In this work, you will develop a learning contract that will summarize your learning objectives for the integration project, as well as the steps by which you will achieve this learning. The development of this contract will be an opportunity to dialogue with the person responsible for your supervision to ensure that you get the most out of this course. The contract should have seven main parts. You are not obliged to respect the structure, the nomenclature of the titles, nor even the order indicated, however the different sections must be found there in one way or another. Refer to Module 3 for detailed instructions. Here is a brief summary of what is expected.

1. Learning objectives Summarize in a few paragraphs your professional and personal objectives, the skills you wish to acquire to achieve them, and translate them into a specific learning goal for the integration project, in particular by mentioning the type of knowledge you wish to acquire.

Example: We want to develop our career towards a position as a strategic planning consultant in the public transit industry. In this sense, we have already acquired a great deal of knowledge and skills, but the way in which we can mobilize all categories of employees around our strategic planning initiatives remains an area for improvement. In this sense, the work that we wish to accomplish within the framework of this integration project is of a conceptual and technical nature, in the sense that we wish to better understand the issues surrounding the participation of employees in strategic planning, as well as the best methods to encourage such participation. Our preliminary research suggests that buy-in from all stakeholders for a strategic plan is enhanced when those stakeholders have participated in the development of the strategy. However, research also seems to indicate that there are many barriers to participation. We want to understand the psychological, social and communicational factors that inhibit or encourage participation as well as the approaches adopted by experts to overcome the obstacles and take advantage of the positive factors.

2. The research topic Indicate the general theme of your integration project from these objectives. The theme will delimit the boundaries of the disciplinary or knowledge field that you will explore. For example, based on the example above. The theme would be strategic planning, but also employee participation in decision-making.

Example: Our integration project will draw on the field of strategic planning, which is a very broad area of knowledge on which many researchers and experts have spoken and for which there are many publications. That said, to narrow our work, we will focus more specifically on the writings that have addressed the issue of employee participation in strategic planning processes. We will complete our exploration by borrowing a few ideas from works that we have identified that address employee participation in decision-making more broadly, without restricting ourselves to strategic planning as such.

3. The formulation of a problem Formulate a particular problem that interests you, in particular in the form of a research question that will guide your work. This problem must highlight a gap between a desirable or expected situation and the reality as you observe it. Given that this course is one of organizational communication, this problem should ideally correspond to a problem of communication.

Example: While one might expect that employees would be happy to be invited to take part in a strategic planning process, our experience shows us that few of them take the time to participate in the consultations organized in the context of such procedures. Among those who participate, it is often difficult to get them to express themselves and formulate their ideas. However, the scientific articles that we have consulted so far (see for example de Haas & Algera, 2002; Riis et al., 2006) indicate that such dialogues with employees lead to a better understanding of the strategy that emerges from them. (compared to cases where the strategy is imposed by senior management) and greater employee buy-in. There therefore seems to be an inconsistency, which leads us to ask the following question: what are the factors that inhibit employee participation in strategic planning processes? By answering this question, we can also identify ways to circumvent these factors, or even identify some that encourage participation.

4. The personal and social relevance of the choice of subject Explain why this theme and this issue are important for you, professionally or personally, but also, perhaps, for your organization, your industry or society in general. In other words, why are you focusing on this question rather than another and why should someone who has your work in their hands read on? You will take up here some elements of your initial objectives, but try to show that this theme and this problem are important not only so that you can acquire skills, but also because they represent real issues.

Example: The development of a strategic plan is increasingly required by financial institutions, governments and other partners with which contemporary organizations do business. Beyond its external expectations, a strategic plan makes it possible to provide a clear and unifying roadmap to all employees and stakeholders, in order to guide collective efforts towards common objectives. However, strategic planning requires identifying the changes in the environment of the organization to which it must adapt, as well as the opportunities to be seized. The participation of as many stakeholders as possible ensures the diversity of points of view necessary to ensure a good understanding of the organization and its environment (Seidl & Werle, 2018). In addition, employee participation allows them to understand and adopt the jointly developed objectives, thus increasing the chances that the strategic plan will translate into concrete actions on the ground (Jger & Kreutzer, 2011).

5. The strategies, tasks and resources planned to carry out the research Describe the strategies, tasks and resources you will need to carry out your research. For example, if you plan to read the books you list in the bibliography (below), interview a resource person, survey your employees, and then hold a workshop with them, then list those steps and explain, for each, how it will help you answer your research question and, more generally, achieve the objectives of the integration project. Identify the materials, people and tools you will need - for example, how will you develop and deliver the survey and will you need permission to hold a workshop at your workplace? 6. The schedule and planning of the work to be done Develop a work plan and a schedule, indicating precisely when you will carry out each step of the integration project.