This course is only available to students enrolled in the Executive Master of Public Administration.

The work-based project will provide students with the opportunity to apply and integrate the skills and knowledge they have gained in other parts of the MPA. The project will be undertaken by teams of up to five students, and will address a substantive public sector issue identified by the ANZSOG faculty or a scholarship sponsor. Students may also identify a project in consultation with ANZSOG faculty. Projects will test the team's ability to define a 'real-life' problem, design a strategy for addressing the problem, gather data, formulate and evaluate options and make recommendations. Students wishing to complete the work-based project alone will need to apply to the ANZSOG faculty for approval and will be allocated a supervisor. The work-based project will conclude with a 2 ½ day residential component, where students will have the opportunity to present the outcomes of their project to ANZSOG faculty and their MPA colleagues.

The assessment is that of a research project, assessed by two academic staff other than the supervisor. The word length is 4000 words per person or equivalent for papers with a substantial empirical component. Syndicate work and interaction time will double the word-equivalent total work commitment.