PSCI 2305 Introduction to Public Administration and Policy Government Agency Assignment Each student will select a federal, state, or local government agency to research. The assignment should address the following questions: 1. What is the authorizing legislation creating the agency? 2. What are the leadership positions in the agency? How do the people in these positions get their jobs? Who do these positions ultimately report to? 3. What is the purpose or mission of the agency? 4. What is the organizational structure? (How many units, offices, bureaus and where are they located?) 5. How big is the agency? Annual budget? Number of employees? 6. How is the agency funded? What are its revenue sources? Who provides funding for the agency? 7. Who are the clients of the agency? 8. What specific kinds of services are delivered? How? Direct service? Contracting out to non-profit sector or private sector? 9. What specific kinds of issues, problems, or concerns does the agency have? 10. What is the agencys relationship with other agencies either within the same level of government or at different levels of government? Are there relationships with the non-profit sector and/or private sector? 11. How political is the agency? In other words, does it receive attention from the media, elected officials, and the public? What kind of attention (positive or negative)? 12. What role does this agency play in the public policy process? Format for research project: The research project should be 5-6 pages in length. The report should be written in narrative form with a report title centered at the top of the first page. The paper should have three sections: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. The report should contain a reference page at the end. The three sections should include the following material: Introduction (heading) Identify the agency under study. Summarize the background of the agency and describe briefly why this agency was created (what problem was it created to address or specific client(s) that it was created to serve). Identify any predecessor agencies and their linkage to the agency under study. Body of Paper (For each of the 12 questions, create a heading. For example, a heading for Question #1 could be Authorizing Legislation. The body should consist of answers in narrative form to each of the 12 questions. Conclusion (heading) Briefly summarize the main points of the report. The report should be typed, double-spaced with a 12-point font, 1-inch margins, with each page numbered. A minimum of 5 outside sources is required for this project. All sources used in the research project must be documented on a separate reference page at the end of the paper. Also, direct quotes, close paraphrases, and statistics in the body of the text should be given proper citation using parenthetical references, footnotes, or endnotes. Any questions on the proper citation of sources should be directed to the professor. Failure to properly cite sources could lead to charges of plagiarism. A reference list should be alphabetized by author last name or name of organization. Each reference should be single-spaced with a double space between references. All sources retrieved on-line should contain an accessed on date as well as the URL address. Appropriate Sources: 1) Agency websites most state and federal agencies have websites with a variety of information. 2) Laws creating the agency and describing the agency mission. 3) Agency brochures and pamphlets describing services provided and clients served. 4) Executive and legislative staff organizations summarizing agency programs. 5) Newspaper articles, scholarly journals, and books relating to a particular agency or program within an agency. Helpful websites for government agency research: 1) For a listing of all Arkansas state agencies: https://directory.arkansas.gov/agencies/?_ga=2.27860412.1455063137.1637604660-106149148.1631716694 2) For a listing of all Federal government agencies: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies 3) This website has information on legislative bills, acts, and state agency budget information: State agency research: Arkansas State Legislature: https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ 4) This website has state agency information on budgets, programs, and various research publications (under fiscal information, click on fiscal publications and agency budget summary): State agency research: Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research: https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bureau/Fiscal 5) This website has agency budgets for all executive (cabinet) agencies and some independent agencies. Go to the Presidents Budget FY 2022: Federal agency research: Office of Management and Budget: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget

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