Designing a Sustainability Project

Your project for this course is to develop a concrete proposal for responding to concerns about a specific sustainability problem, such as long-term climate change. You will advocate the prioritization of a specific initiative in this written proposal. Your argument must be coherent and well supported, and include appropriate references. The written version should be 4-8 pages (1000 - 2000 words) long and follow the structure outlined below.

Title

The title of your proposal should be descriptive about the specific initiative you propose and the rationale for advocating it.

Opening

You should start the proposal with “thick description” or a story illustrating the need for the project you propose. The figure, image, or story you choose to open the proposal should develop interest in the topic of your proposal and encourage emotional and intellectual engagement with the issue. You should conclude the opening section by articulating what you believe the story or description conveys to prepare for what follows. Keep in mind here and in the concluding section how empirical examples can convey meaning that powerfully supplements abstract ideas.

Aims

Here you should provide a general description of the proposed project and what it is intended to accomplish. You should briefly explain the type of project it is, the type of change that will be mobilized and the target audience. For example, a curriculum development project mobilizing cultural and organizational changes to reach 2nd grade students, or a project to build particular local-level organizations mobilizing behavioral and legal changes in villages in India. Remember that do-able projects have very specific goals.

Rationale

In this section, you should develop an argument that articulates why this particular project should be prioritized. This can include topical importance, potential for success, availability of resources for change, etc.

Logistics

This section describe the specifics of what you intend to do and must address the following questions:

· How will you carry out the project?

· What kinds of expertise will be needed in the project, and what kinds of people can provide the kinds of expertise you will need?

· Where might you be able to secure funding for this project?

· Where will you implement the project, and what factors in this location are likely to affect how the project develops?

· Who are the stakeholders in the project? Do you plan to involve them in project development?

· What other social alliances will facilitate the development, implementation and sustainability of the project?

· What broad social, political, economic and cultural trends will likely affect the project?

· What will create the most significant barriers to effective development of this project?

· How, if successful, will the project provide an effective response to concerns about this sustainability issue?

Closing

You should end the proposal with a “thick description” or story illustrating what could come to be if your proposal was effectively carried out. As in the opening, this should be the kind of story, figure, or image that “sticks with people,” providing provocative “food for thought” in support of your initiative.