Master of Science in Economic Development & Entrepreneurship Online

EDE 6359 Project Proposal Guidelines

The following is the catalog description of the course.

EDE 6359 Economic Development and Entrepreneurship Project

Cr. 3. (0-3) Must be within 9 hours of graduation

The course is designed to allow students to apply knowledge and skills learned throughout the program to a specific project. Students will be required to complete a project that has an economic development focus, entrepreneurship focus, or both. The project will be approved by the course instructor and graduate program director prior to registration for the course.

When the Master of Science in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship (MSEDE) program was designed by the team of practitioners and academics, the overall consensus was that the program should contain a hands-on project where the student could apply the knowledge and skills learned in the program. EDE 6359 is designed to fulfill this objective.

EDE 6359 will require the student to complete a project that has an economic development focus, entrepreneurship focus, or both. The project will be selected by the student and should make a significant contribution to the economic or entrepreneurial well-being of his or her community. The project will require the student to utilize the skills and knowledge gained in the MSEDE program. Completing the project will require a minimum of 130 hours spread over the entire semester. Because the project is a semester-long, it is important that the student begin with a clear understanding of what is required to successfully complete the project. Consequently, the student must have a formal project proposal completed and approved by the course instructor and the graduate program director before registering for the class.

The student is encouraged to contact and work with local economic development organizations, community leaders, non-profit organizations, business owners, government agencies etc. to solicit projects. The following list is presented to stimulate the student’s creative juices and is not intended to be the list that students must choose from. If you find something on the list, however, feel free to pursue preparing a proposal.

Examples of potential projects:

Establish an angel network for your community
Initiate entrepreneurship education in the schools in your community
Work with community leaders to establish a economic strategic plan (the actual plan would probably take longer than a semester to complete, but you could develop the process)
Work to develop a regional strategic plan (the actual plan would probably take longer than a semester to complete, but you could develop the process)
Work with bankers, foundations, community leaders to establish a micro-lending program
Establish a entrepreneur support network
Develop a business attraction marketing program for your community or neighborhood
Establish a program to encourage minority entrepreneurship.
Participate in a business plan competition.
Start a business.

In summary:

To be eligible to register for EDE 6359, the student must (1) be within 9 hours of completing the program (i.e. EDE 6359 and two other courses) and (2) have his/her written proposal approved. If you have questions about the proposal, contact Dr. David Summers at summersd@uhv.edu.

Special Note: For the spring 2009 semester, the proposal must be completed and submitted to the course instructor no later than December 15, 2008.

Project proposal:

General project requirements:

The student must submit the proposal on or before the proposal due date and have formal approval before registering for the course.
The student must devote a minimum of 130 hours to the project (excluding preparation time for the proposal). A time-log will be required.
Each project must have at least one, and preferably two people, other than the course instructor who will evaluate the student’s performance. Therefore, it’s recommended that the student coordinate his/her project through a local agency, organization, interest group, etc.
The student must submit a final project report. The format and due date will be provided on the course homepage after the semester begins.

The student should use the following outline to prepare the proposal.

Note: The content of the proposal should be single-spaced and proper citations included where appropriate. APA citation format is required. Please provide page numbers.

EDE 6359
Project Proposal Outline

Cover Page
Abstract (150 to 200 words maximum) – The abstract should include a brief description of the project, value to the community, and expected outcomes.
Table of Contents
Section 1
1. Description of the problem(s) to be addressed.
2. How your project will solve the problem(s).
3. Specific expected outcomes.
4. Initial assumptions made about your project.
5. Project limitations.
6. Name, address, and phone number of any agency, organization, etc. that the student will work with.
7. Name(s) and brief biography of one person, and preferably two people, who will be able to evaluate the success of your project.
Section 2 – Theoretical justification for the project. This should include a literature review to support the process, validity, and value of your project. (from one to two pages) For example, it you were doing a project to introduce entrepreneurship education into the public schools, this section would provide a literature review supporting why entrepreneurship education at the K-12 level is valuable to economic development and/or business creation.
Section 3 - Procedures. This section should include a description of the projected major activities and activity timetable for completing the project. Following the introduction of entrepreneurship into K-12 education example, this section would indicate the major activities such as contact school superintendent, pick curriculum, train faculty, start a pilot class, etc.
Section 4 - Evaluation. This section should include the specific measurable expected outcomes. In other words, specify how you will evaluate the success of your project. Continuing the above example outcomes such as school board approval for the education curricula and course offering, actually delivering a pilot class, etc would be measures of outcomes.
References.