Muskie School of Public Service

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Capstones: Health Policy and Management

Capstone Project Overview

The Capstone Project is each student's opportunity to integrate materials learned in core courses and elective studies into a single project and to investigate a subject of special interest, in depth. The Capstone is undertaken near the end of the course of study. Students usually work independently, but a group of students may choose to study a topic suggested by a faculty member under the supervision of a faculty Capstone Advisor selected by the student and consented to by the faculty member. Although students are expected to consult with their regular faculty advisor during the early conceptual development of their planned Capstone project, the Capstone advisor should be selected based on faculty areas of expertise and research interest. The Capstone Advisor will usually be drawn from the HPM faculty although, in some instances, a faculty member from other programs within the Muskie School may be an appropriate mentor.

The form of the Capstone will be determined by the student's program of study and interests. It is designed in consultation with the Capstone Advisor and the Capstone Coordinator (a HMP faculty member). The project may take many forms.

The form of the Capstone will be determined by the student's program of study and interests. It is designed in consultation with the Capstone Advisor and the Capstone Coordinator (a HMP faculty member). The project may take many forms. Examples of project types are described below. Each project, however, will demonstrate the student's mastery of the following skills:

1. conducting a literature review relevant to the project, summarizing relevant knowledge, as expressed in the literature, and relating the project to this knowledge base;
2. expressing the purpose of the project in terms of what question will be answered or what knowledge will be gained;
3. identifying the appropriate analytic approaches and tasks suitable to the project's purpose;
4. collecting the relevant information necessary for completing the project; and
5. preparing a written report that succinctly and clearly summarizes the process undertaken and describes the results of the project.
6. presenting the key findings from the project in an oral presentation to program faculty and interested students.

The Capstone project is a 3 credit requirement. As such, although the student works more independently than in a classroom course, the level of effort and amount of time spent on the Capstone is expected to approximate the level of effort of a one-semester course.

Procedurally, the student prepares a brief (two to five page) proposal of his or her project that must be reviewed and approved by the faculty Capstone advisor and the HPM Capstone Project Coordinator. This review process takes place in an informal meeting that is open to other students interested in familiarizing themselves with the Capstone process, or who have an interest in the particular project’s subject area. When the Capstone is complete, the written report must be reviewed and approved by the Capstone Advisor and Capstone Coordinator prior to the oral presentation. For the presentation, the student post notices within the school and through the student listserv, at least a week in advance, stating the topic, the place and time. The faculty Capstone advisor evaluates and assigns a grade to the final project based on both the written product and oral presentation.

Capstone Models

The following brief descriptions of possible capstone models are intended as a guide to stimulate students' thinking about possible projects. The list is not exhaustive and students may pursue projects outside the scope of these suggested models with the approval of their faculty advisor.

Model 1. Research Project

In a research project the student identifies a question related to health policy or health services research that may be answered or the state of knowledge advanced, through the collection and analysis of data. The data can be either quantitative or qualitative. The question may involve formal hypothesis testing or more exploratory analyses. These projects will involve the identification of a specific research design appropriate to the analysis (experimental, quasi-experimental, pre-post test, study vs. comparison group, etc.). Research capstones may involve the student in collecting his/her own data, for example through a survey, or may involve the secondary analysis of data from a national database or data related to an Institute for Health Policy research project.

Model 2. Program Evaluation Project

In a program evaluation, a student identifies specific goals or objectives associated with a program of interest and collects information to determine whether the goals and objectives have been met. The program can be a public health initiative, a project within a hospital, managed care organization or other health service provider, a revised operational procedure within a public agency, or other programs as identified by the student. Information gathering can range from interviews of project staff to surveys of project clients, as determined by the particular goals being assessed.

Model 3: Process or Implementation Analysis

An implementation study focuses on the activities, decisions, procedures and communications that form the interim steps between the period a program is authorized or conceived, and when it becomes operational. Frequently, the focus of an implementation study is on identifying the barriers encountered in program development, and the steps that were taken to surmount these barriers. An implementation study may focus on human dynamics, such as leadership, communication, or group interaction. It may focus on procedural issues such as the development of policy manuals or rule-making. It may focus on the determination of resource needs and the processes used to assure the necessary resources for program success.

Other studies may similarly analyze process in contexts other than program implementation. A study could, for example, follow the course of a proposed piece of legislation through introduction, committee work and legislative consideration. Another example would be a process analysis of a task force with a charge to develop recommendations on some aspect of health policy.

Model 4: Feasibility Studies

A feasibility study analyzes a proposed change in program or policy. It assesses resource needs in relation to resource availability; the appropriateness of the proposed change for resolving an identified problem or for accomplishing an identified aim; and the costs, in both human and other resource terms in relation to the anticipated benefits. Depending on the nature of the proposed change, assessments may involve projections of technology needs, training needs, or capital resource needs. The study may also undertake an assessment of the likely acceptability of changes associated with the proposed program or policy to the parties affected by it.

Model 5. Policy Analysis Project

A policy analysis project can be organized around a variety of objectives. A project could contrast and critique the views of different stakeholders and affected parties opposed to and in favor of a particular policy. Another type of policy study would be the analysis of the unintended consequences of a particular policy, and an assessment of possible corrective strategies to address negative unintended consequences. A third example of a policy study would be an assessment of the impact of a federal policy change on policy or law at the state level. Common to all these studies would be the identification of the policy domain, identification of the intended purpose and outcomes of the specified policy, and identification of key stakeholders affected by the policy.

Model 6. Strategic Planning Study

A student could undertake a strategic planning effort as a capstone project. Projects that fall into this category would focus on a particular health care or health policy institution, or a department within such an organization, and develop recommendations for strategies to attain long-range and mid-range goals. Key to the study would be the identification of the specific goals targeted for the planning effort and the identification of problems standing in the way of goal attainment. Such a study might be a marketing analysis, an analysis of organizational behavior, a systems design analysis or other analysis, depending on the nature of the institution and the specified goals. The study would identify organizational changes needed to accomplish the planning goal and suggest mechanisms for managing change and problem solving.