Mergency Management : Strengthening the Energy Infrastructure in New York

The primary memorandum

There are six (6) sections of the primary memorandum. Divide your primary memorandum into these six parts: Problem Assessment, Literature Review, Stakeholder Analysis, Options Specification, Options Assessment and Recommendation
Introduction
Before you start the six sections, have a short paragraph of introductory remarks, including 3 sentences.
First sentence: The purpose of this memo is to .... reduce or increase something in a policy area within a specific jurisdiction (state or local government).
Second sentence: Report something that has occurred recently (an event or a finding in a report that has been publicized in newspapers) that is an action-forcing event that gives the reader the reason why this policy issue is on the current policy agenda.
Third sentence: At your request (referring to the client that you are writing to a a city council member, a commission on a county board, or a state legislator), I am presenting options to reduce a¦.. (and basically repeat what you said in the first sentence).
(only three short sentences; no details) AND DO NOT PUT ANYTHING ABOUT THE OPTIONS OR RECOMMENDATION HERE.
I. Problem Assessment
what is the problem? define it and explain it. why is it a problem and to whom?
what data supports that this problem exists? you must have data to show how big or how significant the problem is. This should be a graph or a diagram.
what is the action forcing event (why are people talking about this issue?) there must be a reason that people are talking. Give more details about the action forcing event here.
what is the background (current policies, etc) there must be a current policy that is not sufficient to solve the problem and therefore this policy must be amended or be substituted by a new policy a¦ there is a need for a new policy a¦ and you can indicate what part of the City Charter or the State Laws it would likely put into.
what is the timeline (previous policies addressing this problem) this problem is probably not new; someone has worked on solving this problem before. your work must be seen in this context
II. Literature Review (what do others say about the problem and what are other jurisdictions doing about the problem)
newspapers? (this is probably more about the action forcing event and current policy proposals)
best practices from other cities, states, etc. (these are probably reports on what other cities or states are doing about the problem)
reports from think tanks, institutes, etc. (these may also include reports on What is working”)
scholarly articles (these are probably about the general problem as it is expressed or has been studied in one or more jurisdictions)
NOTE: you must show that you have researched widely so that the legislator will trust your analysis. If you have one or two instances of incomplete research (you missed important sources), you will be FIRED. PERIOD. Your professional credibility is at stake.
III. Stakeholder Analysis
USE THE TABLE (see the TEMPLATE): to explore the stakeholders
list the stakeholders and discuss each stakeholder in relation to all of the items in the first table
you can use the table to compile information
Eventually, you will use a narrative style in several paragraphs for the details of the analysis, and then use the table format to summarize the points visually. This section needs a paragraph on each stakeholder (narrative) and then a table to summarize the narrative.
IV. Options Specification
USE THE table (see the TEMPLATE): to describe the options in great detail (what would this option look like if it were implemented?)
use one column for each option (3 or more)
use the variables in the rows to analyze each option
you can use the table to compile the information about each option
This section is the HEART of your PAPER (along with section V. Options Analysis)
Eventually, you will use a narrative style in several paragraphs for the details of the options, and then use the table format to summarize the points visually. This section needs a paragraph on each option (detailed narrative) and then a table to summarize the narrative in a visual manner.
Do not evaluate the options at this point. You must describe the options thoroughly before you evaluate them in relationship to each other (in the next section).
V. Options Analysis
USE THE TABLE (see the TEMPLATE); to analyze the differences and similarities among the options
Begin by listing the five feasibility criteria. And then explain each of them (one by one) Use a separate sentence to explain each of the six criteria in relation to your topic.
again, use one column for each option (3 or more) (please put the options in the columns)
use the feasibility criteria in the rows (here is where you use: political feasibility, administrative feasibility, financial feasibility, equity (fairness), effectiveness (Note: you can use additional criteria if you have explained them in the first paragraph of this section, but you are required to use the five criteria)
this section is the HEART OF YOUR PAPER. everything you did before helps with this section. here is where you evaluate the options in relation to each other
you can use the table to compile the analysis about each option
Eventually, you will use a narrative style in several paragraphs for the details of the analysis of the options, and then use the table format to summarize the points visually. This section needs a paragraph on each option (detailed narrative) and then a table to summarize the narrative in a visual manner.
VI. Recommendation
The most feasible and effective option to ..(accomplish what?)....... is ....(state your chosen option here).......
You should have a paragraph that summarizes the chosen option in a brief manner.
Then, you should have a second paragraph that gives the arguments pro and con.
Period. Stop. This is it
References
Then, you should have your list of references in APA style. (within this primary memo, use APA in-text citations). Check and double check your APA style. Make sure that everything is perfect.

With the references included, your primary memo cannot exceed 12 pages. You will lose 30 points if your primary memo has even one line on a 13th page. This is the time to learn to be precise. We have the precise page limitation in order to encourage you to write concisely and clearly. Do not cheat by using a smaller type font; you will be found out. One person last semester got dinged for going over the 12 page limit because he/she put the references in 11 point font to get within the 12 page limit. He lost 30 points and failed the first round.