SPCI 513
Strategic Planning Practicum 3

Introduction

Required Readings

See Required Materials for a list of Harvard Kennedy School Cases required for this course.

This course will continue the application of analytic, strategic, and synthetic methods and techniques to a set of real cases/problems. This final course in the sequence will draw from all content and methods courses in the program, and provide the most in-depth analysis and discussion of cases. It will be different from the other courses in the program in that no new content will be introduced. Instead, each week a new case, or in the case of a multi-part case, a new part of the case will be assigned for reading, group discussion, and individual assignments. Cases will focus on critical infrastructure break-downs to enable students to demonstrate mastery of infrastructure systems as well as decision methods and models. Five separate cases will be examined: a power-grid break-down; a tunnel fire involving air toxics; a terrorism alert: a transportation crisis; and a public health break-down. Communication and leadership skills will be emphasized. Assignments will be a mix of group discussions and individual assignments.

Learning Objectives

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

Develop models of processes in the cases presented that incorporate multiple methods and mastery of infrastructure system content.
Identify more resilient responses to system vulnerabilities discussed in cases
Demonstrate reflective judgment of the performance of leaders and teams in the cases presented
Develop a suite of team leadership practices, and demonstrate them in the group and individual assignments.
Integrating knowledge of methods and content courses through case discussions, and strategy development
More in-depth discussion of cases and presentations

Prerequisite

To enroll in this course, you must have completed SPCI 510, Strategic Planning Practicum 2.

Required Materials

Harvard Kennedy School Cases

Robert D. Behn. 1983. The Shed Load Decision, Case # 698.0
Esther Scott, Herman Leonard and Arnold Howitt. 2004. Almost a Worst Case Scenario: The Baltimore Tunnel Fire of 2001 (A), Case # 1767.0
Almost a Worst Case Scenario: The Baltimore Tunnel Fire of 2001 (B), Case # 1768.0
Almost a Worst Case Scenario: The Baltimore Tunnel Fire of 2001 (C), Case # 1769.0
Kirsten Lundberg and Arnold Howitt. 2002/ Threat of Terrorism: Weighing Public Safety in Seattle, Case # 1648.0
Threat of Terrorism: Epilogue, Case # 1648.1
Howard Husock and Herman "Dutch” Leonard. 1998. Discussing Disaster (A): The Tuen Mun Highway Traffic Jam of September 1995, Case #1433.0
Discussing Disaster (B), Case 1504.0
Discussing Disaster (C), Case # 1505.0
Discussing Disaster (D), Case # 1506.0
Kirsten Lundberg and Arnold Howitt. 2003. When Prevention can Kill: Minnesota and the Smallpox Vaccine Program, Case # 1709.0
When Prevention Can Kill: Epilogue, Case # 1709.1

These cases can be purchased and downloaded from the Harvard Kennedy School's Case Program Web site.

Search for the cases by the name of the case or by the case number.

Lessons and Assignments

Week One: Decision-making in a Power-grid Crisis

This lesson is focused on a NYC 1977 power-grid crisis. It examines the response of the Con Ed systems operator, which includes technical as well as communication and decision making aspects. After reading the short case, students will be asked to post their responses to a series of questions in a group discussion forum to encourage learning from classmates. A follow-up individual assignment calls for an outline of how the system operator should have analyzed the problems and made the decisions./p>

Reading: Shed Load Decision Case, Case # 698.0

Week Two: Baltimore Railroad Tunnel Fire involving Release of Air Toxics

This case focuses on the crisis that ensued from a 2001 freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailing in a tunnel beneath the streets of Baltimore. The accident was complicated by a major water main break flooding the same area with hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. Multiple jurisdictions, public officials and agencies were involved in the response. The case explores the role of the chief executive, Baltimore's mayor, inter-agency conflicts and cooperation, and decision-making under stress.

Reading: Almost a Worst Case Scenario: The Baltimore Tunnel Fire of 2001 (A), Case # 1767.0

Week Three: Continuing Discussion of the Tunnel Fire

Reading: Almost a Worst Case Scenario: The Baltimore Tunnel Fire of 2001 (B), Case # 1768.0

Week Four: Continuing Discussion of the Tunnel Fire

Reading: Almost a Worst Case Scenario: The Baltimore Tunnel Fire of 2001 (C), Case # 1769.0

Week Five: To Cancel or Not the Millennium Celebration in Seattle

This case focuses on the December 1999 threat that Seattle public safety officials faced after an Algerian man was arrested trying to cross the US border from Canada in a car with a trunk full of explosives apparently headed to blow up the Space Needle. The case explores the conflicts between various levels of government, including the FBI and local Police as they consider whether to cancel millennium celebrations or not.

Reading: Threat of Terrorism: Weighing Public Safety in Seattle, Case # 1648.0

Week Six: Communications and Coordination Errors Compound a Disaster

This week we discuss the epilogue of the Seattle case, and begin a multi-part case involving a series of decisions lead to Hong Kong's worst traffic jam. This case focuses on communication and between and within government agencies, as well as between local officials and communities they serve. It demonstrates how an off-hand comment from a public official can aggravate a situation, and explores what to do to quell public reaction.

Readings: Threat of Terrorism: Epilogue, Case # 1648.1

Discussing Disaster (A): The Tuen Mun Highway Traffic Jam of September 1995, Case # 1433.0

Week Seven: Continuing Discussion of Tuen Mun Highway Case

Reading: Discussing Disaster (B), Case # 1504.0

Discussing Disaster (C), Case # 1505.0

Week Eight: Continuing Discussion of Tuen Mun Highway Case

Reading: Discussing Disaster (D), Case #1506.0

Week Nine: When Prevention can Kill: Minnesota and the Smallpox Vaccine Program

After 9/11 the US began to take seriously bioterrorism threats. This case focuses on the state of Minnesota's response to a prevention strategy geared to prepare the country to deal with the use of smallpox as a bioterrorist weapon. The case explores the operational and political issues arising from the Federal policy requiring a core group of health workers to be inoculated with the small pox vaccine, which carries potentially serious risk. The case highlights the complexity of protecting the public from non-traditional weapons, and the trade-offs that need to be considered.

Reading:When Prevention can Kill: Minnesota and the Smallpox Vaccine Program, Case # 1709.0

Week Ten

When Prevention Can Kill: Epilogue, # C15-03-1709.1

Grading

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.

Weighting of Assignments

The components of the course are weighted as follows:

Component	Points
Nine individual assignments, seven points each	63
Participation in nine discussion forums, 4 points each	36
Free point	1
Total	100 points

Grading Criteria

Half of the grade for each of the assignments, both group discussion and individual assignments, will be based on addressing the issues posed by the questions, and half on the quality of the response. Make sure that you respond to all of the questions or issues posed by the assignments.

Instructor will provide feedback on individual assignments, but will respond to the group discussion postings as a whole. Instructor will provide students with their mid-term grades based on individual and group assignments during mid-term week.

How to Submit Assignments

Please see the About Your Instructor page for assignment submission instructions.

Late Assignments

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

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./p>

About the Course Developer

Hilda Blanco is a Professor and Chair of the Urban Design and Planning Department at the University of Washington. She obtained her Masters (1984) and Ph.D. (1989) degrees in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. Her professional experience in public planning includes work for the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, the New Jersey Office of State Planning, and the NY and NJ Port Authority, as well as various national and international research grants and consultancies. Prof. Blanco specializes in planning theory, including systems analysis and strategic planning. Her book, How to Think about Social Problems (1994), and several articles in professional journals focus on the planning process. She is an expert in state growth management programs and teaches graduate courses in infrastructure and local finance.

The development of this course was a collaborative project. Most of the lessons of this course used much material from Ted Lewis's PowerPoint lectures, which he graciously made available. In addition, the lessons on the power grid also were developed with the assistance of Profs. Chen-Ching Liu (Electrical Engineering, UW) and Jacques Lawarree (Economics, UW); the lesson on energy was developed with the assistance of Duane Henderson from Puget Sound Energy; the lesson on airports was developed with the assistance of Prof. Joe Mahoney (Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW) and the lesson on ports was developed by Dr. Ed McCormack (Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW)

SPCI 513

SPCI 513 Strategic Planning Practicum 3