, moving away from government-directed uniform solutions to citizen-led solutions.

Nonprofit and NGO, Urban Planning, Community Organizing, Program Evaluation
E-study | Created: 04/28/2017

Nonprofit Advocacy Advances Organizational Mission

When nonprofits carry out their missions through direct service, they address immediate community needs. They have a further opportunity to advance their missions through advocacy to effect long-term, systemic change. Learn the benefits of incorporating advocacy into the work of your nonprofit organization, and learn the tools and rules to do so successfully.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Advocacy
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 04/11/2017

Evaluation as Engagement

Traditional evaluation approaches can miss important information by failing to account for context or differences across communities. Community-Responsive Evaluation engages stakeholders for better data, better relationships and more fun!

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Nonprofit Management, Program Evaluation, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 04/07/2017

Engaging Others in Systems Redesign

Most social change work done at the systems level involves understanding the various perspectives, opinions, attitudes, motivations and behaviors of those within the system. For social change to last, it is important that key members of the various groups involved are engaged and empowered to participate and co-create in the efforts. This e-Study provides an overview and examples of principles and tools in systems redesign.

human_services, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Diversity, Human Resources, Nonprofit Management, Operations Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/27/2017

Leading with Theory of Change

This e-Study is an introduction to theory of change, including: what theory of change is, how organizations can use it, and how to create one. Throughout, viewers will see real theory of change examples, hear from the executive directors that created them, and get tips on using theory of change for strategic planning, leadership, communications, and evaluation.

Community Development, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Community Organizing, Leadership, Nonprofit Management, Public Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2017

The Bedford Falls Academy Charter School

Executive Director Lundberg has a new five-year contract, but must deal with a board that is divided over the use of the school’s land, only a small portion of which is actually needed for the school’s facilities. A showdown is brewing...

Education, Finance, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2017

Essential Services at Risk: How Can the Corvallis Crisis Line Survive?

This case follows an ongoing leadership challenge within a small volunteer-dependent non-profit crisis support organization called the Corvallis Crisis Line (CCL), and the impact of poor management on vulnerable agencies. The Corvallis Crisis Line is an anonymous crisis phone line staffed by volunteer community members who participate in extensive training around active listening, appropriate intervention, and service referral for local community resources. The primary protagonist in this case is the current acting Board President and former long-time volunteer of CCL, Charles Bowden, who is working to maintain consistency and leadership for the organization after a series of poor hiring decisions made by the former board.

The case enables classroom discussion and analysis of volunteer and personnel management, authorizing environments, the effect of poor decision-making, and how community partnerships can impact small organizations. Courses focused on organizational performance, human resources management, program administration, and strategic communication can utilize this case. Students can richly explore mapping and analyzing authorizing environments, professional relationship dynamics, and bridging communication challenges.

The case is based on real events at a real organization. All names and locations have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved.

Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Change Management, Communication, Decision Making, Human Resources, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Program Evaluation, Project Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2017

Devising State Policy on Compact Fluorescent Lamps

CFLs pose potential environmental, health, and safety risks, but are a necessity. What do we do about products, or practices, that have obvious benefits and yet also pose some risks? What is “acceptable risk” in a democratic society? And who decides?

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Technology, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Regulation
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2017

Labeling Nanotech in Food

Should the consumer have the "right to know", or are nanotech food labels unnecessary and unhelpful? 

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Health and Health Care, Media and Marketing, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Technology, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Decision Making, Economics, Electoral Politics, Ethics
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2017

Bicycling and Coast City

After 5 cyclist fatalities in 16 months, city leaders decided something needed to be done.

Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Decision Making, Economics, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2017

Combat and Collaboration in Seattle’s Historic Minimum Wage Debate

This E-PARCC award-winning case chronicles Seattle’s effort in 2014 to become the first major city in the country to pass a law raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour. It’s told from the perspective of protagonist Ed Murray, the newly elected Mayor of Seattle who attempts to broker a deal by assembling a large and diverse committee of affected stakeholders to write the law.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Media and Marketing, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Decision Making, Diversity, Economics, Human Resources, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Operations Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/10/2016

Data Science for Public Managers

Public organizations have historically been dependent upon external vendors to build the tools to collect, analyze, and report data in order to embrace performance management practices. The open-source software movement, however, has created several powerful and robust platforms that enable policy analysts to take ownership of some components of data collection and utilization. This e-study presents background information on modern performance systems, then introduces new open-source software that is being used to build data tools and dashboards that greatly enhance an organization’s capacity to effectively deploy a data-driven and performance-oriented approach to management.

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Nonprofit Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 07/18/2016

The Anatomy of Story

The e-study includes three modules that introduce students to story as a unique narrative form, explains why storytelling has emerged as the essential marketing medium for the 21st century, and how advocates and organizations are using story in innovative ways to mobilize support for important issues and efforts.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Media and Marketing, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Communication, Human Resources, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 07/18/2016

Mission Before Pension

The e-case details how a $100 million nonprofit organization, largely funded by state government funds, navigated a complex web of politics, public policy, and public relations to divest itself of state mandated pension obligations that threatened its ability to deliver critical services. The e-case examines the events surrounding the decision to declare bankruptcy and leave the state’s public pension system.

Health and Health Care, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Communication, Human Resources, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Network Analysis, Nonprofit Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 06/23/2016

Refugee Resettlement, the Nonprofit Sector and Refugee Community Organizations

This e-study illustrates refugee resettlement policy and process, the role of the nonprofit sector, and refugees’ grassroots organizations. Resettlement is discussed as a multi-faceted system with cross-sector collaborations. Refugees organizations are described as actors, with vision and varied activities, but also with complex, unique challenges. Refugee organizational leaders themselves share their experiences, perspectives and on-the-ground realities of their communities.

Arts and Culture, Community Development, Education, Health and Health Care, Nonprofit and NGO, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Diversity, Leadership, Nonprofit Management, Operations Management, Project Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 06/17/2016

The Sharpen Your Financial Focus Evaluation

This e-study provides an overview of a complex, multi-stage program evaluation for a national nonprofit credit counseling organization. The program was evaluated using experimental, quasi-experimental, and more basic descriptive designs. This e-study describes an array of different research strategies used by evaluators to showcase their strengths and weaknesses, and guides viewers through important considerations and pitfalls evaluators may face.

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Human Resources, Nonprofit Management, Program Evaluation, Project Management, Public Management, Quantitative Methods
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 06/02/2016

Getting the Most out of Site Visits

We live in a world shaped by policies and programs, and their implementation are largely influenced by external factors. There has been an increased interest in using methods that allow us to understand the nuanced interplay between policies, programs, and the realities in which they take place. One method that provides us rich and immersive insights into this reality is site visits. Site visits are valuable because they provide contextual information on the implementation of policies and programs, thus making this understanding tangible. They also allow for deeper probing and asking questions that organizations would not know to ask unless they were there. Site visits, if done systematically, allow for rich and consistent data to be collected. This e-study explores how organizations can get the most out of site visits for research, evaluation, and continuous improvement.

human_services, Nonprofit and NGO, Human Resources, Nonprofit Management, Program Evaluation
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 05/10/2016

A Human Rights-Based Approach to Youth Work

This e-study tells the story of three experienced youth workers who have embraced a rights-based approach to their work with young people. During their year in the NorthStar Youth Worker Fellowship, they dug deep into readings and discussions of human rights work and wrote white papers on the topic. This e-study invites people who work with and on behalf of youth to look critically at their own practices as well as the youth policy stances of the organization and community in which they work.

Education, Ethics, Youth Work
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 05/06/2016

Visual Strategy Mapping for Groups

This e-study explains what visual strategy mapping (ViSM) is and how to do it. Visual strategy mapping is a causal mapping process in which statements are linked by arrows showing what causes what. A completed visual strategy map shows how mission, goals, strategies and actions are connected, meaning what the logic is that holds them together.

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Network Analysis, Nonprofit Management, Public Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2016

Mission Capacity Achieved (Readiness) & Life Cycle Cost Analyses for Fighter Aircraft F-XX Fleet

Learning objectives for this case exercise are: 

1. To provide the students with a decision support tool to support the discussion of trade-offs between readiness/mission capacity achieved (MCA) and LCC when making large-scale capacity investment decisions in the public sector, 

2. To develop and support a proposal for cost reduction or mission capacity improvement with quantitative analysis, 

3. To understand the sensitivity of capital investment decisions to the capital discount rate selected when computing the net present value (NPV) of the LCC, 

4. To understand the trade-off between cost risk (probability that the LCC will exceed a certain budgeted threshold value) and readiness risk (probability that MCA will fall below a mission-planning threshold). 

Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Decision Making, Project Management
E-study | Created: 12/21/2015

U.S. Federal Budget Process

One of the most fundamental actions taken by our elected officials each year is to enact a budget for the United States that outlines policy priorities and details the fiscal condition of the nation. This e-case provides an introduction to the U.S. federal budget process. It reviews the four stages of the budget process, details the roles of the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Government Accountability Office, and outlines relevant key concepts.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Education, Budgeting and Finance, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 12/11/2015

Writing Policy Issue Briefs

This video brief is an introduction to writing a policy issue brief. The video gathers perspectives from students, policy professionals and faculty on the use of issue briefs as important tools for political decision making. What is the purpose of an issue brief and how are they useful? How does an issue brief differ from a fact sheet or advocacy material? How is a brief organized in a useful way?

Advocacy/Lobbying, Education, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Communication, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 12/11/2015

Bridge to Benefits

This abridged video focuses on the development of an innovative web-based tool, Bridge to Benefits, which helps citizens understand and access the public work support programs for which they are eligible. The case hinges on a central management dilemma: how does a nonprofit secure financial capital to support ongoing operations of such a tool and enable ongoing improvements? Sustainability is a key challenge particularly in a nonprofit which does not take public funds or work with entities that could pay for the service. The full e-case on this topic is available at http://www.hubertproject.org/hubert-material/198/.

Nonprofit and NGO, Poverty, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Human Resources, Implementation, Leadership, Network Analysis, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 12/08/2015

Merging for Impact and Growth

This abridged video centers on the merger of two long-established human service nonprofits. It explores the variety of reasons a nonprofit organization may consider a merger, how to assess an organization’s readiness, and the challenges of merger implementation. The full e-case on this topic is available at http://www.hubertproject.org/hubert-material/208/.

Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Human Resources, Leadership, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 12/01/2015

Executive Director Compensation: How much pay is too much?

At the beginning of the Great Recession, the $1.2 million compensation package paid to the United Way of Central Carolinas president, Gloria Pace King, plunged the locally managed charity into a media and public firestorm, just as the annual fund drive started. This e-case highlights the impact of leadership styles and relationships on the proper operations of a major nonprofit. The lack of a strategically defined compensation philosophy in this e-case provides an example of a human resource system that must improve accountability and enhance public trust. This e-case also poses questions regarding when self-interest and the need for transactional transparency creates an ethical dilemma. Image by Zack McCarthy: https://www.flickr.com/photos/zack-attack/399240900

Nonprofit and NGO, Diversity, Ethics, Leadership, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/30/2015

Turning Around a Nonprofit Organization: Literacy Mid-South

This e-case focuses on the leadership and turnaround of a small nonprofit organization after its merger with another similar organization. Literacy Mid-South works to increase the literacy of those in the Memphis, Tennessee area through group literacy classes, individual tutoring, and resourcing other nonprofits. This e-case outlines the path to stability through the leadership of Kevin Dean, the organization’s executive director. Students will learn about the strategies that Dean implemented to improve programming, increase capacity, and achieve financial security.

Education, Nonprofit and NGO, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Nonprofit Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/30/2015

Government Innovation

The way government does business is changing. We are deep into the context known as the New Normal, with an aging population, changing population trends from rural to urban, decreased government revenue, and higher demands on government. Local and state government are responding by innovating and redesigning. The public sector has been fundamentally disrupted and the principles, process and examples shown in this material help elucidate how innovation can unleash a new period of government efficacy, efficiency and responsiveness. After completing this study, the learners will be able to: describe the context that drives government innovation, classify the different types of government innovation, identify potential areas for innovation in their local government and explain the principles and process that could be taken to design an innovation in a state or local government context.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Operations Management, Public Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/16/2015

Wildlife Management Policy

The case of wolf management policy in the West provides an opportunity for instructors to increase student understanding of the complex interplay of national and state politics, stakeholder interests, and public perceptions in the context of natural resource management. The teaching materials associated with this e-case demonstrate the breadth and depth of issues associated with wolf management in the US, including successes and failures of environmental policy-making, collaboration between stakeholders and policymakers, and the conflicts that arises from wolf policy and management.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Ethics, Public Management, Regulation
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/12/2015

Cottage Foods: Entrepreneurial Opportunity or Public Health Threat?

This e-case examines policy formulation for cottage foods where science, politics, and beliefs collide. Cottage food production typically refers to a group of easily produced foods like baked goods, jams, and pickles which carry relatively small public health risks. While some celebrate these new opportunities for work-at-home small businesses, others are concerned about potential threats to public health as cottage food production expands to other potentially higher risk products. Cottage foods represent a regulatory quagmire with no nationally agreed upon definitions. Regulation of cottage foods rests with the states since production and consumption does not typically cross state lines. This case examines the development of new cottage food legislation in Minnesota in the face of differing perspectives on its safety and place in the food system.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Public Management, Regulation
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 10/12/2015

Aquaponics as a Community Development Enterprise

This e-study illustrates the framework, processes and products associated with course-based research undertaken to support the development of a community-based aquaponics project, with a specific focus on Hmong communities in Minnesota’s Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul). It documents a specific case of project-based learning and provides a general framework for future endeavors. Authors: Abdiwahab Ali, Mekdelawit Bayu, John Chisholm, Felipe Dyna Barroso, Christina Field, Amrita Jain, Faris Kasim, Kamaladevy Kathirgamu, Bruce Pope, Maria Victoria Punay, Trupti Sarode, Tai Stephan, Yodit Tesfaye, Amanda Traaseth, Diego Villagra Mostaceros, Frieda von Qualen, Evans Yamoah Course instructor: Dave Wilsey, PhD

Community Development, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, International Organization, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Diversity, International Development, Network Analysis, Project Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 08/01/2015

Building a Dialogue around Race to Change Political Institutions, the City of Seattle Starts the Race and Social Justice Initiative

Mayor Nickels had a simple goal: he wanted to try to end all forms of racism in the workforce and the city. The city of Seattle, however, was 70% white and like many cities across the United States, had a history of explicitly racist policies and practices.

Equity and Diversity, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Urban Planning, Community Organizing, Diversity, Ethics
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 07/29/2015

Investigating Myths about Smart Meters – A precursor to a sustainable power grid

The video explores a couple’s choice to install a smart meter in their home and addresses a range of factors to be considered when choosing a smart meter to monitor electricity usage. After viewing the video, viewers should better understand how a smart meter differs from a traditional meter. The video should also clarify many common misconceptions smart meters face.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Technology, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Regulation
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 07/15/2015

Calculating True Program Costs

Nonprofits Assistance Fund believes that knowing the real, true costs of delivering nonprofit programs is critical to move an organization towards sustainable finances. When you know what it costs to deliver your programs you are better able to make decisions about fundraising, contract terms or pricing, and how to make the best use of unrestricted revenue. Great decisions require great information. This e-study walks through the steps of calculating true program costs with the Cedar Cultural Center, a nonprofit music and community venue in Minneapolis, MN and illuminates the value of calculating true program costs for all nonprofits.

Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Budgeting and Finance, Decision Making, Nonprofit Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 06/30/2015

Reliability and Autonomy in Nonprofit Finance

Having a diverse source of funding is vital to an organization’s sustainability. Yet even within a diverse financial portfolio, the funding sources vary in their consistently over time and the amount of flexibility they permit. This e-study highlights how a tool, the Reliability-Autonomy Matrix, can help a nonprofit organization’s leadership analyze its funding sources and determine if changes need to be made to improve the fit with an organizations’ needs. The Reliability and Autonomy in Nonprofit Finance E-Study allows users become familiar with the concept of reliability and autonomy of an organization’s funding sources. Jon Pratt, Executive Director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits developed the tool. The e-study provides information on how to use the tool, the actual spreadsheet and step-by-step instructions, as well as the real world application of two nonprofit executive directors from organizations with very different funding portfolios.

Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Budgeting and Finance, Nonprofit Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 06/16/2015

Mapping Environments for Managerial Leaders

This piece proposes mapping as one way to generate frames that contribute to situational awareness. It presents a collection of maps that illustrate visual methods to simplify the environment and clarify distinct dimensions and relations among actors that influence purposive judgment. Mapping clarifies and organizes the dynamic world of actors linked to achieving purpose or mission.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 04/28/2015

Multi-level Policy Implementation of the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)

This e-study was created to study the multi-level policy implementation of The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). In doing so, this e-Study examines the following questions: 1) What are the driving forces behind the policy? 2) What power elements surround TEFAP in the macro policy field? And 3) How does this impact the public value that is being created? Consider these questions as you move through the multi-level policy implementation system of TEFAP.

human_services, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, children_andamp;_families, Poverty, Human Resources, Implementation, Nonprofit Management, policy_analysispolicy_process, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 04/24/2015

Implementation of a Community Health Improvement Program

This e-study explores the complexities of implementing, county-by-county, a statewide initiative to improve citizens’ health and reduce healthcare costs to the state. Building on a renewed and nationwide momentum for increasing individuals’ movement and decreasing access to unhealthy foods and tobacco, Minnesota’s State Health Improvement Plan or SHIP, seeks to apply broad policy goals aimed at better health. The program relies on decentralized implementation structure that is activated at the local level through individual county health agencies.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Implementation, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/16/2015

Applying Design Thinking to the Social Sector

This e-study details the use of the design thinking process as a complementary problem-solving method to other more commonly used methods coming from social science used in public affairs. The design thinking process emphasizes an iterative, collaborative, human-centered approach. The e-study uses the example of the Design for Good AIGA Minnesota-CAPI USA pilot project that took place in summer 2013. The project evaluated CAPI’s Asian food shelf program, and explored opportunities for the nonprofit organization to improve the lives of their participants.

Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Poverty, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Diversity, Human Resources, Nonprofit Management, Operations Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2015

The Case of the South Park Bridge: Infrastructure Concerns and Community Resilience in Seattle

“We are tired of being marginalized. We are tired of being the last community to get anything, to receive anything, to be spoken to, to be asked about, to be taken care of” - South Park resident. How will county officials navigate the controversial closure of the South Park Bridge?

Transportation, Urban Planning, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2015

Rescuing Search and Rescue: A volunteer rescue organization’s struggle with internal tension and the path to organizational competency

This case allows students to learn about organizational change, teamwork, and capacities by providing an enthralling scenario, which provides opportunities to discuss ways to lead organizational change, how teamwork can be an integral and fundamental part of an organization, and ways to identify, expand, and prioritize organizational capacities. “Rescuing Search and Rescue” should be taught near the beginning of the course.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Communication, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
E-study | Created: 01/01/2015

Leading Process Improvement at Motebang Hospital

This case is designed to illustrate the difficulties of working to improve customer service in a resource-challenged setting with little or no formal authority.

Health and Health Care, Social Services, Communication, Decision Making, Leadership, Program Evaluation
E-study | Created: 01/01/2015

A New System for the Office of Child Welfare

This fictional collage is based on actual incidents and situations observed by the author in human service agencies in different jurisdictions. The case has been taught in a course broadly concerned with the development of information systems for government and nonprofit organizations. The course approaches the topic from three perspectives: 1. The systems thinking tradition; 2. Principles of data architecture; 3. Challenges of software development methodology.

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Technology, Change Management, Operations Management, Project Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2015

Another Cheating Scandal—But This Time It’s Not The Students

This case study presents the instructor with a wide range of topics to which the case can be applied and around which it can be used as a basis for discussion such as: ethics, public policy, administrative law, citizen participation in local governance, public human resource management, intergovernmental relations, governmental budgeting, organizational behavior, and research methods.

Education, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Ethics, Human Resources, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2015

NEMO: Addressing Organizational Turmoil and Malaise

This case's key focus is on the management of personnel and systems and building program capacity within the constraints of a bureaucratic agency. 

Education, International Organization, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Project Management, Strategic Planning
E-study | Created: 01/01/2015

23andMe: The Business and Ethics of Personal Genetics Testing

This case describes the founding and growth of 23andMe, uptake of its services, questions raised by medical experts about the associations made in its tests, and regulatory issues raised in Congressional hearings and by the FDA. 

Health and Health Care, Ethics
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2015

A Harborview Ebola Scenario

Two potential Ebola patients have just arrived at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Go through this Case and corresponding Role Playing Exercise to make reccomendations for how each stakeholder should interact in this situation.

Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Strategic Planning
E-study | Created: 01/01/2015

Investigating David Baltimore and Thereza Imanishi-Kari

In the course of a series of investigations into scientific fraud and misconduct involving Nobel laureate David Baltimore and research scientist Thereza Imanishi-Kari, new policies were established in the United States and internationally. The case asks whether Baltimore should resign as president of Rockefeller University. His short tenure had been rocked by controversy over allegations concerning a publication from 1986 in the leading journal, Cell. Although Baltimore himself was never accused of misconduct or data manipulation, investigations into the underlying data led to questions about his role as co-author.

Health and Health Care, Communication, Ethics
E-study | Created: 09/04/2014

Can We Afford The American Dream? – ¿Podemos Darnos el Lujo del Sueño Americano?

This e-case will ask the learner to consider the myriad issues a community organization faces when implementing federal policy with vulnerable populations. The Homeownership Center at El Centro de la Raza has been implementing the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program since 2008 amid a variety of challenges posed by the unique needs of the community it serves.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Community Development, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Poverty, Advocacy, Community Organizing, Diversity, Human Resources, Implementation, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 08/13/2014

Multilevel Implementation Analysis

This video brief provides an overview of multi-level implementation analysis. This type of analysis allows for an understanding of policy implementation beyond the traditional framework of politics or core program technology now stressed in implementation science (Nilson, et al, 2013; Sandfort & Moulton, 2015); it allows for a more in-depth analysis of a policy issue by looking at how three frameworks interact and work together at different levels.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Human Resources, Implementation, Network Analysis, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 08/13/2014

Backward Mapping

This video brief introduces the four design principles of Backward Mapping, a method for policymakers to design effective policy by starting where the policy meets the public and working their way back through an implementation system. Thus, it is useful for courses focusing on policy process, public management, public systems redesign or implementation. It can be used in conjunction with other scholarly pieces or to set up classroom conversation.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Human Resources, Implementation, Network Analysis, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 07/28/2014

Using Collective Impact to Improve Student Success

This e-case tells the story of the beginnings, development, and launch of a program to support the success of students in the Itasca County area of northern Minnesota. The Itasca Area Initiative for Student Success (IAISS) is a collaboration of the region’s educational institutions, child and family support agencies, and the Blandin Foundation. The story of the development of the Pathway provides valuable lessons in community organizing to address complex, community-wide issues and the role that foundations can play in this process.

Education, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Leadership, Network Analysis
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 07/21/2014

Mid-Ohio Foodbank: Building Capacity in Service Provider Networks

This e-case uses the issue of emergency food provision to assess how network coordinators can increase service delivery and achieve ambitious goals. Based on a 2-year capacity assessment of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, this study highlights the importance of understanding different types of capacity, barriers to service, and the roles nonprofit organizations perceive themselves to play in their communities.

Nonprofit and NGO, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Human Resources, Implementation, Network Analysis, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 07/15/2014

Moving from Stuck to Unstuck in a Public Controversy

This e-study explores a complex, conflict-ridden, and lengthy effort by a variety of stakeholders to create a development plan for their socioeconomically diverse and rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. Its setting is the Belknap neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Community Development, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Community Organizing, Diversity, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Nonprofit Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 07/09/2014

Rural Traffic Safety

More than half of the 37,261 fatal crashes in the United States occur on rural roads. This e-study draws on the work of the National Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS), established by the 2005 federal transportation act. The program is a joint effort between the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs’ CERS and the Center for Transportation Studies. Materials gathered explore the role of the media, data sources on crash facts, of academic and transportation safety agencies, of federal, state and local communities in reducing rural traffic fatalities. The case uses the work of the Toward Zero Deaths program which has identified four major focus areas (engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency medical and trauma services) for communities working to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities.

Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Implementation, Public Management, Quantitative Methods
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 07/08/2014

Rural Broadband

This e-study pulls together materials about an important infrastructure development in rural American at the beginning of the 21st Century. The materials gathered span diverse contexts to map to various learning needs; a few sources provide global framing, some highlight recent federal policy actions including 2010 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and recommendations by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and still others highlight state policy or local impact of policy implementation. Crafted in this way, this case provides introductory material for students so that they can engage in this policy issue that raises important questions about public and private roles, citizen access, and market and government failure.

Community Development, Public Sector/Government Agency, Technology, Communication, Community Organizing, Public Management
E-study | Created: 06/10/2014

Susan G. Komen Foundation

In early 2012, the Susan G. Komen foundation made the decision to defund Planned Parenthood, citing an ongoing investigation by a U.S. Congressman as their rationale. Planned Parenthood had used funds from Komen to provide cancer-screening services to women, especially those in low-income neighborhoods. The case of the Susan G. Komen/Planned Parenthood controversy underscores the importance of stakeholder management and external communication in organizational leadership.

Nonprofit and NGO, Media and Marketing, Change Management, Communication, Decision Making, Network Analysis, Leadership, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 06/10/2014

Targeting Homeless Services in Hennepin County, MN

This e-study explores the policy arena surrounding the prevention of homelessness among low-income families and individuals. The case utilizes reports and analyses from the national literature, as well as from research on programs in Hennepin County, Minnesota. This study provides an analytical framework for targeting prevention services, and invites a discussion of how to implement programs to prevent homelessness among populations with complex and heterogeneous service needs.

Poverty, Human Resources, Implementation, Quantitative Methods
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 06/10/2014

Understanding Community Engagement: The Case of the Detroit Works Project

This e-study explores the concepts and core principles of community engagement, drawing from the unique story of the Detroit Works Project (DWP). The Detroit Works Project was an ambitious citywide project launched in September of 2010 by Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. The goal of the project, which completed its planning phase in January 2013, was to develop a new blueprint—called a Strategic Framework Plan—to improve the physical, social, and economic landscape of Detroit, and to engage Detroiters in the process of its development. This case offers lessons about the challenges and successes of the Detroit Works Project’s community engagement processes, as well as strategies, tactics, and tools to address such challenges. All photos and diagrams in this eStudy are credited to the Detroit Collaborative Design Center at the University of Detroit Mercy, School of Architecture. All maps are credited to Detroit Future City.

Community Development, Urban Planning, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Diversity, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 02/19/2014

The Nonprofit Executive Director’s Journey

This case is about the experience of becoming an executive director (ED) or chief executive officer (CEO) in a nonprofit organization. The case is designed to explore the central challenges associated with leading in the nonprofit sector, focusing on how to establish a leadership agenda for the organization and how to manage people over time to deliver on the mission of the organization.

Nonprofit and NGO, Employee Relations, Human Resources, Leadership, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 02/18/2014

Aspire: Building Partnerships through Social Entrepreneurship and Empowerment

Aspire started in the basement of a church in the western suburbs of Chicago in 1960. Concerned parents of children with developmental disabilities were brought together by the challenges of providing adequate support to help their children live independently and thrive as other children did. These parents were discouraged by medical professionals who at the time suggested their children would not lead normal lives, and therefore, parents were counseled to send their children to homes that would keep them isolated from the rest of society. Refusing to believe this was their only option, these parents pooled their resources to start what we know today as Aspire. Fifty years later, Aspire has helped thousands of children and families throughout the Chicagoland area and continues to expand its presence and offer services throughout the region.

human_services, Nonprofit and NGO, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Human Resources, Leadership, Nonprofit Management, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 02/18/2014

Office of Economic Opportunity: Capitalizing on a Nonprofit Network

This three part e-case highlights collaborative public management practices used with a nonprofit network seen as partners in public services rather than mere vendors. Part One focuses on how monitoring and performance manage is accomplished. Part Two highlights how the network was activated in creating a new statewide program for asset development. Part Three describes how the network implemented federal stimulus programs.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Poverty, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Diversity, Human Resources, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Network Analysis, Nonprofit Management, Program Evaluation, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 02/18/2014

Mission Convergence

This e-case presents a critical question of how public policy innovation develops, adapts and survives in bureaucratic and political power structures in Delhi, India. Through a discussion of the background, design and implementation of Mission Convergence, a government-NGO collaboration to reform the welfare system, this e-case challenges students to think critically about the reasons for as well as impact of innovative pro-poor initiatives in an otherwise exclusionary environment.

Community Development, International Organization, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Poverty, Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Human Resources, Implementation, International Development, Leadership, Nonprofit Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 02/11/2014

A New Advocacy Path at Treehouse

A New Advocacy Path at Treehouse e-case tells the story of an executive director’s decision to shift her organization’s advocacy strategy through alignment with a local education reform initiative. Treehouse was founded in 1988 to help level the playing field for children in foster care through a well-resourced, integrated approach that includes the provision of goods and clothing, academic support, and state-level advocacy. Through this e-case, students will have the opportunity to explore the concepts of nonprofit leadership; why an organization may decide to shift its advocacy strategy; and the opportunities and challenges associated with collaborations and partnerships, specifically collective impact initiatives and funders’ collaboratives.

Education, Nonprofit and NGO, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Human Resources, Leadership, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 02/06/2014

Visual Strategy Mapping for Individuals

This e-study explores Visual Strategy Mapping (ViSM), using video and visuals to show both the process and results when this method is employed by groups, but also by individuals and as a method for recording interviews. It serves as a companion to the following title: John M. Bryson, Fran Ackermann, and Colin Eden. "Visual Strategy." San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2014.

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Network Analysis, Nonprofit Management, Public Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 02/04/2014

Policy Field Analysis

This video brief provides a quick introduction to the substantive method of implementation analysis called policy field analysis. This type of analysis is helpful because, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, public service delivery is very complex. Multiple levels of government, nonprofit service providers, citizens groups, philanthropic funders and private businesses often are involved in trying to solve public problems and implement public policy. Although cross- sector collaboration is frequently an espoused goal, there are few techniques that enable and support such activities. Policy Field Example & Map Courtesy of Humphrey School of Public Affairs Alumna Megan Evans Seeds, '10.

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Implementation, Network Analysis, Nonprofit Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

The Challenging Road to Sustainable Waste Management in Metro Manila: The Case of Payatas

The overarching goal of this case is to step away, for a moment, from Payatas and comprehend the challenges of urban waste management in developing countries. These public health, environmental, and management problems are caused by various factors which constrain the development of effective solid waste management systems. With this mindset, students should be able to discuss how Payatas was able to overcome technical, financial, institutional, economic, and social constrains. 

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Economics, Electoral Politics, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Esperanza Healthy Families: Strategic Program Development for a New Nonprofit

In this role-play exercise, students will decide how to allocate operational funds to implement programs. Programs should be aligned with mission and organizational goals set by the board of a new health oriented nonprofit. Each group has three roles – an Executive Director, a Nutrition Program Director and a Sports Program Director. The Executive Director will seek input from program directors about how to spend money, but makes the final decision about how to allocate funds.

Health and Health Care, Nonprofit and NGO, Communication, Decision Making
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Baltimore: A Case Study in Sustainable Economic Development

This case addresses issues of economic development for urban renewal in the post-industrial city of Baltimore. It focuses on commercial real estate development as one policy tool and stimulates readers to develop their own conclusions about its success.

Education, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Economics, Electoral Politics, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

The Ratings Challenge: Competition and Opportunity in the Nonprofit Information Marketplace

The marketplace for information on nonprofits is growing. It involves competition for donor attention as well as for nonprofit participation. This variety of systems can be quite confusing, leading nonprofits and donors alike to wonder: What would be the most effective system? What kind of information do donors really want, and what kind of system would lower the barriers to nonprofit participation?

Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Communication, Fundraising and Development
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

The Importance of Network Administrative Organizations (NAOs) in Social Service Implementation: A National Nonprofit Manages an Assortment of Federal Programs in a Rapidly Changing Environment

This case demonstrates the complexity of and challenges to managing contracted social service networks. It can be used in undergraduate or graduate nonprofit and public management courses. This case can also be used to supplement discussion of the following topics: federal government devolution of service production and the emergence of the Hollow State; nonprofit utilization of government funding; mission driven management; network management; networks with diverse stakeholders; and geographically dispersed networks.

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Loyalty, Ethics and "Whistle Blowing": Confronting Corruption in the Volatile World of Law Enforcement

This ethics-related case focuses on documented corruption in a county sheriff’s department. It is well suited for use with the traditional discussion question approach or for use as a Case Analysis exercise or assignment.

Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Ethics
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Rare Circumstances: Medupi and Multilateral Coal Finance in an Age of Sustainable Development

This case should first get students to think about the multifaceted nature of sustainable development decisions and assess the various constituencies and incentive structures involved. Second, the case raises some counterintuitive questions and encourages students to challenge their preconceived ideas. Lastly, after reading the case, students should be able to discuss the role that energy plays in economic growth and sustainable development.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Economics, International Development, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Nairobi: Fighting Blackouts in a Growing Urban Center

This case presents a macro view of the decision-making process that Kenya’s Ministry of Energy underwent to address recurrent blackouts in Nairobi specifically, and the remainder of Kenya, generally.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Economics, Electoral Politics, International Development
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Hiring a Sustainable Development Specialist: Diversity and Pre-Screening Applicants with the Use of a Google Search

As the director of the economic development division, you have been charged with selecting a new sustainable development specialist. How can you bring in new ideas and energy to your department?

Equity and Diversity, Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Diversity, Ethics, Human Resources
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Which Way Does the Wind Blow? Wind Power Investment and Development in Mexican Cross-Border Communities

This case study explores the various dimensions and challenges of developing Baja California state’s first wind farm and illustrates the energy dilemma faced by a region experiencing high electricity costs due to climate, detachment from the national grid, and an incompatible national energy regulatory structure. The case addresses multiple pillars of sustainability.
 

International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Community Organizing, Economics, International Development, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

The Curitiba Solution?

This case explores the Brazilian city of Curitiba in its pursuit of sustainability through urban planning and development, referencing flood management control, recycling programs, and bus rapid transit specifically.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Economics, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

The Singapore Smart Strategy – Deploying Smart Grids through Intelligent Energy Systems (IES)

This case focuses on the Singaporean government’s strategy for implementing smart grid technology as a means to further empower its energy dependent modern economy. The Intelligent Energy System (IES), a Singaporean government led smart grid pilot project, can be seen as a part of a long term urban development plan to: invest in critical energy infrastructure ahead of demand to make markets more efficient, open new areas for economic development, and strengthen the energy security. This case discusses the rationales behind the IES project, the government’s aspiration to be a ‘sustainable living lab’ in a global context, and its implications for other countries and megacities. As a city-state Singapore has similar capacity and significance of megacities that are progressively seen as substantial economies by themselves able pursue individual infrastructure development towards sustainability with global impacts.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Economics, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

City From Scratch, Gujarat International Finance Tech-City: A Public-Private Partnership

Mr Modi, Indian PM candidate, leads the development of GIFT, a smart city and global finance hub with high quality of life and green infrastructure. Success for the GIFT PPP means balancing private and public interests.  Built from scratch, GIFT must attract industry and people to be sustainable.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Economics, International Development, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

The Regional Environmental Center: A Case Study in Regional Solutions to Cross-Boundary Water Issues

The case is designed to highlight the role of the REC in addressing cross-boundary water issues in two specific projects and to discuss the reasons why the organization has taken the role of intermediary and secretariat, as opposed to taking on more of an action-oriented role. The most important lesson the readers should glean from this case is that cross-boundary sustainability issues require more process-based approaches than cases where just one city or country is involved. The text box on the Pilot Harju Sub-river Basin Project in Estonia should spark discussion regarding these differences.

Further, the stakeholders’ perceptions of an issue are extremely important and contribute to the success or failure in resolving the problem. From Bulgaria’s perspective, the Timok River degradation was seen primarily as a Serbian problem. As a result, the onus to complete the project fell almost entirely on Serbia. In addition, because the mining industry was responsible for most of the point-source pollution of the Timok River Basin, the problem was seen as a mining issue. When the project ended, no other stakeholders came forward to continue to seek solutions. The Drina River pollution, on the other hand, involved three countries, several cities, and many local communities, all of whom had a stake in managing waste and keeping the river clean. Even when the initial project was terminated, other international actors, such as the World Bank and Oxfam, deemed the issue significant enough to initiate projects on their own.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, International Development, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Replication of Sustainable Cities

This case study examines the structure of an organizational network as a way to create cities resilient to climate change. It take a look at the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network and presents different methods used to create network sustainability specifically how the network planned to replicate its work from city to city and from country to country. This replication process is essential to ACCCRN's model of success and depends on organizations functioning at the local, country, and regional levels.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, International Development, Leadership, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Modern Muslim Movement: The Jakarta Monorail

This case is designed to illustrate the challenges associated with urban infrastructure development as they relate to the transportation sector and public-private partnerships (PPPs). Jakarta’s monorail provides an excellent example of the trials and tribulations facing decision makers in this context. Resolving infrastructure logjams in developing countries is messy: local institutions cannot always manage a transparent and competitive bidding process, while the range of bidders is constrained by the existing vested interests in the public and private sectors. The prospects for a sustainable solution may be limited in this context. However, in a difficult business environment, certain PPP structures can still succeed with strong government support and a robust risk mitigation strategy. Given all of the complexity in developing countries, strong political leadership and the strategic alignment of actors and interests can produce results, imperfect as these results may be. For now, Mr. Soeryadjaya’s eagerness to tap into Jakarta’s infrastructure market and public support for public transit have placed the monorail project on solid ground.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Economics, Electoral Politics, International Development, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Project Management
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Public Transit in Abidjan: SOTRA’s Post-Conflict Crisis

This case explores the incentives guiding a P3 transit company in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire after the government (its primary stakeholders) collapses. As a main tool for post-conflict recovery, the company attempts to address growing needs around public transit as well as its own financial setbacks. 

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Economics, Fundraising and Development, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Unconventional Growth: Addressing Urban Development Challenges in a 21st Century Boomtown

Technological advances in hydrofracturing have spurred an oil drilling frenzy around the town of Willston, ND. The community has seen it all before: oil executives arrive, drill, make promises about community development, but leave the town with nothing in the end. Will this boom be different?

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Economics, Electoral Politics, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Finding a Viable Solution to Haiti’s Energy Crisis

This case examines the development challenges facing Haiti’s energy industry in the wake of the 2010 earthquake.  A top policymaker considers environmental, social, and economic factors to determine whether liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports could solve the country’s electricity problems. 

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Economics, International Development
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Dhaka Down the Drain: Water and Flood Management in Dhaka

This case study addresses issues related to water, sanitation, institutional capacity building, and storm water drainage. It analyzes efforts by the World Bank and DWASA to improve storm water drainage, institutional performance, and sewerage systems in Dhaka.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Community Organizing, Economics, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Qatarstrophe or Success? The 2022 World Cup in Qatar

This case study explores the various dimensions and challenges surrounding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The case emphasizes multiple pillars of sustainability. 

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Community Organizing, Economics, Electoral Politics, International Development, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

The Colombo Port Expansion Project: Can a rising tide lift all boats?

This case urges the reader to consider the links between the competing priorities of sustainable development, infrastructure, and globalization using the Colombo Port Expansion Project (CPEP) as an example.

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Community Organizing, Economics, Electoral Politics, Human Resources, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

In New Delhi, No Place to ‘Go’

This case study focuses on the rollout of an ambitious bio-toilet initiative by the CEO of one of New Delhi’s civic bodies to tackle the problem of poor sanitation in the city’s slums. Many competing and complex factors come into play when attempting to develop new infrastructure at scale.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Community Organizing, Economics, Electoral Politics, Human Resources, International Development, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

The Yellow Dragon and the Great Green Wall: Combating Desertification in Northern China

This case looks at sustainability and suitability of large-scale ‘green’ tree planting efforts in combating desertification, sandstorms, and air quality issues in urban China. Case focuses on progress in Zhangbei County to examine local implementation of national environmental projects.  

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, International Development, Project Management
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Jakarta Under Water: Keeping Riverside Communities and the Rest of the City Dry

This case study explores flood management in Jakarta and its implications on the affected communities. The case highlights issues related to the role of key decision makers, hard and soft infrastructure solutions, interagency coordination, and mitigating the risks of resettlement. 

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Community Organizing, Economics, Human Resources, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

São Paulo’s Water Scarcity: 45 Days ‘Til Empty

Changes in São Paulo’s rainfall patterns and increased usage from growing urbanization have greatly stressed water availability. Historically low dam levels in the Cantareira system have prompted calls for the government to ration water, however the upcoming elections have compelled the government to pursue other demand and supply side options. With the 2014 World Cup approaching its opening in São Paulo, the government faces both local and international pressure to alleviate its scarcity issues permanently, with a few financial and political costs as possible. 

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Electoral Politics, Human Resources, International Development, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Regularization of Illegal Electricity Consumers: Non-Technical Loss Rates in Rio de Janeiro

This case provides an overview of the challenges facing the electricity sector in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and explores various strategies implemented by Rio’s main electricity provider to overcome high non-technical loss rates.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Community Organizing, Economics, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Maboneng: Place of Light. A Case Study in Urban Regeneration in Johannesburg, South Africa

This case study uses the Maboneng Precinct, a mixed-use creative hub in downtown Johannesburg, to understand better the role of a private sector developer in urban development and to explore the concepts of urban regeneration, gentrification, and sustainability. 

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Community Organizing, Economics, Human Resources, International Development, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Cities in Flux: Urban Redensification in Detroit and Guangzhou

The central theme of this case study is that cities facing drastically distinct development challenges may still pursue similar sustainable solutions. In pursuing the same objective of re-densification, the cities are considering similar strategies: rezoning and redefined land use, enhanced public transportation, and green urban infrastructure, to name a few. This case ends by prompting students to consider these strategies: which are the most important for achieving re-densification?

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Electoral Politics, Human Resources, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Getting Around Quito

Quito’s rapid income and population growth over the past several years has forced its mayor to address the problem of how its citizens efficiently commute throughout the city. The existing public transportation system can no longer accommodate the city’s growing population. As a result, Quito’s mayor is building the city’s first metro system, an ambitious project, which is not only constrained by economics, but also by the city’s physical characteristic, surrounded by the Andes.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Economics, Electoral Politics
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Leaning into the Wind: Building Sustainable Wind Power in China

This case addresses the development of the Jiuquan Wind Farm in China. Readers will make a decision on the future of Chinese wind power investment, given the technical, financial, and environmental challenges facing large-scale renewable energy. 

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Economics, Electoral Politics, International Development
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Kigali, Rwanda: Urban Agriculture for Food Security?

Rwanda has seen remarkable economic growth. However, food security remains a challenge in its rapidly modernizing capital city, Kigali. This case explores if an urban agriculture program can address the complex drivers of food insecurity in Kigali. 

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Economics, International Development
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

Defining Sustainability in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy

In this case, the definition of sustainable is based on how the energy is produced and does not consider public or environmental prosperity. Through this we see that just because something carries the label of sustainable development, it doesn’t make it a good thing— it can make many relevant actors worse off than they were before. This case brings the reader to consider how varied motivations for implementing a sustainable development project may not always be environmental protection.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Electoral Politics, Human Resources, International Development, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

The Urban Forest in Washington D.C.: On Target or Missing the Mark?

This case is focused on the urban forest in Washington D.C. It examines the evolving understanding on the role that trees play in cities and discusses the administration’s target of expanding the city’s urban forest canopy to 40% by 2032. 

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Project Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

The Day the Sunshine Left Crestview

This ethics-related case focuses on violations of the state’s Sunshine Law by city council members via their email communications.  While this is a violation that is easily committed without intent, it invokes suspicions of more serious wrongdoing and is, in fact, illegal.  When charges are filed and the members of the council are called into court to face a judge, the seriousness of the matter becomes real and ultimately leads to fines and resignations for and among leaders in a small city already facing serious problems throughout its leadership.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Community Engagement, Ethics
E-study | Created: 01/01/2014

En Route To Cleaner Air: Urban Air Pollution Management in Santiago, Chile

This case examines Santiago’s effort to combat air pollution by installing catalytic converters on all consumer vehicles particle filters on its buses. These policies have successfully reduced air pollution from these sources in Santiago but have not significantly reduced air pollution as a whole.

Transportation, Urban Planning, Implementation, Program Evaluation, Regulation
E-study | Created: 11/07/2013

Myers-Wilkins Community School Collaborative

This e-case highlights the leadership and management of a cross-sector collaborative through its implementation of a community school approach in a low-socioeconomic, highly diverse neighborhood in Duluth, Minnesota. The Grant Community School Collaborative (GCSC), housed in Myers-Wilkins Elementary School, has been building on the strategies of the Community School model for over 15 years. Using the principles of this model, the GCSC has evolved a seamless School Day-Out of School Time approach to providing integrated, community-supported learning experiences that provide high-quality instruction, hands- on experiential learning, an emphasis on multicultural perspectives, and socio-emotional supports.

Community Development, Education, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Implementation, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/01/2013

Confronting Climate Change: A Teaching Case in Policy Design and Analysis

This case study focuses on decision-making from an applied perspective in a national policy priority area where the issue is salient to the public yet scientific evidence and projections are quite controversial. It simulates policy analysis and examines legislative process through the application of several analytic tools. Tackling climate change threats requires sophisticated policy design, and that design must account for complex scientific modeling and uncertainty about magnitude and timing of negative environmental effects. Such analytic challenges are compounded by lay skepticism and entrenched political and economic conflict from many interest groups. This environment should be understood as limiting options in policy design and shaping legislative outcomes.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Technology, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Regulation, Strategic Planning
E-study | Created: 10/28/2013

Collaboration Challenges

A core challenge facing front-line social service providers is how to balance managing caseloads and working with the right partners in the local community in order to resolve complex problems of low-income families. This case highlights the collaborative practices of several local social agencies that serve low-income families in a public housing estate, BB Estate located in Hong Kong. This case intends to capture the struggles of front-line managers working together to resolve low-income families facing multiple problems.

Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Poverty, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Human Resources, Implementation, Network Analysis, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 10/04/2013

Jeremiah Program

This case explores the national scaling efforts of Jeremiah Program, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit. Jeremiah Program is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization whose proven, holistic approach transforms families from poverty to prosperity two generations at a time. The program provides single mothers and their children with a safe, affordable place to live, quality early childhood education, life skills and empowerment training, and support for career-track education. The Program to Scale Worksheet (see associated tools) was created by Julia Jackson with assistance from Anika Walz.

human_services, Nonprofit and NGO, children_andamp;_families, Poverty, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Diversity, Human Resources, Nonprofit Management, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 09/18/2013

The African American Leadership Forum: A 21st Century Social Movement for the Common Good

Although examples of leadership by and of African-Americans abound, relatively few scholars and teachers of leadership focus on the particular characteristics and dynamics of African American leadership -- with the possible exception of civil rights era leadership (Ospina and Foldy, 2009). This case describes a new African American movement that builds on the traditions and accomplishments of African American leadership and responds to developments in African American communities and the U.S. in the post-civil rights era. This e-case also includes an annotated bibliography (see Module 1) that highlights African American leadership as well as the political, economic and social trends that have resulted in concentrated poverty in many urban black neighborhoods.

Community Development, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Diversity, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2013

The Eight Neighbors: A Case Study in Collaboration and Formalization

This case demonstrates most clearly the challenges to starting and sustaining a collaborative partnership.  By examining the different steps that the Eight Neighbors partnership has taken between September 2008 and August 2010, this case also highlights the potential benefits and challenges to tackling community-wide issues with an approach that involves different sectors and a diverse set of stakeholders.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Fundraising and Development, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2013

Five Mini-Cases on Ethics in Management

The five mini-cases on ethics in managerial decision-making are intended to portray real life managerial dilemmas in a way that will help students develop frameworks for addressing those dilemmas.

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Communication, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Economics, Ethics, Human Resources, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Program Evaluation, Project Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2013

Advocating for Immigrant Integration: OneAmerica’s Washington New Americans Initiative

Over the past decade, immigrant rights organizations in several states seized the opportunity to shift their advocacy efforts from a narrow focus on reform of the nation’s immigration laws to a broader platform of improved immigrant integration into American society. This meant an expansion of policy focus into all aspects of immigrant life, including education, health care, and employment opportunities.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Electoral Politics, Leadership, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2013

Pineville Hearing & Deafness Center

This case illustrates the struggles of a well established nonprofit to understand its financial position after expanding its real estate and long-term debt just prior to the Great Recession. 

Finance, Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Economics, Leadership, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2013

United or Divided States? U.S.-Mexico Border Simulation

This two-day simulation focuses on the negotiation of controversial and complex issues related to the 2,000-mile border that separates and joins the United States and Mexico as neighbors. Originally designed for an Introduction to Latin American & Latino Studies course, the simulation can also be used in other academic settings to highlight the complexity of international negotiations, to help students identify with a non-U.S. perspective, and/or to showcase the practical and emotional implications of theoretical foreign policy.

Advocacy/Lobbying, International Organization, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Diversity, Electoral Politics, Ethics, International Development, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 12/19/2012

Spatial Thinking: US Local Government System

This video brief provides an introduction to the application of spatial analysis to public affairs issues. This video presents it specifically as a tool to help untangle the complex local government system. In the United States, there are almost 90,000 local governments, including general- purpose local governments such as cities or counties, and special-purpose local governments such as school districts. Their overlapping and adjacent boundaries often make it hard to understand local policy and administrative issues.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/29/2012

Heading Home Hennepin

This case highlights the integrative leadership practices of several people and groups that organized the campaign to end homelessness in Hennepin County, Minnesota by 2016. Integrative leadership, as defined by Crosby and Bryson (2010) is the work of integrating people, resources, and organizations into semi- permanent arrangements that bridge multiple boundaries and achieve the common good.

human_services, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Poverty, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Human Resources, Implementation, Leadership, Nonprofit Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/29/2012

Implementing the Earned Income Tax Credit at AccountAbility Minnesota

This simulation highlights the leadership and management of a small nonprofit organization, AccountAbility Minnesota, as it grapples with an emerging problem of economic injustice. AccountAbility Minnesota was established in the early 1970s to provide free accounting services to low-income people. Through its tax preparation services, the organization helped individuals to access the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a federal tax credit that rewarded the work of low-income families.

Community Development, Nonprofit and NGO, Poverty, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Implementation, Network Analysis, Nonprofit Management, Program Evaluation
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/29/2012

Reach Out and Read

This e-case focuses on the implementation of an early literacy intervention tool, Reach Out and Read (ROR), a proven model that aligns with doctor and parent goals for a child’s development by introducing appropriate books to children at well-child visits.

Education, Health and Health Care, Nonprofit and NGO, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Implementation, Leadership, Nonprofit Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/29/2012

Government Nonprofit Partnerships

This video brief debunks old conceptions of government & nonprofit partnerships and replaces them with a new paradigm. Due to the devolution of government, nonprofits are an important vehicle for service delivery in the United States. This video highlights the dynamic interaction between governments and nonprofits with a quick overview that can be used to start more in-depth conversation.

Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Nonprofit Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/29/2012

Collaborations

Increasingly people in nonprofits, business, government, and community groups realize that they must collaborate if they are to find lasting remedies to complex shared problems such as homelessness, regional development, and unemployment. This video brief highlights the benefits of cross-sector collaboration for responding to public problems and opportunities. It also notes the disadvantages of collaborating, such as the greater time demands on the partners at the outset of the project.

Community Development, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Leadership, Nonprofit Management, Public Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 11/26/2012

Casa de Esperanza

This e-case highlights the leadership and management of a small nonprofit organization through its pursuit of mission critical but underfunded work. Casa de Esperanza is a domestic violence shelter founded in the early 1980s. Originally established to offer culturally-appropriate shelter services to Latina victims of domestic violence, Casa has grown tremendously over the years to include advocacy and systems-change work towards their mission of mobilizing Latinas and Latino communities to end domestic violence.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Decision Making, Diversity, Leadership, Nonprofit Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2012

The Silver Affair: The Limits of Public Service Discretion

This case presents challenges in linking policy analysis and development to implementation when confronted with conflict from within and without a public organization.  It is appropriate for use in a graduate level public management course and would also work well in a leadership or ethics class.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Media and Marketing, Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2012

Ethics Case: What’s Really Going On?

This case, which was developed from primary sources, highlights the array of competing objectives and political tensions involved in local government administration and ethical public sector decision making. 

Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Decision Making, Ethics, Leadership, Operations Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2012

Next Steps for Wyandotte County

This is a complex, multi-dimensional case that forces students to step outside comfortable boundaries in health care, public health, public policy, and community development.

Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Diversity, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2012

Profile of a Vice-Minister: Leading under Constraints

This case can be used in a graduate level public management and leadership course to allow students to consider different approaches for Vice Minister Quesada in implementing major organizational change and how he handles the pressures upon him as a person and leader. This case can also be used in a leadership and organizational performance course to evaluate Quesada’s restructuring approach in managing rural health implementation and how to monitor and focus attention. Finally, this case could be used in a management course related to international development in the health sector to analyze the complex environment public manager’s face in implementing sweeping organizational changes in the developing world as well as his tactics for dealing with institutional opposition.

Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Decision Making, International Development, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2012

Innovating in the Public Health Sector: Republica

This case serves as a basis for class discussion of why good policy ideas might fail to be implemented or taken up on the agenda. Dr. Viau’s perspective allows students to consider the strategic planning and framing necessary in developing, presenting, and advocating a policy idea in a complex environment.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Health and Health Care, International Organization, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Electoral Politics, International Development, Leadership, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2012

Political Strategy for Civil Society in a Strong Regime State: The Pandoran Development Association

This case analyzes the challenges facing PANDA, a private-sector interest group, as they decide how to move forward in a complex political environment. Students must keep in mind the nature of the political regime in Pandora, the various components and goals of PANDA, and the relative positions of other political stakeholders.

Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, International Organization, Public Sector/Government Agency, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Economics, International Development, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

Holding Teachers Responsible for Failing Schools: The Battle Over Education Reform in Central Falls, Rhode Island

The material on Central Falls is presented chiefly as a ―retrospective case‖ in which an instructor and students can review how the issue of school failure emerged in this community and state, how different actors were mobilized by it, and how the initial impasse between administration and teachers ultimately came to be resolved.

Education, Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Communication, Decision Making, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

Implementing Budget Cuts in the Basic Health Plan: A Case Study

This case exercise will help students learn to:

  1. Scan the environment (internal and external) in which a program operates, and identify the key  players whose support or opposition can support or hinder program implementation;
  2. Recognize some common obstacles in translating a policy decision into a successful program;  and
  3. Think about the use of training as one leverage point in changing a service delivery system.

Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Budgeting and Finance, Communication, Decision Making, Ethics
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

Contracting for Housing and Community Development in the City of New Prospect

This case prompts students to think critically about the costs and benefits presented by each decision option, and choose accordingly, ultimately realizing there may be no “best” option. It teaches students that public values of responsiveness and effectiveness have to be weighed against the value of efficiency gains.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Leadership
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

Wolf Politics

Through this simulation students will experience the policymaking and implementation process firsthand. “Wolf Politics” is intended for use in a public policy- or environmental policy-oriented course.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Decision Making, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

Op-Eds: Writing for Social Change

This teaching note characterizes op-eds and discusses a few challenging aspects about initiating op-ed writing such as how to prompt student writers to go beyond a topic to determine a specific issue and finally forge a statement of purpose. This note offers one way for academics to introduce student writers to a prevalent genre in the field of public policy.

Advocacy/Lobbying, Media and Marketing, Advocacy, Communication
E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

COBRA Subsidy Denial Appeals System Implementation: Key Decision Points and Leadership Challenges

This case study will examine the leadership challenges and key decision points in designing a system that did, in fact, facilitate the adjudication over 99 percent of the appeals received within the statutory timeframe of 15 days. It will also discuss how decision-making choices led to the development of new technologies and intra-agency collaboration that will be carried into the future to further improve services to the public.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Leadership, Operations Management, Project Management, Regulation
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

The Billion Dollar Week

This case is offered as part of the Recovery Act Case Program and serves as a best example of the efforts of the large network of federal, state, local, non-profit, and private sector partners who contributed in the implementation of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Leadership, Project Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

Implementing a High Risk, High Priority, and High Visibility Program in a Decentralized Organization: A Case Study of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

This case is offered as part of the Recovery Act Case Program and serves as a best example of the efforts of the large network of federal, state, local, non-profit, and private sector partners who contributed in the implementation of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Decision Making, Leadership, Operations Management, Project Management, Strategic Planning
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

Transit Funding Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Key Decision Points and Leadership Challenges

This case is offered as part of the Recovery Act Case Program and serves as a best example of the efforts of the large network of federal, state, local, non-profit, and private sector partners who contributed in the implementation of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Change Management, Communication, Decision Making, Leadership, Operations Management, Project Management
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Sections 1602 and 1603: Providing Federal Support for Energy and Housing through Direct Cash Payments in Lieu of Tax Credits

This case is offered as part of the Recovery Act Case Program and serves as a best example of the efforts of the large network of federal, state, local, non-profit, and private sector partners who contributed in the implementation of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

Finance, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Project Management, Regulation
$3.00 Non-member price
E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

Managing Organizations in Unusual and Uncertain Conditions: The Environmental Protection Agency’s Recovery Act Stewardship Plan

This case is offered as part of the Recovery Act Case Program and serves as a best example of the efforts of the large network of federal, state, local, non-profit, and private sector partners who contributed in the implementation of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Decision Making, Leadership, Operations Management, Project Management, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

    Build America Bonds: Implementing an Efficient and Effective Subsidy for State and Local Borrowers

    This case is offered as part of the Recovery Act Case Program and serves as a best example of the efforts of the large network of federal, state, local, non-profit, and private sector partners who contributed in the implementation of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

    Finance, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Economics, Project Management, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

    U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Place-Based Reporting

    This case is offered as part of the Recovery Act Case Program and serves as a best example of the efforts of the large network of federal, state, local, non-profit, and private sector partners who contributed in the implementation of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Decision Making, Electoral Politics, Leadership, Operations Management, Project Management, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2011

    The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Serving America’s Veterans

    This report is offered as part of the Recovery Act Case Program and serves as a best example of the efforts of the large network of federal, state, local, non-profit, and private sector partners who contributed in the implementation of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Decision Making, Leadership, Operations Management, Project Management, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/12/2010

    Making Ends Meet: Barton Family Case Study

    This case is based on a number of family obstacles; poverty, addiction, teen pregnancy, neglect, adolescent risk-taking, and others. The case also supports learning of human growth and development in the context family circumstances and surroundings.

    Health and Health Care, Poverty, Social Services, Decision Making, Youth Work
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2010

    Integrated Management Curriculum Final Summary and Review PowerPoint Presentation

    The final summary and review PowerPoint presentation for week 30 of the Integrated Management Curriculum.

    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2010

    Integrated Management Curriculum Part 1 Summary and Review PowerPoint Presentation

    The Part 1 summary and review PowerPoint presentation for week 10 of the Integrated Management Curriculum.

    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2010

    OPPE Power Company: A Supervisory Management In-Basket Exercise

    This case covers an in-basket exercise that was designed for mid to lower-level supervisory management development programs for investor-owned electric utility personnel, such as power plant foremen and supervisors, as well as those from other corporate functional areas such as general office, transmission/distribution, engineering, finance, and marketing. 

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Decision Making, Ethics, Human Resources, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2010

    Integrated Management Curriculum Part 2 Summary and Review PowerPoint Presentation

    The final summary and review PowerPoint presentation for Part 2 of the Integrated Management Curriculum.

    Return to the Integrated Management Curriculum's Weekly Topic Overviews & Materials

    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 04/23/2009

    The USAID Rwanda Mission: The Challenge of Integrating Humanitarian and Development Aid

    This case is a useful teaching tool in a graduate course focusing on international development, humanitarian relief, logistics, and coordination and collaboration with other agencies.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, International Development, Project Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Preventing Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge: The Gwich’in Tribes and their Role in the National Policy Debate: Rebirth of a Nation

    This leadership story offers an introduction to the Gwich'in Nation and their role in a formidable public policy struggle.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Arts and Culture, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Community Organizing
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Preventing Homelessness and Creating Lasting Solutions Through Housing Development, Service Provision and Advocacy

    The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless is a national model for integrating housing and homeless support services while engaging in advocacy to influence public policy to pursue the mission to prevent homelessness and create lasting solutions.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Creating Supportive Housing for People Living with HIV/AIDS: Local Lessons, National Strategies: A Place to Call Home

    AIDS Housing of Washington develops innovative housing facilities to meet the continually changing needs of people with HIV/AIDS. This leadership story explores the forefront of the AIDS housing struggle, and outlines some ongoing challenges.

    Health and Health Care, Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Urban Planning, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Seattle Community Association: Undoing Institutional Racism

    This case can help students examine how the issues of race and diversity affect management  responsibilities and performance. It would be most likely to be used in courses addressing public or non-profit management, organizational change, or human resources.

    Equity and Diversity, Nonprofit and NGO, Change Management, Diversity, Leadership, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Minneapolis Public Library Consolidation Financial Case

    The purpose of the case is to analyze public financial management and leadership. The case focuses on Kit Hadley, the director of the Minneapolis Public Library System (MPL), and a number of others that were critical in leading the MPL to consolidate with the Hennepin County Library System (HCL). The case also focuses on both the local public finances that brought the MPL to the consolidation conclusion and the financial agreement between the MPL and HCL to facilitate the consolidation.

    Key questions covered include:

    • Why did this consolidation effort move forward when previous attempts failed?
    • What financial tools were used to understand the financial plight of the Minneapolis Public Library System?
    • Was the financial analysis done by the MPL board adequate?
    • Was there a better financial choice for MPL than consolidation with Hennepin County?
    • Were the finances of the consolidation fair to Minneapolis and Hennepin County?

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    How a Coalition of Immigration Groups is Advocating for Broad Social and Political Change: Power in Diversity: New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC)

    The central theme in teaching this case is how a nonprofit organization that is a coalition in itself can achieve organizational excellence.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Equity and Diversity, Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Diversity, Electoral Politics, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Organizing Communities to Protect West Virginia’s Natural Environment: A Different Power Source

    OVEC is a relatively small group that effectively takes on the most powerful industrial interests in West Virginia. Since 1987 Janet Fout, Dianne Bady, and their co-founder, the late Laura Forman, have organized Appalachian communities to protect their air, water and mountains from being destroyed for oil, timber, coal and other profitable enterprises. With research-grounded strategies, and bolstered by spirituality and heartfelt conviction, Bady, Fout and their colleagues pursue the a number of approaches.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Piecing Together the Fragments: An Ethnography of Leadership for Social Change in North Central Philadelphia 2004-2005

    The Village of Arts and Humanities engages neighborhood residents, business owners, community groups, and other organizations in revitalizing North Central Philadelphia by recognizing and strengthening the communities existing assets and leadership.

    Arts and Culture, Nonprofit and NGO, Urban Planning, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Creating a Regional Transportation Authority in Detroit by Connecting City and Suburban Interests: A Different Kind of Stew

    Nearly 70 congregations, two universities, and dozens of allies set aside differences and focus on what the congregations have in common for improving the quality of life for their communities through the creation regional transportation authority.

    Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Diversity
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Revitalizing a Community Through Property Ownership: "A Place Worth Saving": New Road Community Development Group of Exmore, Inc. (NRCDG)

    Through engaging community residents, buying property and creating sophisticated financial negotiations, New Road Community Development Group has brought long-sought sewers and home ownership to a formerly disenfranchised neighborhood.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Urban Planning, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Fundraising and Development, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Cultural Roots as a Source of Strength: Educating and Organizing A Fragmented Immigrant Community: Rediscovering Pride

    Oaxacan Indigenous Binational Front educates migrants about their rights and assists with improving wages and working conditions. With many Oaxacans migrating between the U.S. and Mexico, the coalition has offices and members in the two countries.

    Equity and Diversity, International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Diversity, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Fighting for Pollution Cleanup in a Company Town: Leveling the Playing Field: Silver Valley People’s Action Coalition (SVPAC)

    Barbara Miller and a coalition of local activists address the environmental and health consequence of mining are up against the physical damage of lead poisoning as well as community members' deep reluctance to speak out against the mining companies.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Leadership, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    How Immigrants are Organizing for Worker Rights: Your Hands Make them Rich: Justice for Janitors (JforJ)

    As part of a nearly 20-year movement to unionize janitors, immigrant workers in the Los Angeles area have won significant improvements including wage increases, insurance benefits and job security. Their team of seasoned organizers includes many former janitors. The organizers enable workers to overcome fear and apathy, speak out about low-pay and workplace mistreatment, join or form unions and demand change. Their strategies include the following:

    • Educate workers about their right to organize: Organizers must help the mostly immigrant workers to understand that they are free to participate in organizing activities, even if they are undocumented. Organizers must also address the skepticism of those who've experienced corrupt unions in their native countries.
    • Make friend-to-friend, worker-to-worker connections: Workers and former workers speak directly to other workers. This is essential to Justice for Janitors' success in turning people around.
    • Broaden the goals, engage worker allies: The union movement targets broader policies to improve conditions for all workers. They also engage other workers, such as security guards, whose cooperation is essential for successful strikes.
    • Know what you are worth: Organizers and activists use the confidence gained from speaking out and winning to solve other problems for themselves.

    In this Leadership Story, organizers from Justice for Janitors share what they say and do to engage workers in this successful movement for unionization and essential rights.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Community Organizing, Human Resources, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    How North Carolina’s Religious Congregations are Building a Volunteer Network to Sustain People with HIV/AIDS

    Regional AIDS Interfaith Network (RAIN) enables members of North Carolina's faith community to overcome fear and judgment about people with HIV/AIDS and to act on the policies of their national denominations. Since 1992, RAIN has trained over 2,600 volunteers while building a network of congregation-based teams. The teams care for individuals with HIV/AIDS while engaging in relationships that foster understanding and strengthen all involved. RAIN's approach includes the following:

    • Address Theological Tensions: RAIN's mandate of service, written by founder Deborah Warren, directly addresses the theological tension between judgment and acceptance. It draws on theological imperatives that call for congregations to lead on difficult issues, as well as to care for those who, like the lepers in Matthew, are outcast by society.
    • Form CareTeams That Practice Shared Leadership: The organization has created over 100 congregation-based CareTeams, each made up of at least four volunteers. Each team works with a CarePartner, who is a person living with HIV/AIDS. Using a shared leadership model, volunteers embrace spiritual growth and personal development.
    • Support the Teams and Pastors With Training and Staff: RAIN trains pastors and CareTeam members in the social, spiritual and medical aspects of living with HIV/AIDS. Staff members provide comprehensive support, including beeper access and grief debriefing.
    • Build on the Power of Relationships: The transforming power of relationships is central to RAIN's strategy. It shows that the community can only address HIV/AIDS and its social stigma through relationships that cross boundaries, including race, economics and gender. It enables participants to explore other forms of oppression and prejudice as well.

    This leadership story outlines RAIN's philosophy and the CareTeam model.

    "When I first started, I of course saw this as a way to help a group of folks that I felt were marginalized, ostracized, and mistreated. But as I continue to work here, what I see is that I've ended up getting something back as well." Reverend Debbie Kidd, Director of CareTeams, RAIN

    "I had been a lab tech at a hospital for seven years, and a lot of people there were afraid to go in and draw blood and things. I would go in and I just felt so sorry for people to have no visitors. It was just like everybody had a sad look on their face. I said 'That could be me. That could be my son. That could be my next-door neighbor. That could be us lying in that bed. And they need their blood drawn to find out what they needed just like anybody else.' So that stayed in my mind when I did go to a RAIN meeting. And after I prayed about it and got involved with a team. I knew for sure that it was something that God wants me to do." RAIN CareTeam Member

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Health and Health Care, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Diversity, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    How Theater is Building Bridges in Diverse Communities: To Challenge and to be Challenged: Cornerstone Theater Company

    For over 15 years, Bill Rauch and the Cornerstone Theater Company have been creating theater productions that explore issues of race and prejudice. Members of the ensemble travel to communities throughout the country. They engage community members from all walks of life to help create and perform plays that reflect their local experiences and build bridges. The Company produces commissioned and contemporary works as well as classics. They are intentionally, even radically inclusive in the following ways:

    • Maintain a Diverse Ensemble: At least half of Cornerstone's members are people of color. This includes directors, writers, administrators, designers and artists.
    • Collaborate Throughout the Process: The ensemble as a group chooses what plays to do. They also reach out to the community in which the plays will be produced and provide the resident playwright with stories from the community. Community members and professional actors work side-by-side on stage, as equals.
    • Reflect all Viewpoints: The Company tries to reflect all viewpoints, even those its members disagree with, in order to honestly represent communities and their social and cultural divisions.

    In this leadership story, Bill Rauch and Cornerstone members offer examples of their productions and demonstrate how an arts organization can engage crucial community issues.

    Arts and Culture, Equity and Diversity, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Community Organizing, Diversity, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Keep Your Eye on the Ball: The Road to the Real Salt Lake Stadium Deal

    After Major League Soccer announced a plan to bring a team to Salt Lake City, the subsequent intergovernmental tensions with regard to funding and building a stadium caused the Major League Soccer to question their decision.

    Arts and Culture, Urban Planning, Advocacy, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Fundraising and Development, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Keeping Industrial Polluters Out of Austin’s Latino and African Communities: From Dumping Ground to Fertile Fields for Community Action

    This is a leadership story about how PODER Activates Latino and African American communities to protect the earth and community health.

    Urban Planning, Advocacy, Communication, Community Organizing, Leadership, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    From Services to Activism: How Latino Day Laborers and Domestic Workers are Advocating for Themselves: Creating "Co-Authors in Justice" CASA of Maryland, Inc. (CASA)

    CASA of Maryland responds to the growing phenomenon of immigrants working as temporary laborers, ripe for exploitation. Going beyond services, CASA also develops workers as leaders in their communities and engages them in broader policy issues.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Human Resources, Leadership
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Until All of Us are Home: The Process of Leadership at Project HOME

    Project H.O.M.E. explores the emergence of leadership in the fight to end homelessness. This ethnographic study documents the struggles for family unification, fair housing, and human dignity, and the leadership that flourished in the organization.

    Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Advocacy, Community Organizing, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Developing Leadership and Political Capacity Among Laotian Refugees: Healing a Culture, Building a Community: Laotian Organizing Project

    The Laotian Organizing Project builds trust and leadership among Laotian refugees from tribal groups that do not have a history of interacting and for whom getting involved is both new and scary. Faced with industrial accidents impacting thier community and issues such as a lack of affordable housing or living-wage jobs, community members are speaking out and challenging traditional tribal conflicts and beliefs.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Arts and Culture, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Community Organizing, Diversity, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Enabling Low-Income Families to Buy Their Own Homes While Holding the Land in Trust for the Community: The Power of Balance

    The Burlington Community Land Trust has a radical vision: to secure housing as a basic right. Through grassroots organizing, democratic leadership, and balancing opposing opinions, the trust enables low-income families to buy homes on land it owns.

    Equity and Diversity, Finance, Nonprofit and NGO, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Economics, Quantitative Methods, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    How Welfare Recipients are Building Their Power and Changing the Welfare System: I Got the Tools to Fight for Myself: Community Voices Heard (CVH)

    CVH is an organization working to build power to improve lives of welfare recipients. CVH uses a multi-pronged strategy that includes public education, grass roots organizing, and training low-income people about their rights.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Electoral Politics, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    How Young Women Ex-Offenders are Transforming Themselves: Turning Pain into Power: Center for Young Women’s Development

    The Center for Young Women's Development employs young women just out of juvenile detention. The women learn about the roots of the social and political factors that have shaped them and their communities and engage in community activism.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Community Organizing, Human Resources, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Using Sensible Legal Strategies and Unlikely Alliances to Achieve Fairness for Immigrants in Nebraska: A Reasoned Voice Will Take You Far

    Nebraska Appleseed Center's track record encompasses significant victories in public policy, from immigration to welfare. They also give individuals and community groups the legal tools they need to win on housing, labor and other struggles.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Community Organizing, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Using Art and Theater to Support Organizing for Justice: Storytelling in the Name of Justice: Junebug Productions, Inc. (JP)

    Junebug Productions enables artists, community members, and students to share their experiences of the Civil Rights Movement. The process creates opportunities to engage in art and social change activities to improve their quality of life.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Arts and Culture, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Community Organizing, Diversity, Leadership, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Engaging Traditionally Disenfranchised Residents in Community Development: Changing the Terms of the Struggle

    FAC is a community development corporation that is a model for partnering with residents to create affordable housing and living-wage employment, form community benefit agreements with developers, and enable former prisoners to rejoin society.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Equity and Diversity, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Urban Planning, Advocacy, Community Organizing, Diversity, Economics, Fundraising and Development, Human Resources, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Engaging a New Generation of Native Americans in Cultural and Social Change: We Have to Reach Back: American Service Committee: Wabanaki Youth Program (WYP)

    Despite not holding a traditional leadership position, Denis Altvater works to reverse the poverty, school dropout rates, drug abuse and other damage done by hundreds of years of repression and prejudice; while preserving the Wabanaki Indian culture.

    Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Diversity, Leadership, Project Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Each One Teach One: Learning Leadership at TROSA: Triangle Residential Option for Substance Abusers (TROSA)

    TROSA uses a social entrepreneurial model to provide services for substance abusers. The ethnography outlines TROSA's unique vision and methods, and explores how the organization practices leadership development as part of everyday life. The accompanying leadership story highlights how TROSA was able to pursue its goals.

    Health and Health Care, Community Engagement, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    A World Without Prisons: Improving Prisoners’ Lives and Transforming the Justice System Important Things to Tell

    Justice Now pushed hard for prison abolition while advocating for better health care and condition. They offer interns the opportunity to learn firsthand about prisoners'' human struggles as well as the policy implications of state sponsored violence.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Health and Health Care, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Community Organizing, Ethics
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Changing Mandatory Drug Sentencing Laws on the Federal and State Levels: Putting a Human Face on Injustice Reversing a Political Juggernaut

    This leadership story demonstrates how angry and grief stricken families of people incarcerated under mandatory drug sentencing laws are mobilized to put a face on injustice and build diverse alliances to combat mandatory minimums.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Community Organizing, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Across Immigrant Communities: Serving Diverse Needs and Advocating for Policy Change: One Goal One Voice

    This story focuses on a coalition formed in the wake of the 1996 federal immigration policy reforms. This includes a shared approach to some service delivery as well as policy strategies and intentional development of new immigrant leaders.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Equity and Diversity, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Diversity, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Bringing Salmon Back to the Columbia River: How Native American Tribes are Implementing a Watershed-Wide Plan

    The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission combines the tribes' cultural heritage with modern science and public policy strategies in the following ways: build capacity, remain united, develop guiding principles, and leadership planning.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Leadership Development for Community Action: An Ethnographic Inquiry: Northwest Federation of Community Organizations (NWFCO)

    The Northwest Federation of Community Organizations is engaged in the fight for social and economic justice. The ethnography focuses on the very personal process by which people begin to self-identify and act as leaders.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Community Organizing, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Building a Campaign for Workers’ Rights and Rekindling a Culture: Sun of Justice Rising: Tonatierra Community Development Institute (TCDI)

    Faced with a local ordinance that would effectively ban mobile food stands, the story shows a longtime organizer for indigenous Mexican rights, helped to organize and mobilize taco vendors to fight back.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Community Organizing, Diversity, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Lideres Campesinas: Grassroots Gendered Leadership, Community Organizing, and Pedagogies of Empowerment

    Lideres Campesinas empowered women farm workers to solve the problems of injustice in their communities. The ethnography addresses the organization's history, changes in leadership, community organizing; and pedagogical model.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Nonprofit and NGO, Community Organizing, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Building Alliances: An Ethnography of Collaboration between Rural Organizing Project (ROP) and CAUSA in Oregon

    This ethnography examines what can allow quality solidarity work to happen between organizations with diverse leadership and constituencies, and explore the history and lessons learned from the collaborative work between the two organizations.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Equity and Diversity, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Diversity
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Building Black Leadership on HIV/AIDS Issues: Unleashing the Power of Existing Communities and Organizations: Saving Our Own Lives

    This leadership story describes how, with the powerful motivation of community survival, the Black AIDS Institute is raising the participation of African-Americans in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

    Health and Health Care, Media and Marketing, Nonprofit and NGO, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Building Community Power by Building Grassroots Leaders: Sacramento Valley Organizing Community (SVOC)

    Grassroots leaders secured funding to build affordable housing, enabled immigrants to become U.S. citizens and created a welfare to work center for living-wage jobs. Through these efforts the community focused on leadership development.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Building Justice for Immigrants and Refugees by Supporting Local Institutions and Magnifying Their Impact: The Power of Diverse Voices

    Southeast Asia Resource Action Center has woven together a powerful network focused on refugee and immigration policy and practice. It builds the capacity of grassroots groups to deliver services and serves as a conduit for political advocacy.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Diversity, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Meeting the Challenges Faced by Miami’s Haitian Community Through Partnership and Consistency: Magnifying the Impact; Focusing on a Common Cause

    FANM have been providing direct service, leadership development and advocacy programs for Miami's Haitian women. FANM also builds relationships with organizations representing divers ethnic groups, enabling it to impact public policies.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Equity and Diversity, Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Community Organizing, Diversity
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2009

    Aid to Children of Imprisoned Mothers: An Ethnographic Study

    In the context of the developing generational divide in contemporary African-American social life, this study examines the program Aid to Children of Imprisoned Mothers (AIM) and its successes and challenges in transitioning youth to leadership.

    Children and Families, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Diversity, Leadership, Youth Work
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    NAFTA Employment Effect: A Critical Analysis Case Exercise

    This case examines the net employment effect of NAFTA over its first ten years, given widely varying measurement approaches and conclusions, and can be incorporated into public policy courses to analyze the employment implications of NAFTA.

    International Organization, Economics
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    The Campaign for Fluoridation in Skagit County

    This case is intended to help students explore the strategies associations and non-profit organizations can use to significantly change the environment in which they operate and thus the services they provide the public.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Health and Health Care, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Decision Making, Electoral Politics, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Hartland Memorial Hospital

    The Hartland Memorial Hospital case is a two-part exercise with related but different learning objectives.

    Part A is an "inbox" simulation which requires students to understand and address a number of managerial/organizational issues in the case, including:

    • Management of information overload
    • Priority setting
    • Rapid decision-making
    • Filtering of information
    • Delegation
    • Understanding organizational politics
    • Multi-tasking
    • Communication

    Overriding the simulation are issues around values and work-family balance, i.e., juggling multiple demands, both job-related and non-job related. The inbox exercise is intended to give insight into organizational dynamics and the pressures and conflicts affecting a busy senior hospital manager.

    Part B presents the same situation as Part A, but asks the students to now approach the case from an organizational diagnosis and social network analysis standpoint, considering the inbox material as information to understand communication flows and forces impinging on the organization, from the perspective of the senior hospital executive. Issues implicit in Part B include:

    • Organizational dynamics and politics "below the radar screen"
    • Conflict management and power imbalance
    • Communication flows, gate keepers, and barriers
    • External environmental forces on the organization
    • Spatial representation / effective communication of organizational relationships

    The Hartland Memorial Hospital case is designed for first-year graduate students in hospital/health care administration, but can also be used with advanced undergraduates and graduate students interested in management of complex organizations.

    Health and Health Care, Communication, Decision Making, Human Resources, Leadership, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Science, Discrimination, and the Blood Supply: San Jose State University’s Blood Drive Ban

    This case contains themes pertinent to policy analysis, science and public policy, public management, and ethics. It can facilitate a rich discussion that can last 45-70 minutes, but it is suitable to shorter, more focused discussion of specific issues as well.

    Education, Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Diversity, Leadership, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Pacifica Foundation: The Battle over the Airwaves

    Covers the history of the Pacifica Foundation of California, including a detailed description of interpersonal conflict between 1993 and 2000. This case explores the relationship between organizational behavior and organizational design.

    Media and Marketing, Decision Making, Operations Management
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Death, Dying and Bereavement in Social Work Practice: Decision Cases for Advanced Practice

    The decision cases in this collection differ from the cases commonly used in social work education. Whatever their experience with the case method of teaching or with end-of-life care, most instructors will benefit from the extensive teaching notes written for each of the cases.

    Health and Health Care, Social Services, Advocacy, Decision Making, Diversity, Ethics, Leadership, Regulation, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Regionalizing Specialized Police Operations: Resistance to Altering the Status Quo

    At the monthly meeting of the beach cities chief of police meeting a relatively new member to the group proposes the regionalization of SWAT services. The lack of response to his proposal leaves the chief wondering "what happened and what next?".

    Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Equity and Economic Efficiency in the Merger of Superior Propane and ICG Propane

    After two unsuccessful attempts to appeal the decision to allow a merger between Superior Propane and ICG Propane, the Canadian Commissioner of Competition is left wondering where and how policymakers should define the line between efficiency and equity.  It can be used in courses on cost-benefit analysis, antitrust policy, law and economics, or policy analysis.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Equity and Diversity, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Budgeting and Finance, Decision Making, Economics, Quantitative Methods, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    A Gift of the Universe

    This case demonstrates the value and the risks of public dispute resolution efforts. In 1997, the Texas legislature accidentally repealed Senate Bill 1704, which exempted thousands of acres of undeveloped land from Austin, Texas' stringent water quality guidelines. Faced with the near-certainty that the law would be reinstated during the next legislative session, Austin's Mayor Kirk Watson and council assembled a focus group of developers and environmentalists to help in developing a local ordinance that would satisfy both sides and preempt further legislative meddling. The law was scheduled for repeal in only six weeks, and public scrutiny was intense.

    Case A describes the political and legislative background, the decision to form a focus group, and the group's deliberations and final product - a draft ordinance designed to replace the state law and balance the needs of developers and environmentalists. Case B briefly describes public reaction to the draft. Lastly, Case C describes the mayor and council's efforts to improve the draft and resolve the dispute.

    This case shows why integrative bargaining is more difficult than mere compromise. It demonstrates the potential and risks of public dispute resolution processes, and the need for public managers and policymakers to examine the details closely to determine what each side can and cannot afford to give up. It has been used successfully in courses on local government policy and management, leadership, and dispute resolution.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Communication, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Social Venture Partners International: The Challenge of Growing a Network

    The case begins in Spring 2007 with Paul Shoemaker and Ruth Jones, the respective executive directors of Social Venture Partners (SVP) Seattle and Social Venture Partners International (SVPI). It chronicles the history of SVP Seattle and the subsequent formation of SVPI, the international network of SVP affiliates. The case contrasts the ambitious goals for the exponential growth of SVPs in 2001 to the moderate growth it had actually achieved by 2007. In doing so, it presents positive and negative opinions from affiliate and network leaders on the organization's past choices and future potential. These perspectives help to frame questions about the organization's development since formation related to replication and scale, sustainability, and leadership.

    The purpose of this case is to analyze the challenges of nonprofit organizational development in the context of an international membership organization. It specifically looks at a network moving from early, internally focused stages of development toward a stronger focus on scale and a higher level of sophistication on the impact level. This case is applicable to courses focused on nonprofit management and/or organizational development that seek to explore program design decisions for replication and scale of national or international organizations. It provides opportunities to evaluate the organizational strategies, capacity, and structure of an affiliate membership organization balancing local and network-wide needs. The case can also be used for classes that focus on entrepreneurship and human resources issues around shared leadership and management. It encourages discussion of challenges and opportunities in areas of leadership, infrastructure, capacity building, affiliate service delivery, determination of brand standards, funding, and expanded programs in achieving higher levels of scale.

    Additionally, this case provides information and history for the venture philanthropy model utilized by Social Venture Partners. It offers some background on different types of grants, unrestricted funds to build capacity and restricted funds (primarily for programs or projects).

    This case was prepared by Leslie Dozono, MPA, under the supervision of David S. Harrison and Cory Sbarbaro at the Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington. The author and the Electronic Hallway are grateful for the cooperation from the staff and leaders of the Social Venture Partner organizations.

    International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Fundraising and Development, Leadership, Program Evaluation, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    The University School

    Focuses on the academic, administrative, local and regional issues surrounding a county school board's failed attempt to partner with a local college and successful partnering with an out-of- state University in creating a dual enrollment program.

    Education, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Goodbye to Happy Hour

    Examines the negative impact high turnover and increased workloads can have on employee morale and output. The case is ideal for role play; the characters reflect the changing age, gender, and educational level dynamics of the current workforce.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Communication, Human Resources, Leadership
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Strategy For Township Planning & Governance In Beaver County

    This case is about dealing with community attitudes toward growth. It is told from the viewpoint of a county commissioner who is dealing with townships coping with encroachment from cities and restrictions from the County and the regional planning agency.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Community Organizing, Decision Making, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Budget Reorganization in the Urbanopolis Human Resources Department

    The goal of this case is for the student to realize that budgetary preparation is not merely a quantitative exercise but has real ethical human consequences. This case is unique in that the emphasis on budgeting occurs at the departmental/agency level rather than at a wider jurisdictional level.

    Finance, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Decision Making, Human Resources, Quantitative Methods
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Legacy Parkway and Preserve

    Legacy Parkway and Preserve follows stakeholders as they negotiate an agreement to alleviate current and predicted congestion while dealing with environmental concerns on the Davis County Corridor.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Change Management, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Operations Management, Program Evaluation
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2008

    Little Rock School District

    This case highlights the political challenges contemporary urban school leaders face, it can be used in courses that focus on Education Policy, Political Representation, and Leadership and Management.

    Education, Equity and Diversity, Change Management, Diversity, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2007

    2V/ACT: Planning for Change and Determining Relevance

    This case outlines 2V/ACT's strategic planning process and the challenges the organization faced in implementing the plan. Primary objectives include:

    • Examining what it means for nonprofits to be stewards of community resources
    • Exploring the role of strategic planning and how plan implementation impacts the success of the planning process
    • Evaluating the role of different funding streams and how they impact the functioning of an organization
    • Exposing students to the challenges of maintaining board and staff capacity during major transitions
    • Exploring how the leadership of a nonprofit should determine when it is time to dissolve the organization

    Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Community Organizing, Fundraising and Development, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2007

    Planning for Success in Emerald City

    This case sensitizes readers to the political dynamics that surround intra-organizational performance auditing and illustrates the complex problems that arise when organizations attempt to use performance as a basis for service delivery decisions.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Decision Making, Operations Management, Program Evaluation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2007

    Hurricane Katrina: A Man-Made Crisis?

    Hurricane Katrina resulted in a tragic humanitarian disaster due to a decades-long combination of government action and inaction. In this sense, it was a preventable disaster.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Communication, Decision Making, Diversity, Leadership, Operations Management, Program Evaluation, Project Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2007

    Taking Scallop Sales into Their Own Hands: How a Hokkaido fishing community rose above poverty

    The purpose of this case is to discuss the conditions and resources required for empowering historic fishing communities, how to fulfill these requirements, and to what extent the ideas presented can be applied to present-day fishing communities.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Community Organizing, Economics, International Development, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2007

    Washington State Debates the Future of Residential Habilitation Centers for People with Developmental Disabilities

    This case looks at the future of Residential Habilitation Centers in WA State and explores problem-solving approaches to a highly emotional issue, involving multiple constituents, federal and state laws, and state and federal service systems.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Budgeting and Finance, Decision Making, Diversity, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    The Seattle Commons

    The dilemma facing a citizens' organization formed to support creation of a large new city park. The organization has developed many policy and advocacy options, and must now decide the best approach.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Budgeting and Finance, Decision Making, Electoral Politics, Fundraising and Development, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    HIV Reporting Requirements

    This case follows Greg Nickels as he navigates how the King County Board of Health will address reporting individuals with HIV.

    Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Ethics, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    Minto-Brown Island Park

    As urbanization increases, the potential for conflict between urban and agricultural interests grows. In Salem, Oregon, an Audubon Society report expressed concerns about pesticide use on agricultural lands that were part of Minto Brown Island Park. The report recommended that the city of Salem ban the use of pesticides known to cause health or environmental damage. R.G. Andersen Wyckoff, president of the Salem Parks Advisory Board, felt the issue could turn into a divisive conflict between farming and nonfarming interests in the Salem community. This case presents Andersen Wyckoff's dilemma as he decided what action to take to alleviate tensions between environmental and agricultural concerns. By working through this case, students consider and discuss varying perceptions about pesticide use by farmers while evaluating data concerning pesticides. In addition to enhanced awareness of pesticides and controversy surrounding their use, students also gain appreciation of the need for improved communication between agricultural and nonagricultural interests.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Urban Planning, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    "Making Work Pay" for Seattle Public Housing Residents: Jobs Plus and the Challenge of Serving Diverse Populations

    This case offers students the opportunity to practice defining the unique needs of a diverse population, and translating this definition into effective program design and service delivery.

    Equity and Diversity, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Decision Making, Diversity, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    Casa Amiga: Addressing Violence Against Women On The U.S.-Mexico Border

    This case focuses on Casa Amiga, a nonprofit organization struggling to address a growing trend of violence against women in Juárez, Mexico a town situated directly on the U.S.-Mexico border. Casa Amiga is guided by its overall mission of eliminating and preventing the different forms of oppression that affect women, particularly violence. To this end, Casa Amiga has been working towards two primary goals: to end a string of violent murders affecting women in Juárez, and to highlight the critical services the center offers to women suffering from domestic and sexual violence.

    Casa Amiga operates in a culturally complex international environment in which economic, cultural, and political divisions complicate and constrain the options available to the case's protagonist, Esther Chávez Cano. Good policy and management in this context requires careful consideration of diverse viewpoints and creative thinking about options that will be workable for multiple constituencies in a turbulent environment. The case will ask students to analyze the complex operating environment in which Esther must work and assess the opportunities and threats inherent in relationships between the various stakeholders and how these relationships can help further Casa Amiga's goals. Additionally, the case requires students to develop concrete organizational strategies and analyze specific advocacy alternatives that take into account diverse perspectives, issues of social justice, and political constraints and opportunities.

    This case can be taught in nonprofit management, NGO, strategic management courses and courses on gender and human rights to engage students in thinking about how a nonprofit organization can effectively achieve its goals at a local, national, and international level amidst a situation of dire human rights violations. The case covers such major topics as:

    • Mapping external environments
    • Building power through relationships, including a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis
    • Coalition building across systems by assessing and improving relationships and communication internally and externally
    • Utilizing a support base to mobilize political will to impact policy on behalf of oppressed women

    The case represents a variety of interests and how these interests change over the course of time. The case is structured to fit into one 80-minute class period.

    Equity and Diversity, International Organization, Media and Marketing, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Diversity, Fundraising and Development, Leadership, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    The Intersex Society of America

    The challenges facing the founder and executive director of a small nonprofit organization related to organizational growth, issue advocacy, and board development.

    Equity and Diversity, Nonprofit and NGO, Change Management, Diversity, Leadership, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    Flu Vaccine Case Study

    Difficult market conditions have made flu vaccine production and distribution a perennial problem in the US.  Students are challenged to define the public interest and outline policies to secure the production and distribution of a public good.

    Health and Health Care, Communication, Decision Making, Economics, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    Mayor Schell’s Zero Homeless Family Strategy

    The dilemma facing a city government agency manager who must figure out how to implement a bold new policy that the mayor has recently announced to the public.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    Defining Equity: Implementing the Weighted Student Formula in Chicago Public Schools

    Chicago Public School's CEO wants to implement a new budgeting system in the district called the Weighted Student Formula (WAF), or per-pupil budgeting, and then add certain weights depending on student need.

    Education, Equity and Diversity, Finance, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Decision Making, Diversity
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    Air Force Materiel Command

    Air Force Materiel Command (A) & (B) are about the intellectual work that managers do to design and change organizational purposes and practices.The cases deal with dilemmas facing a new commander of a huge, support organization, in danger of losing control of its destiny.

    Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    The Welcome Pole

    The Welcome Pole case involves public arts management, public administration, nonprofit management, Native American tribal politics, and murder-for-hire, among many other intersecting issues

    Arts and Culture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Diversity, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    Labor Intensive Politics

    This case presents the challenges facing Seattle city council member Tom Weeks, who is interested in improving service delivery and cost-effectiveness in city services.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Human Resources, Leadership, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    Those ‘Rascally’ Rabbits

    With society becoming increasingly wary of conventional chemical pest control methods, this case looks at some decisions around the use of biological control approaches using microorganisms, insects, or diseases for pest management.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, International Organization, Communication, Decision Making, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    A Partnership in Troubled Waters

    A local Philippine organization collaborates with PATH, an international nonprofit organization to implement an environmental management project. This case gives students an opportunity to consider the dilemmas that commonly arise in institutional relationships between culturally dissimilar organizations.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Diversity, International Development, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    Eastern Ozarks Regional Health System

    The Chief Executive Officer of a rural nonprofit regional referral health system located in north central Arkansas is confronted with the closure of a rural hospital in his service area. He has to make a difficult decision that involves weighing his mission obligation to serve the north central area population against his fiduciary responsibilities to the health system he manages.

    Health and Health Care, Budgeting and Finance, Decision Making, Program Evaluation, Quantitative Methods, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    Thank You for Being Ready

    A case about the importance of the judiciary in American politics and how a few dedicated feminist activists in Minnesota mobilized large numbers of men and women to open the judiciary to women.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Media and Marketing, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Diversity, Electoral Politics
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    Waving Goodbye to the Dinosaurs?

    The Northern Ireland Women's Coalition must decide whether to sign a negotiated agreement for constitutional change without the electoral reforms that allowed the group to be represented at the peace talks.

    International Organization, Public Sector/Government Agency, Diversity, Electoral Politics, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    The Right To Be Human: The Dilemmas Of Rights-Based Programming At Care-Bangladesh

    The case tells the story of how a simple project to raise HIV awareness among sex workers evolved into a larger project that sought to empower one of the most marginalized populations in Bangladesh to fight for their basic human rights.

    Health and Health Care, International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Diversity, International Development, Project Management, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2006

    The Seattle City Auditor

    This case describes the challenges facing the new city auditor of a newly created department within city government, as she begins to define the vision for her department and is presented with her first audit request.

    Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Leadership, Strategic Planning
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2005

    A Heritage Worth Saving?: The Case of the Acheen Street Malay Mosque Village

    Describes a conflict between historic preservation and economic development in Malaysia in a multicultural environment where issues of race, religion and economic class complicate the preservation versus development debate.

    Equity and Diversity, International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, Urban Planning, Diversity, Ethics
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2005

    A Note on Mapping

    Mapping can become, with the use of this note, a systematic and  theoretically sound tool for managers and leaders, one of the basic  building blocks of sound leadership analysis and development of  organizational strategies and management tactics.

    Education, Public Sector/Government Agency, Communication, Project Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2005

    Serving Connected Needs in Appalachia: Homegrown Help in Appalachia: Hazard Perry County Community Ministries (HPCCM)

    Hazard Perry County Community Ministries redefine the interrelated problems facing their community. They create solutions through building partnerships, addressing the underlying issues, and following through with service delivery.

    Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Community Organizing, Fundraising and Development
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2005

    Sustainability and the Mexico City Lake Basin

    This case covers challenges of varied stakeholder groups cooperating to solve serious health and environmental problems in one of the largest cities in the world, both English and Spanish versions are posted on the website.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, International Organization, Economics, International Development, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2005

    The Bankruptcy of the San Antonio Symphony

    The events that led to the bankruptcy of the San Antonio Symphony illustrate conflicting goals that nonprofits face, addressing both financial viability of their organizations and artistic and cultural views of how nonprofits should operate.

    Arts and Culture, Nonprofit and NGO, Budgeting and Finance, Fundraising and Development, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2005

    When it is Better to be Seen But Not Heard: The Ecology of Public Administration

    How should a complex public organization such as a public university respond to changes in the organizational environment when there are many "voices" with power to speak on emerging public issues that affect the university in different ways?

    Education, Public Sector/Government Agency, Communication, Leadership, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2005

    Mikhukhu People

    This teaching note accompanies the Mikhukhu People case, which is available from the Kennedy School of Government, and it demonstrates how to determine the mission of a nonprofit organization amid shifting political circumstances and market demands.

    International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, International Development, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2005

    The Diabetes Clinic

    A new diabetes clinic manager faces many challenges as he deals with alleged sexual harassment and even possible assault among his staff members.

    Health and Health Care, Communication, Human Resources, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2004

    Greenhill Community Center

    The dilemmas and escalating crises facing a new executive director of a small, multipurpose nonprofit, plus the particular challenges of taking charge after a popular founder/executive director leaves. The case presented an overview of general management responsibilities and some basic principles of board management and staff relationships.

    Arts and Culture, Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Change Management, Communication, Decision Making, Diversity, Fundraising and Development, Human Resources, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2004

    Express Maintenance

    This case, taking place in an urban transit system, provides an excellent vehicle for teaching about crisis management of circumstances. Difficult systems and cultural problems require attention, as do immediate safety and public confidence issues.

    Media and Marketing, Transportation, Change Management, Ethics, Human Resources, Leadership, Operations Management, Project Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2004

    Who Speaks for Us?

    The executive director and the board president of a religiously affiliated nonprofit social service agency struggle with employee and donor demands to endorse the boycott of a local business.

    Nonprofit and NGO, Social Services, Advocacy, Decision Making, Ethics, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    What Did I Do Wrong?

    A development project leads a rural Philippine village into setting up a cooperative to build a fish sanctuary. Farmers and fishermen fall out over raising the necessary capital, leaving the village in disharmony and the project facing death.

    International Organization, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, International Development, Project Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    Grassroots Assistance in Rural China

    A skeptical consultant sets out to evaluate a rural development project and discovers it to be a genuine success, then ponders how to analyze its strengths and write a report that will help similar initiatives gain support.

    Education, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Health and Health Care, International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, Urban Planning, Community Organizing, International Development, Program Evaluation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    Rural Democracy

    A county administrator carefully prepares a plan to replace a deteriorating elementary school with a new building that meets current safety and environmental standards, but voters scuttle authorization of the bond issue needed to finance it.

    Education, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    Memo Writing

    This note, by The Evans School’s J. Patrick Dobel, Harvard’s Richard  Elmore, and Evans graduate Laurie Werner, covers memo writing in  depth—audience, organization, writing, and language—plus notes on email.

    Communication
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    The Theater Budget

    The incoming president of a nonprofit organization makes putting its financial affairs in order her first priority but runs into opposition from her board and has to address miscommunication between "accountants" and "artists" among the members.

    Arts and Culture, Nonprofit and NGO, Budgeting and Finance, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    Brief Guidelines for Writing Action Memos

    Harvard's Joseph S. Nye, a senior public policy professor with an  extensive background in high-level public service, outlines ten critical  considerations to apply in urging higher-ups toward action.

    Education, Communication, Operations Management, Project Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    Sentence Outlines

    A widely published and skilled writer, experienced in government,  research, and teaching, presents a powerful tool for accomplishing  writing tasks.  Written by UC Berkeley's Michael O'Hare, its form  exemplifies the concept.

    Education, Communication
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    Writing Effective Memos

    In brief memo form, longtime writing and communication teacher John Boehrer lays out systematic steps in writing memos and details key features that make them effective.

    Education, Communication
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    Dan Booker

    Early in his teaching career at a graduate school of public affairs, an assistant professor leading a management case discussion is brought up short by an African-American student's objection to "racism" in the case text. It is suitable for discussion in faculty groups focusing on teaching about diversity, leading discussion on charged subjects, and leading discussion among diverse participants.

    Education, Equity and Diversity, Communication, Diversity, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    Solid Waste Landfill Crisis

    This is a short, nontechnical case about a local official trying to site a landfill. Although written about Eastern Europe, the case might as well take place in the United States. The case primarily illustrates the role, skills, and patience required of public leaders who seek to resolve such issues. The case also illustrates problems communities and public managers face in the newly democratized countries of Central and Eastern Europe. By examining the story of a city government in Poland facing widespread community resistance to its landfill siting plans, students grapple with the notion of collective good vs. individual or neighborhood interests. Class discussion can focus on strategies for building community consensus around controversial issues, while analyzing the costs (to public leaders and institutions) of simply using government power to force community acquiescence. The case can be taught very effectively in one to two hours. It is suitable for U.S. or Eastern European audiences and would be excellent in a basic course about consensus building or environmental policy and management.

    This case was written by Piotr Obraniak, who teaches negotiation and public relations at the Higher School of Local Government and Public Administration in Lodz, Poland. His other activities include working with Polish government agencies to design recruitment and training programs for public officials. Professor Obraniak researched and wrote this case as part of the 1994-95 Case Project for Central and Eastern Europe, a faculty and curriculum development initiative conducted by the Cascade Center for Public Service and funded by the Institute for Local Government and Public Service in Budapest, Hungary. The case was supervised by John Boehrer and Jon Brock.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, International Organization, Public Sector/Government Agency, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Regulation, Strategic Planning
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    Welfare Reform in Washington State

    The assistant to the director of a state welfare division applies research design and a variety of statistical skills in seeking to determine the causes of recidivism affecting the state's welfare caseload.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Program Evaluation, Quantitative Methods, Regulation
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    Public Transit and Minority Employment

    A doctoral student takes the opportunity of a "natural experiment" to investigate whether public transportation systems that facilitate "reverse commuting" might provide a policy response to the problem of urban unemployment.

    Transportation, Urban Planning, Diversity, Program Evaluation, Quantitative Methods
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2003

    Managing A Health Project: HIV/AIDS in Thailand

    A team of Japanese medical experts and their Thai counterparts disagree on the priorities of a health project focused on HIV/AIDS care and prevention. As it nears completion, the question becomes how to evaluate the project's impact.

    Health and Health Care, International Organization, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Program Evaluation, Project Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2002

    Fare Integration in the Puget Sound Region

    Five transit agencies contend with conflicting agendas and technical complexity while sorting out cross boundary fare payment and collection in preparation for the launch of regional transportation service.

    Transportation, Urban Planning, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Project Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2002

    Seattle Public Utilities

    This case was developed to enable students to form a sense of the complexity of the public manager's role in steering a major transformation effort while providing essential services in a turbulent political environment.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Leadership, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2002

    Commute Partnerships

    An award winning public agency development group applies innovative approaches to transportation issues.  The group's success in using private sector concepts and public-private partnerships transforms the agency's outlook on providing services.

    Education, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Transportation, Urban Planning, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Program Evaluation, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2002

    Team Read: Improving Literacy & Evaluating Efficacy

    A privately funded cross age tutoring program enlists high schoolers as coaches to improve the reading skills of elementary school students. Interpreting impact and achieving more informative evaluation prove challenging for the program manager.

    Education, Nonprofit and NGO, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Program Evaluation, Quantitative Methods
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2002

    Social Venture Partners’ Replication

    A local nonprofit organization's rapid success at applying a venture capital approach to philanthropy creates widespread interest in replicating its model in other cities.

    Nonprofit and NGO, Fundraising and Development, Operations Management, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2001

    New Bedford Harbor

    EPA's careful planning of a Superfund cleanup encounters community  and Congressional opposition organized by an environmental advocacy  group.  Escalating conflict, years of delay, and mediation followed by a  questionable outcome result.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Decision Making, Diversity, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2001

    Oxfam and Debt Relief Advocacy

    A non-profit organization employs a variety of advocacy strategies that work in concert with those of other activists to advance the policy objective of debt relief for poor countries while achieving broader organizational goals.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Leadership
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2001

    Improving Services to Missouri’s Children and Reforming the System

    Undertaking major social service reform during the 90's, Missouri seeks to deliver more family centered services and achieve a greater level of partnership with local governments and nonprofit organizations.

    Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2001

    The Overcrowded Clinic

    Bottlenecks and poor use of personnel severely limit service at a rural clinic, greatly inconveniencing patients and staff. Students learn how to analyze resource imbalances and alter policies and production flow to improve service.

    Health and Health Care, Social Services, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Wellington Street Pier Project

    This case looks at the ethical challenges one manager faces as he attempts to create productive a relationship with his board while maintaining loyalty to and from staff.  Lessons in local government, ethics, management and dealing with boards.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Ethics, Leadership, Project Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Government/Nonprofit Contracting Exercise

    This case is a popular exercise illustrating issues in government/nonprofit contracting. Especially interesting in light of current discussions about contracting out government services.

    Health and Health Care, Nonprofit and NGO, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Carver State University Hospital

    This case deals with achieving consensus when different program elements within an institution compete for limited private funding, a situation that finds parallels in the public agency budget process, or in multifaceted nonprofit institutions where funding is competitive.

    The primary objectives of this case are to involve the class in a hands-on exercise, to practice facilitation skills, and to consider the kinds of managerial decisions that are appropriate for this type of process.

    Another important objective is to demonstrate that agreement and consensus may not result in the "best" or even a "good" decision, without careful consideration and acceptance of broader organizational goals.

    Comparison of the agreements reached by the student groups usually suggests that the operative criterion was that everyone should get a "fair share." Class focuses on the degree to which this should be a priority and how to avoid consensus processes that result merely in "divvying up" resources.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Hospital Consolidation

    Set in rural Wyoming, this is a multi-faceted consolidation case, which depicts the efforts of Holy Family Hospital and Gorsich General Hospital to reduce operating costs by combining services. Assisted by a consulting team, hospital administrators must decide the extent of their consolidation efforts. This case provides a glimpse into a highly charged and complex scenario, which shows the conflict between the hospital's potential savings and the ideological/cultural conflicts of the involved parties. Students gain valuable insight into the controversial political conflicts that could result in a merger between a Catholic hospital and a secular institution with a community ownership base. The scenario is further complicated by hospital staff that are opposed to any kind of consolidation for a fear of job loss. Conservative independent physicians, who favor "pure competition" and the benefits they currently receive from a two hospital system, also present a serious obstacle to integrating hospitals.

    This is an excellent case for teaching students about the complexities involved in merging institutions and forming affiliations. It is also a valuable exercise to convey lessons in culture conflicts and the importance of retaining a hospital's mission while accommodating other's divergent values.

    "Hospital Consolidation," was excerpted from "Ambulatory Health Care: Case Studies for the Health Services Executive" an anthology of health administration teaching cases edited by the University of Washington's Austin Ross.

    Health and Health Care, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Communication, Decision Making, Diversity, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    A Career Manager and the Budget Process

    Written in an interview format, this case illustrates the dilemmas and opportunities faced by a mid-level county manager seeking to improve the performance of a community planning division. The case can be used effectively to explore: the use of the budget as a management tool; building credibility and winning support in a politically charged environment; and identifying and seizing opportunities for reform within an agency.

    Hired to head a unit about which internal staff, external constituents, and elected officials have no clear sense of mission, the manager featured in the case must improve her unit's programmatic performance and secure its budgetary future. She effectively uses the county budgeting process as part of a larger organizational strategy to build a cohesive and effective staff team, to reform the way in which her unit carries out and communicates its mission, and to solidify the unit's importance in the eyes of internal and external constituencies. This case is told entirely from the perspective of a protagonist who successfully employs pragmatic strategies to bring about change in a complex bureaucratic environment.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Leadership, Quantitative Methods
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    California Adoption Assistance Program

    Examines accountability at several levels within social service and intergovernmental grant programs for 'special needs' children. Asks students to define problems carefully before offering solutions.

    Social Services, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Quantitative Methods, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Case Processing of Welfare Assignment Collections

    Taking place in a unit of a state public welfare agency, a new manager must come to terms with a growing case backlog in a confused, out of control case system. The manager decide how to allocate or expand the capacity of constrained resources.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Change Management, Human Resources, Operations Management, Quantitative Methods
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    A Change of Leadership at the Local Education Authority

    A secretary's shortcomings appear to be causing problems, but closer inspection finds weaknesses from other sources. Develops skills for analyzing and fixing a weak organizational culture.

    Education, International Organization, Public Sector/Government Agency, Human Resources, Leadership, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Costs and Constraints in the Arizona Inmate Medical Transport System

    Engages class to find cost saving and performance improvements in providing outside medical care for inmates. The case demonstrates how to identify simple changes that can lower costs and improve performance.

    Finance, Health and Health Care, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Budgeting and Finance, Community Organizing, Fundraising and Development, Human Resources, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Port Pleasant City Council

    Controversial waterfront development project involving diverse opinions from city council members. Valuable lessons in management, dealing with boards and councils, development and implementation, and conflict resolution.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Public Managed Care in Easternville: A Case of Opportunities

    Students gain insight into the subtle and unsubtle mechanics of state health politics and how they affect managed care demonstration projects. Also familiarizes students with fee-for-service provider plans and programs for low-income consumers.

    Health and Health Care, Social Services, Operations Management, Program Evaluation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Human Rights and Trade: The Clinton Administration and China

    In the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, the newly elected Clinton administration attempts to balance competing foreign policy interests in successive decisions about renewing China's most-favored-nation (MFN) trading status.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Daycare Comes to Northville

    City government seeks affordable daycare for municipal workers' children.  This two part exercise reinforces key concepts in public budgeting through practice in applying them, and develops skills in spreadsheet use for budgeting and analysis.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Human Resources, Quantitative Methods, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    The Turbot War: Canada, Spain, and Conflict Over the North Atlantic Fishery

    A dispute over fisheries conservation in the Northwest Atlantic leads to the first ever military confrontation between Canada and Spain. Negotiations involving the European Union lead to an agreement in which both sides claim victory.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, International Organization, Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Public Sector/Government Agency, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Managing Cutbacks at the Department of Social and Health Services

    Agency head develops strategic, inclusive budget process in response to drastic federal cutbacks. A powerful example of internal and external consensus building under extreme pressure, as well as insight into political aspects of good budgeting.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Budgeting and Finance, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    An Ethical Dilemma at the Cumbrian Cultural Endowment Foundation

    Eastern European NGO is tempted to violate its own policies by granting a special request from the country's president, and must face political forces not easily dismissed. In addition to its focus on the conflict between organizational and political priorities, this case can be used to illustrate principles of crisis management and staff/board relations.

    Nonprofit and NGO, Decision Making, Ethics, Leadership, Program Evaluation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Seven Letters

    Seven Letters is a classic case that dramatizes the perennial dilemmas of budgeting in a public agency, and illuminates the contrasting perspectives of program managers and budget officials. The sequence of documents going back and forth between program agency and budget office provides a provocative stimulus for exploring the tensions and release valves in the relationship between key players in governmental budgeting. The escalating rhetoric prompts discussion of better ways to communicate, by first understanding one's own role, perspective, and priorities, and then those of the other. While simplified, and brought up to date with minor modifications, the documents are taken from an actual exchange that is so timeless the case could just as well be titled "Seven E-Mails."

    By engaging in observation, critique, and revision of this documented dialogue, both pre- and mid-career students, budget experts and novices alike, can gain insight into the management of key relationships and the process of bureaucratic problem solving. The case is used in Masters degree courses and mid-level executive programs in budgeting, often as the basis of an introductory discussion. Such classes frequently include budget professionals as well as program managers, and the exchange in class can be highly illuminating to both. The case also yields general lessons about bureaucratic rivalries and turf wars, and about how common practices and reactions can be counterproductive to organizational goals and destructive of the trust and communication necessary to work in a system of divided powers.

    The exemplary, insightful teaching note by Arn Howitt of the Kennedy School of Government will assist budgeting course instructors in leading students to gain a clearer perception of the power and influence among players in the budget process, and to play a more effective role in allocating resources to public programs.

    Seven Letters was written by Edwin O. Stene of the University of Kansas and published originally in "Public Administration Review." It appears on the Electronic Hallway by permission, and through the courtesy, of the American Society for Public Administration.

    Finance, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Disagreements Behind an Agreement

    A United Nations hydrologist discovers the political complexity of adopting an environmentally sound riparian resource plan for the Zambezi River, which flows through eight African nations. The case asks students to identify the political problem or problems threatening a technically sound environmental plan.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, International Organization, Urban Planning, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Alabama’s Confederate Flag Controversy

    State legislators argue policy on flying the Confederate flag at the capitol building. The case examines an ongoing public controversy and how leaders and policy makers handle symbolic issues in the context of political management.

    Equity and Diversity, Public Sector/Government Agency, Advocacy, Diversity, Electoral Politics, Ethics
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Downsizing at the Dodge Clinic

    This three part case forces students to grapple with the complex decision to cut costs by downsizing. Students then explore what leadership must do to implement continuous quality improvement and rebuild staff morale.

    Health and Health Care, Budgeting and Finance, Decision Making, Human Resources, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Cornwall County School District

    Provocatively describes circumstances of contracting out janitorial services in an environment of political patronage and limited resources. Explores contract management issues.

    Education, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Economics, Human Resources, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Denise Fleury and the Minnesota Office of State Claims

    New manager scrambles to cope with day-to-day crises while trying to take on new tasks. How does she create organizational capacity in this situation? What should she do when problems persist?

    Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Human Resources, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    East Coast Orchestra’s Board of Trustees

    Does a growing arts organization have the management skill and structure to survive its success? This case examines board dynamics, development issues, and board effectiveness.

    Nonprofit and NGO, Budgeting and Finance, Fundraising and Development, Leadership
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    If it Ain’t Broke, Fix it!: Beth Israel Hospital

    The hospital must cut costs, and shift from a primary nursing model of patient care to an integrated practice model. This case explores working with a grant to reorganize, and to implement new programs with an interdisciplinary approach.

    Health and Health Care, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Human Resources, Leadership, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Appalachian Mountain Club

    A century old environmental conservation nonprofit undergoes major organizational change from volunteer leadership to professional management. The case enables analysis of multiple perspectives on major organizational change over time: from systems, structure, and strategy to deeper cultural issues.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Nonprofit and NGO, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Babcock Place

    Senior citizens ask the city council to put a crosswalk outside their apartment building, so they can cross a busy street safely. The city's traffic engineer finds the crosswalk unwarranted according to nationally accepted traffic safety standards.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Advocacy, Community Organizing
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Bread for the World

    The case reveals the practical and ethical tensions inherent in many grassroots based advocacy organizations between sustaining the grassroots membership and supporting a professional staff who must effectively interact with the relevant policy elite.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Nonprofit and NGO, Advocacy, Community Organizing, Ethics, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    NPower – Putting Technology Know-How in the Hands of Nonprofits

    This case provides students with an excellent opportunity to make decisions and plan strategy for two important phases of the life cycle of a new nonprofit technology service organization.

    Nonprofit and NGO, Technology, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Nonprofit Management, Strategic Planning
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Burn Care Unit

    A hospital CEO must lower costs in a regional burn care unit while averting a nurses' strike. Use data on patient acuity classification, scheduling, and skill mixes to devise a strategy that will enhance nurses' long-term job satisfaction.

    Finance, Health and Health Care, Budgeting and Finance, Human Resources, Quantitative Methods
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    The Committee Chair, The Assistant Secretary, and the Bureau Chief

    Legislative committee chair tries to separate two administration witnesses. Emphasis on different viewpoints of career civil servants and appointees, and dynamics when legislature and executive are controlled by opposing parties.

    Equity and Diversity, Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance
    E-study | Created: 01/01/2000

    Interview with Al Zuck

    A political appointee pressures a seasoned career official to authorize an unethical contract. The official's judgment and experience steer the appointee clear of a dangerous course, and end up winning his respect.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Electoral Politics, Ethics, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1999

    Negotiated Rulemaking Exercise: Woodstove New Source Performance Standard

    An environmental role-play in which a multi-party committee employs a negotiated rule making process to achieve consensus.  Recommended for students already introduced to negotiation and who have background in economics and management dilemmas.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Economics, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1999

    Welcome to the Case Method!

    This short piece richly conveys the essence of cases, the critical tasks  of case teaching and case writing, and the key indicators of quality in  both case texts and class discussions.

    Education, Communication
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1998

    Maintaining Mission Through Organizational Change: Providence Portland Medical Center

    "Maintaining Mission" describes the efforts of Providence Portland Medical Center (a hospital with a strong religious mission) to control expenses by redesigning its patient care services at the patient care/nursing unit level. This case makes a significant contribution to our understanding of what it takes to manage large hospital bureaucracies.

    Health and Health Care, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Decision Making, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1998

    Rhododendron County Health Department

    This complex role-play presents valuable lessons in restructuring and downsizing, joint hospitals and affiliations, negotiation, demographic changes and management under pressure.

    Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1998

    Run Before You Get Shot Down?

    When an aid worker arrives in remote Nepal, she discovers that local politics of ethnicity, gender and caste may be incompatible with the ideals of the development agency.

    International Organization, Decision Making, Diversity, International Development
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1998

    The Hospital and the Group

    With a focus on daily operations, this piece shows students viable alternatives to "command control" management styles. Accompanied by thorough teaching notes, this four page case provides important lessons in the politics of the administration of small integrated practices and creating accountability for production through local tracking systems.

    Health and Health Care, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Decision Making, Leadership, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1998

    Selecting Approaches for Development of the Communal Lands in Zimbabwe

    This exercise is an intricately structured role-play about a development project in Zimbabwe. Summarizing a donor agency's efforts to plan and analyze the most effective measures for improving conditions for underprivileged segments of a rural society, this exercise offers a look at the interaction of government officers, non-government organizations, local farmers and specialists from many fields, as they work out the details of an aid project. Students learn to cultivate sophisticated problem-solving skills and to grapple with the complex technical and sociological considerations related to institution building in a developing country.

    Confronted with developing countries. They are also a wide array of approaches to solving problems which include crop development, livestock, water supply, diminishing natural resources and sanitation conditions in a rural African village, students are forced to work with the restrictions and limitations that exist ind to consider the importance of ordering criteria for project evaluation and how to adopt a set of approaches using these criteria. In the process of reaching a conclusion, students learn development concepts such as ownership, institution building, appropriate technology, women in development, and sustainability.

    Accompanied by thorough teaching notes, this case is highly teachable and is designed for all students who are interested in development or third world issues. This exercise is especially suited for individuals who wish to study the structure and selection of projects, and the measure of a project's economic and social impact.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, International Development, Program Evaluation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1998

    Political Economy of Heavy Industrialization

    This two-part case is based on the history of South Korean development in the 1960s and 1970s. Designed for a course in the political economy of development, it focuses upon Korea's struggle to establish a modern, integrated steel mill—a highly political decision, which bordered on economic irrationality. This case depicts a story of success at a great personal cost to the nation and is an ideal introduction to the 'state or market' argument in development.

    International Organization, Economics, International Development
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1998

    Managing a NGO

    An organization in Japan that supports a language training institute in Myanmar (formerly Burma) finds resistance when it seeks to influence Japanese instruction methods at the institute.

    International Organization, Nonprofit and NGO, Nonprofit Management, Operations Management, Program Evaluation
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1998

    Master Plan Will Not Be Wasted

    Illustrates a typical situation of a developing country where privatization or commercialization of public authority has taken place. Students must search for ways to balance useful market forces with comprehensive government planning.

    International Organization, Urban Planning, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, International Development
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1998

    Introducing the Quality Control to Uruguay: Will Japanese Management Be Accepted in Another Culture?

    When a Japanese economic development advisor introduces management techniques that emphasize devolution of decision making, he finds Uruguayan managers decidedly unresponsive to his ideas.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Community Organizing, Diversity, Leadership, Operations Management, Project Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1997

    The Marine Resources Division and the Shrimp-Baiting Controversy

    A new technique for recreational shrimping sets off opposition from commercial shrimpers and concern among environmentalists, while the situation raises questions about an administrator.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Regulation, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    Muni Equipment Maintenance Division

    Ann Branston, a white-collar professional, finds herself in charge of the large blue-collar workforce of the equipment maintenance division of the San Francisco public transit system, "Muni." Beginning with her arrival in the midst of a serious service delivery crisis for the transit system, this three part case traces Branston's actions during her five year tenure as deputy general manager. The A case sets the stage by outlining the service problems, organizational structure, human resources issues, political environment and the budgetary status of the unit. In the B case, Branston and her senior associates implement a successful strategy to solve a major problem, an excessive level of missed runs by the transit fleet. However, serious problems of fleet degradation emerge which are addressed by the development of a preventive maintenance program and other strategies outlined in the C case.

    The "Muni" case is well suited to classes dealing with organizational change, particularly the role of crisis in facilitating structural change. It is conducive to numerous other discussions including but not limited to: the technical, political, bureaucratic, and behavioral aspects of management; comparisons of "hard" production processes like the transit technology to the "soft" processes of social programs; management priority setting and dealing with different organizational cultures and interpersonal styles; interagency cooperation; and gender similarities and differences in management.

    Transportation, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Human Resources, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    A Change of Management

    Larry Frymire, founding Executive Director of New Jersey Public Television, opens the case pondering his sudden removal from his leadership post. The case details the first decade of the public television station's existence, during which the disparity increases between Frymire's sense of his role and of the station's mission, and that of his various constituencies, including a newly elected governor, recent commission appointees, and community representatives.

    This classic case study offers a strong basis for classroom discussion of key attributes of public leadership such as: strategies for balancing political, operational and legislative obligations and constraints; responsiveness to executive and legislative branches and constituency groups; and managing effectively in a changing political and cultural environment. This case may be taught effectively in conjunction with such Electronic Hallway system case studies as "Leadership Change in the Division of Cultural Programs" or with the Kennedy School case, "Job Corps." Students then have the opportunity to compare the manager in this case with other leadership examples.

    Media and Marketing, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Human Resources, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    Church-State Debate Threatens Budapest’s Second District

    Conflict erupts when the Catholic Church seeks to reclaim a building that has housed a popular public school for almost fifty years based on a Hungarian law requiring localities to return all property to local religious orders. The case also prompts analysis of how local governments are caught between the dictates of nationally driven policy or regulation and the specific, unique needs of their own communities.

    Education, International Organization, Public Sector/Government Agency, International Development, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    Pacific City Utilities Service Department

    Role-play exercise in which a manager has to resolve a conflict over the annual vacation schedule.  Illustrates and applies key principles of conflict resolution.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Human Resources, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    Park Plaza

    Set in the context of urban renewal, a classic case of a manager making a professional judgment that fails to adequately consider the political dimension.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Decision Making, Project Management, Regulation, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    Policy Dilemmas at the Seattle Solid Waste Utility

    After an environmental disaster, an agency's organizational weaknesses and dwindling political capital are laid bare. Students will see how strong leadership can use a crisis to redirect policy and restructure the organization.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    Presentation Checklist

    Thought provoking compilation of objectives and reminders for making compelling presentations to senior officers and executives. Provides a practical outline of considerations to develop students' briefing and presentation skills.

    Education, Communication
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    Registry of Motor Vehicles: Watertown Branch

    A classic case of operational problems in delivering a service familiar to us all. Allows students to think practically and analytically about service quality and operational issues.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    Customer Service Innovations at the Seattle Solid Waste Utility

    Describes utility's efforts to solve customer service failures and make transition to ambitious new recycling program requiring changes in citizen, as well as agency, behavior.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    Snow Removal

    Operations management and customer service in a political environment are crucial skills for public and non-profit managers. The Snow Removal case is a classic in public administration for teaching ways to analyze operational circumstances. To many students and instructors, analyzing capacity and demand often seem daunting. But this case, and a companion case on service delivery systems Case Processing of Welfare Assignment Collections allows plain language, low-math skills approaches, which take into account important dimensions of politics and resources. In a compelling presentation of how to deal with the seeming unpredictability of a snowstorm (which could shed light on how to prepare for other seemingly unpredictable circumstances), the case provides a backdrop for teaching students:

    1. To develop demand projections for geographically dispersed and highly seasonal municipal services
    2. To estimate service capacity in a man-machine system given a series of constraints on productivity and resource availability
    3. To outline ways efficient resource allocation can increase the capacity of a public service delivery system
    4. To explore the political dimensions of performance failures in a basic municipal service

    The case is used in warm weather and cold weather areas of the country with nearly equal success.

    Professor Stephen Rosenthal of Boston University School of Management, one of the originators of using operations management concepts for assessing and improving public services, wrote this case. The case first appeared in Managing Government Operations Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Co., 1982, and the concepts were later discussed in "Producing Results in Government Programs: Moving Beyond Project Management and its Limited View of Success" Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 8 (1) (Winter 1989)

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Change Management, Operations Management
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    St. Joseph Shopping Mall

    With conflicts over development, environmental protection and economic growth heating up across the nation, and citizens groups everywhere becoming more organized, sophisticated and influential, this case's themes and issues are familiar even to people without any knowledge of or experience in land use and zoning. The conflicts have a ring of truth; the characterizations of the various interest groups and their initial concerns, needs, fears and positions are realistic and credible.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Urban Planning, Advocacy, Communication, Community Organizing, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    Surviving at the EPA

    Presents a group of career civil servants and each individual's approach to engaging or reacting to political appointees who may be hostile to current agency policies and practices.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Leadership
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    A Radar Controversy in Zalas

    A civilian air traffic radar facility is proposed in a popular recreational forest and the local administrator must confront hostile environmental, political, and grass roots opposition in a region of newly democratic Poland.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, International Organization, Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    William D. Ruckelshaus and the EPA

    Compelling history of the EPA's first administrator and his influence on the mission and direction of the agency. Describes external pressures and political landscape of U.S. environmental policy and how a senior manager sets agency strategy.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Leadership, Regulation, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1996

    Managing Student Aid in Sweden

    National Student Aid Board is inefficient almost to the point of collapse. Case describes the fundamental transformation that restored the agency, and elicits discussion of problem definition, organizational productivity, and operational capacity.

    Finance, International Organization, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Operations Management
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1995

    How to Teach a Case

    For both new and experienced case method instructors. This essay uses a single case as a point of departure to richly discuss some of the most basic issues in case teaching.

    Education
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1995

    Improving Children and Family Services in Iowa

    This three part case chronicles a philosophical and practical shift in services to children and families at the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS), and the resulting collaborative process for change across distinct human service jurisdictions.

    Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Budgeting and Finance, Change Management, Collaboration, Networks, and Partnerships, Fundraising and Development, Operations Management, Program Evaluation
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1995

    Legislative Strategy: State Government Reorganization

    Role-play exercise teaching subtle and practical lessons about legislative/executive relations and strategies for making progress on program issues through legislative processes.

    Public Sector/Government Agency, Budgeting and Finance, Communication, Leadership, Strategic Planning
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1994

    The Clinton Administration and Multilateral Peace Operations

    As U.S. involvement in Somalia disintegrates, Clinton administration policy on multilateral peace operations evolves from an expansionist view of UN peacekeeping to a more limited perspective on its role in U.S. national security and defense.

    Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Public Sector/Government Agency, Decision Making, Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Operations Management
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1993

    Blackboard Tips

    Talk and Chalk: The Blackboard as an Intellectual Tool. Michael O'Hare distinguishes the blackboard from slides, overheads and flip charts, and gives practical pointers on how to make it an effective device for  managing and stimulating discussion.

    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1992

    Lead Poisoning

    Traces the unsuccessful efforts of many, in and out of government, to solve lead poisoning of poor New York City children. Gordon Chase confronts the dilemma.

    Advocacy/Lobbying, Health and Health Care, Public Sector/Government Agency, Community Engagement, Strategic Planning, Youth Work
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1991

    Leadership Counts: Lessons for Public Managers

    Robert D. Behn's pathfinding book examines Massachusetts Department of Welfare's Employment and Training Choices (ET Choices) Program. Well-written and thorough, it explores what it really takes to successfully lead and change a public agency.

    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1991

    Case and Discussion Teaching Tips

    Education for Judgment: The Artistry of Discussion Leadership. A  collection of insightful essays on making the transition from lecture or  other traditional teaching forms to discussion or case leadership.

    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1990

    Operation Wilderness

    A simulation exercise on environmental issues. Students experience the process of conflicts and the personal responses that both cause and result from it.  Teaches key principles in conflict resolution and multiparty negotiations.

    Environment, Energy, and Agriculture, Public Sector/Government Agency, Urban Planning, Communication, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1987

    Ellen Schall and the Department of Juvenile Justice

    The case describes the situation as newly appointed commissioner walks into it her roll in Department of Juvenile Justice, including the internal tensions and significant operational problems in every division, the agency's history of bad press and feuds with City Hall. This case illustrates strategic analysis and management's role in change.

    Military, Law Enforcement, and Corrections, Public Sector/Government Agency, Change Management, Decision Making, Diversity, Human Resources, Leadership, Operations Management, Strategic Planning
    $3.00 Non-member price
    E-study | Created: 01/01/1982

    Fraud, Abuse, and Waste at HEW

    On the eve of an inspector general's critical report to a hostile Congress, HEW faces the dilemma of how to handle the fallout. This case may be used as a vehicle to discuss press relations and how public managers should frame an issue for the media.

    Education, Health and Health Care, Media and Marketing, Public Sector/Government Agency, Social Services, Communication, Program Evaluation, Regulation
    $3.00 Non-member price