What is the report about?
Reports are aimed at particular institutions and include elements like an executive summary
and recommendations.
For this report you must first articulate a critical issue and a critical question.
You must then choose an
organisation who would be concerned with your issue and question and imagine for the sake
of this exercise that they have commissioned the report. .
This assessment cultivates your ability to perform and present research on important
problems, relevant to existing organisations. It thus engages your critical research skills while
generating knowledge of potential career opportunities in socially responsible fields.
The list of potential institutions is attached as a pdf.
Critical Question to be used – “New municipalism” discussed by Thompson, is a global social movement in response to neoliberal crises that empowers local communities through the autonomy of democratic governance. However, this conflicts with the underlying ideology of existing nation-states which emphasizes national identity and can limit municipal institutions through national-level financial and legal restrictions. The Barcelona en Comu case study by Thompson illustrates this ideological conflict. Therefore, I ask: how can we cultivate resources and capabilities independently of the nation-states?
Report Format – Also attached as pdf
1. Title page with title, author and commissioning institution
2. Executive summary (100-200 words)
• Institutional context
• Purpose of the report from the institution’ perspective
• Argument main point and supporting points
• Recommendations
3. Table of contents
4. Introduction (100-200 words)
• Context of the chosen critical case study
• Critical issue
• Critical question
• Relevance to chosen institution
• Case studies
• Preview of main point
5. Body (supporting points) (1,000 – 1,200 words)
• Subdivide into the supporting points, which can have subheadings
o Subheading for supporting point one
o Subheading for supporting point two
o Etc…
6. Conclusion (100-200 words)
• Restate argument main point
• Reflect on the significance of the argument
• Reflect on the limitations of the report (i.e. case studies and research resources)
7. Recommendations (200 words)
• Offer suggestions about the best action(s) or way(s) forward to take in relation to
the critical issue addressed in the report
8. Bibliography
Examples are attached as pdf. PLEASE USE A DIFFERENT CASE STUDY THAT IS NOT IN THE SLIDES.
CASE STUDY GUIDELINES
Case studies and limitations
Notes: you need to substantiate your claims and base your
argument on robust evidence.
However, in the final assignment, you need to focus
on one or two specific case studies. I use the term case study here to refer to an
examination of a real-world case, including an individual, an institution, a group, a
country, a city, a regulation, a policy or any other entity. The aim of using a case study
is to generate an in-depth, nuanced understanding of a complex issue in its real-life
situations.
Here are some things you could look into (this is not an exhaustive list, and you can
always run your idea by your tutor):
• A tech company;
• A service company;
• A platform;
• A product;
• An urban/ national project;
• A media event;
• An activist or activism, including a whistle-blower/ whistle-blowing act;
• A community/ group;
READINGS FOR THIS REPORT ARE PROVIDED AS WELL. Please use them in the report.
ALL THE READINGS ARE PROVIDED AS PDFs. THANK YOU.
