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Policy Analysis Exercise

The Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) is the capstone of the Master in Public Policy (MPP) curriculum.

The PAE is a major enterprise, a professional product, usually around 40 pages in length, meant to clarify and address a practical policy or management problem for a real-world client.

It is also an opportunity for second-year MPP students to apply and integrate the technical skills and specialized knowledge they have gained at the Kennedy School.

Throughout their two years, MPP students develop a core of skills, centered around economics, statistics, strategic management, political advocacy and leadership, professional ethics and professsional management.

They also specialize within a specific Policy Area of Concentration (PAC). These PACs represents 13 distinct policy areas students focus on through progressively more advanced classes and research seminars.

Students will choose their PAE topic based on this area of concentration.
Criteria for a successful PAE include not only intellectual rigor but creativity in working with the client to define the problem, designing a strategy for addressing the problem, gathering data, formulating and evaluating options, and making recommendations.

A good client–student relationship is also an important ingredient in a successful project.