Strategic Planning for Critical Infrastructures 506—Strategic Planning Practicum 1

Course Introduction

Strategic Planning Practicum 1 is part of an integrated three-course sequence with Strategic Planning Practicum 2 and 3. The pedagogical approach in this course is problem-based instruction. The main principle underpinning problem-based instruction is that many of the most important lessons that students learn are those that they gain from experience; that is, those that they teach to themselves. This course stresses the importance of making decisions that position you to successfully respond to the challenges presented in this course and in your careers. You will see that is not ability alone that makes us or our organizations successful; it is the choices that we make.

This course uses case-based and problem-based approaches to teach the techniques of planning, decision-making, and analysis common to critical infrastructures. Student learning takes place in applying the knowledge and skills learned in the lesson commentaries of the course and the readings of these cases.
Real situations will be described in which an individual (or group) is faced with a decision that affects the public interest. As you analyze these cases, you will be both learning and applying the processes of strategic and contingency planning, problem solving and problem structuring, systems and policy analysis, and evaluation. In addition, this course will also include an introduction to several federal policies for dealing with disasters, including the National Response Plan or Framework, and the National Incident Management System. An important dimension of this kind of learning is that it hones creative thinking skills and can even improve leadership qualities in individual students. Case-based instruction seeks to advance wisdom rather than (or in addition to) just building knowledge and skills. The techniques you will learn will be applicable to all critical infrastructures and threats.

Course Goals and Objectives

When you have completed this course, you will be able to

• describe the basic steps in the processes of contingency planning, problem-solving, problem structuring, policy analysis, and evaluation;
• analyze the organizational structure and processes in the cases;
• develop conceptual models of the processes involved in the cases presented;
• identify break-downs in communication, coordination, analysis, and leadership in these cases;
• apply and evaluate national policies dealing with response to disasters;
• evaluate "what-if" scenarios based on the cases;
• prepare briefing memos (given various sources of information and scenarios based on the cases) explaining the situation and recommended steps; and
• synthesize relevant information using tables, models, situations, and maps.

Required Readings

Required Textbook

The textbook for this course is

Rosenhead, Jonathan and John Mingers (eds). 2001. Rational Analysis for a Problematic World Revisited: Problem Structuring Methods for Complexity, Uncertainty and Conflict, 2nd edition. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.

Required Articles

You will find  links to the following articles in relevant lessons.

• Christensen, Karen, "Coping with Uncertainty in Planning," Journal of the American Planning Association, 51:1 (Winter 1985), 63–73.
• Kahn, Herman and B. Bruce Briggs. 1972. "A Surprise-Free Projection–The World of the Seventies and Eighties," chap. 3 in Things to Come: Thinking about the Seventies and Eighties, New York: Macmillan.
• Saim, Janet. Seattle Public Utilities, The Electronic Hallway, Seattle: University of Washington, 2001.
• Stokey, Edith and Richard Zeckhauser, A Primer for Policy Analysis. Chapters 9 and 10.
• US National Response Plan (2004) found at the Web site of Homeland SecurityNOAAhttp://www.homelandsecurity.noaa.gov/NRP_FullText.pdf
• US National Response Framework, Draft September 2007 at Web site for National Response Framework, FEMA, US DHS:
  http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-base.pdf
• US National Incident Management System, Draft August 2007 at Web site for National Response Framework, FEMA, US DHS:
  http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-nims.pdf
• The White House. February 2006. Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned.http://www.whitehouse.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned.pdf
• Harvard Kennedy School of Government Case: West Side Highway Proposal. 11/1/1989 authored by Jose Gomez-Ibanez and Laura Roberts. # 876.0
• Harvard Kennedy School of Government Case: Hurricane Katrina (A) Preparing for "The Big One" in New Orleans. 6/19/06 by Esther Scott. # 1843.0

Harvard Kennedy School of Government Cases can be found (and purchased) at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Case Program Web page:
http://www.ksgcase.harvard.edu/search.asp

Technology Requirements

In addition to the general technology requirements outlined in the Online Student Handbook, you must

• allow your browser to accept "cookies;" and
• have the browser's Java and JavaScript features enabled.

You will also need facility with, and access to, software programs found in a standard office suite, specifically word processing and spreadsheet programs. To complete the projects in this course, you'll also need professional presentation software that enables you to develop systems diagrams and flow charts. You may use the draw feature of Microsoft Word or other word processing software that offers the ability to use circles, squares, arrows, and lines leading from one figure to another; the writing of text above, beside, and inside geometrical figures; and the encapsulation of geometrical figures by larger figures.

You may prefer more robust software. Several companies sell cognitive mapping software or software that can be adapted to meet the course requirements. Use your favorite search engine to explore for other cognitive mapping software.

Course Organization

This is a group-start, online course and we will all begin and end together this quarter. The course is organized into eight weekly lessons. There are four individual assignments and three group discussion assignments. Individual assignments are introduced towards the first half of the course and the group discussion assignments towards the latter half. Instructions for each assignment are on the Assignment page for that lesson. The About Your Instructor link on your syllabus contains submission instructions for assignments.

Course Topics

Lesson One

• the nature of planning and problem solving;
• planning for critical infrastructure; and
• nature of problems.

Lesson Two

• evaluating alternatives using benefit-cost analysis;
• evaluating efficiency;
• revenue-cost analysis;
• defining costs and benefits;
• identifying project benefits;
• estimating and putting values on project efforts;
• the role of discounting in benefit-cost analysis; and
• how to choose a discount rate.

Lesson Three

• applying cost-benefit analysis principles to the West Side Highway case; and
• taking into account the political and social aspects of infrastructure decisions.

Lesson Four

• major characteristics of strategic planning;
• roots of strategic planning;
• budget based planning;
• long range comprehensive planning;
• segmentation;
• portfolio analysis and competitive positioning;
• how strategic planning in government and non-profit organizations differs from planning in business organizations;
• the value of strategic planning to organizational management; and
• major pitfalls of strategic planning.

Lesson Five

• major purposes of evaluation;
• multicriteria evaluation;
• pitfalls of multicriteria evaluation, extended example in multicriteria evaluation, interpreting and presenting the results;
• using results to design new alternatives; and
• some techniques used in multicriteria evaluation.

Lesson Six

• scenario building in strategic planning;
• three essential scenario components;
• scenario narratives; and
• steps in developing scenarios.

Lesson Seven

• scenario-building tools and techniques;
• other techniques useful for forecasting futures; and
• contingency planning.

Lesson Eight

• introduction to several national policies dealing with response to national disasters through their application to the Hurricane Katrina disaster;
• basic principles of the National Response Plan;
• basic principles of the National Incident Management System;
• shortcomings of National Response Plan and the National Incident Management System;
• responding to shortcomings through the National Response Framework; and
• failures in strategic thinking and planning in the Hurricane Katrina case.

Lesson Nine

• introduction to decision structuring;
• functionalist systems methodologies;
• interpretive systems methodologies;
• strategic choice approach (SCA);
• the modes of SCA; and
• SCA and uncertainty.

Lesson Ten

• robustness analysis;
• strategic options development and analysis (SODA);
• how SODA works; and
• SODA as a strategic planning aid.

Assignments

The assignments are the principal evidence of your knowledge of and insight into the important materials and issues in the course. There are several types of assignments, but they can generally be grouped as either a group discussion assignment or an individual assignment. Group discussion assignments involve group problem solving and consensus building—skills relevant to the world outside the classroom. You will use the discussion forums (which will be monitored by the instructor) to share information and collaborate about specific aspects of a case or problem.

Individual assignments involve problem solving and short answer questions that you will submit to the instructor. These will involve the application of a specific method or technique to a specific case or to a hypothetical problem identified by the instructor. Some individual work is self-study to help you prepare for future assignments in the course. 

You will need to pace yourself. Though our online discussions do not take place in real time, you need to make time to be available to your teammates. If there are extenuating circumstances that prevent you from fulfilling your team responsibilities, please notify your instructor.

How Do I Submit Assignments?

Your instructor has outlined directions for submitting assignments on the "About Your Instructor" page. You will find a link to this page on your online syllabus.

What is the Policy on Late Assignments?

To earn credit, you must complete all parts of each assignment, including all required reading and exercises, on time.

If unforeseen circumstances prevent you from completing an assignment on time, please contact your instructor before the assignment is due to obtain permission for a late submission. Without such permission, your assignment will not be accepted.

When and How Will You Respond to My Assignments?

Your individual assignments will be returned within two weeks of the time you submit them. Note that your instructor will not be correcting mechanical and/or grammatical errors. As a graduate student, you have a responsibility and obligation to be proficient and correct in your composition. If such errors are extensive or significantly detract from your intent, your paper will be returned ungraded. If you are unable to make appropriate revisions prior to the due date, you will not be given credit for the work. No extensions will be given in such cases.

Personal positions or stances on issues will not affect the score of your paper. What matters is the quality of your reasoning and justification. Your instructor will comment on these critical components.

You will receive feedback on your discussion forum participation via e-mail and discussion postings.

What Are the Discussion Forum Expectations?

Participation in our small group discussions is required. This forum is for us to converse, problem-solve, and communicate ideas and insights. Either the course instructor or someone with particular expertise, designated by the instructor, will monitor and sometimes join in these discussions. It is a form of participation that will be evaluated and graded for each student in the course.

Group activities and discussions are an important component of this course and will take place online. Discussions usually do not take place in real-time and online participants contribute to the “threaded” discussion over several days. Web-based discussion takes time so please plan ahead and be available to your team often.

How Are Discussion Forums Used?

Your instructor will provide structured questions and guidelines for discussion. You are expected to participate by providing thoughtful, substantive answers and also to respond to other students. In other words, engage in meaningful conversation!

Two types of discussion forums will be available: a general discussion forum for ongoing conversation, class news, and so on, and specific discussion forums for group projects. Information for these will be posted on the general discussion forum at an appropriate time.

Links to the discussion forums are on the Online Tools page on the course syllabus.

Note: If you have questions that you don't want to discuss with the entire class, you may contact your instructor directly. For contact information, please see the "About Your Instructor" page on the syllabus.

Your instructor reserves the right to post your direct questions on the general discussion forum if in your instructor's opinion the questions are important or representative enough that the entire class would benefit.

Grades

This is a credit/no-credit course. If your assignments overall are satisfactory, you will receive three graduate credits for this course. You will not receive a numeric grade.

Grading Criteria

Grades on the individual assignments are based on the following:

• addressing all parts of each assignment;
• providing adequate treatment of each part of the assignment; for example, if an item calls for an explanation of factors involved, an answer that lists factors without explaining them will be inadequate;
• relating your work on the assignments to course readings, lessons, or supplementary readings as appropriate; and
• documenting your sources; that is, providing citations to published material, government documents, personal interviews, and so on.

There are no quizzes or final exams in this course.

How Should I Study for this Course?

To be successful in this course, you will need to manage your time and pace yourself. Set aside a period each week exclusively for this course. The earlier you set up your course schedule, the more incentive you have to do well on the work requested.

Please read the texts first and then the lesson commentary. Communicate with your teammates on a frequent, regular basis and do not fall behind. If you are having problems, let the instructor know as soon as possible via e-mail.

Academic Integrity

Students enrolled in this course are required to follow the University of Washington guidelines for academic honesty. Please review the "Academic Honesty Policy" section of the Distance Learning Student Handbook. The link to the handbook is the first item on your course syllabus.

About the Course Developers

Richard L. Ludwig, Ph.D., A.I.C.P., Emeritus Professor of Urban Planning

My teaching and research interests are in the areas of housing, inner city renewal, international urban development policy, and planning methodology. I have served as a consultant to the City of Seattle, the state of Washington, the University of Washington, and other public and private sector clients on housing and community development matters. I am a member of the A.I.C.P. and have presented papers on housing, growth management, environmental concerns, urban finance, and the future of the planning profession at conferences of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the A.P.A., and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, and at several international symposia and expert group meetings. I have also taught in United Nations training courses. I have been a consultant to the United Nations, the World Bank, and other international agencies on more than 30 missions in developing countries and served one year as Senior Research Fellow at the United Nations Centre for Regional Development in Nagoya, Japan. In addition to my teaching duties, I have in the past served as Director of Research for the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, as Associate Director of the University's Center for Comparative Urban Planning and Development, and as Associate Chairman and Acting Chairman of the Department of Urban Planning. I received my Master of Urban Planning from the University of Washington, my Diplome en Urbanisme from the Centre de Researche d'Urbanisme (Paris), and my Ph.D. in Public Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, where I directed two graduate programs before coming to the University of Washington.

Donald H. Miller B.S., M.C.R.P., Ph.D., A.I.C.P., Professor of Urban Design and Planning

I instruct students on urban spatial structure, planning theory and evaluation, consumer behavior, and demand for public services. I have received Mellon Fellowships, Ulrich Fellowships, and National Science Foundation Fellowships for my research in planning, and have presented work at symposia of the American Institute for Planners, the Western Regional Science Association, the Centre for Environmental Studies (London), and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. My published work includes journal articles, contributions to several texts, and several books, including Community Mental Health. I also served as editor of "Plan and Program Evaluation." I am a member and Chairman of the Seattle Planning Commission. I am also a consultant to the State Department of Natural Resources and a member of the A.I.C.P., the A.P.A., and the American Land Resource Association. I have been a member of the University of Washington Department of Urban Design and Planning since 1970, and received my Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley..

---

©2003–2007, University of Washington. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.