Case Writing Competition 2023/24

CSU case competition

The LKYSPP CASE WRITING COMPETITION aims to provide students with the opportunity to showcase their ability to apply public policy knowledge through the writing of public policy case study concerning contemporary issues in Asia. The Case Writing Competition (“Competition”) is organised by the LKYSPP Case Study Unit (“Organiser”).

Prizes

Each winning entry will receive a cash prize of $4,000 for Distinguished winners, $2,000 for Merit winners and prize certificate from the LKYSPP.

Competition Timeline

StageTimeline

Launch of 2023/24 LKYSPP Case Writing Competition

1st August 2023

Deadline for competition registration

31st August 2023

Deadline for submission of Case Study

29th December 2023

Announcement of Winning Entries

1st March 2024

An award ceremony will usually be arranged following the announcement of the winning entries. The date and arrangements for the award ceremony will be at the sole discretion of the Organiser.


Eligibility

  • The competition is open to all students from Singapore Public Universities in all degree-awarding programmes, including Bachelors, Masters and PhD programmes.
  • Eligible students can participate individually or as a team of up to 3 members.
  • Each team may consist of members from any discipline or programme, but they must be all from the same institution.
  • Participants may choose to complete their entries under the supervision of a faculty member (Faculty Advisor) at their university. Participants are responsible for identifying and securing the agreement of their Faculty Advisor.


Competition Registration

Interested participants must register here. Registration is open from 1st August 2023 until 31st August 2023. The Registration Form includes a Case Brief that should contain the following information:

  • Details of Participants (name, email address and programme enrolled in)
  • Name of Faculty Advisor (must be a faculty member or research staff at the individual’s/team’s institution)
  • Working title of Case Study (may be subsequently amended in the case study entry)
  • Synopsis of Case Study (not more than 150 words)
  • Potential teaching points of the Case Study


Submission Requirements

  • The case study entry may be on any topic in any country in Asia. The case should be related to public policy based on a real-life situation.
  • Interested participants must first register for the Competition and submit a Case Brief for the proposed case study by the stipulated deadline. Please refer to the Competition Timeline below.
  • The case study entry must be in English and be an original work that has not been submitted elsewhere.
  • The case study entry must abide by the NUS Code of Student Conduct on Academic, Professional and Personal Integrity.
  • The case study should not exceed 5,000 words (in A4 pages, single-spaced, excluding Exhibits/Annexes). It should be submitted in the Case Study Format, and comply with the LKYSPP Case Writing Technical Guidelines. The case study should also be accompanied by a short Abstract (200 words Max) and a Teaching Notes. The Teaching Note should be submitted in the Teaching Note Format.  
  • All sources used in the case study should be appropriately cited using the Chicago Manual of Style.
  • All case study entries must be submitted here by the stipulated deadline.


Judging Criteria

The judging panel will consist of faculty members from LKYSPP. The competition judges will evaluate the case study entries based on the following criteria. The decision of the judges shall be final.

Criteria Considerations

Justification and contextualisation

- Explains the problem and why it is important to understand

-Specifies the objective and scope of the case study

- Presents the background and context of the issue

Analysis

- Informative, provides sufficient and accurate details for readers to understand the issue objectively

- Examines multiple dimensions of the problem

- Makes persuasive arguments, selects and interprets relevant evidence

- Accounts for different perspectives, interests and stakeholders

- Considers a range of policy options, possible consequences, strengths and weaknesses

Writing

- Logically organised, appropriate headings

- Clear, articulate expression

- Accurate language, eg grammar, spelling, punctuation

- Avoids jargon, explains technical concepts and terminology

- Professional tone, eg third person, neutral, direct, concise

- Clear well-paced narrative, engages the reader

- Follows technical guidelines, eg citation, formatting, word count

- Appropriate use of visual aids and appendices, where relevant

Usefulness for teaching

- Leaves room for readers to analyse and draw conclusions

- Provides scope to discuss public policy concepts, policymaking processes

- Versatile, lends itself to variety of topics and courses

- Discussion questions aim at different levels of learning (Bloom's)

Intellectual Property

  • The Participant/s retain/s full copyright of the case study entered for the Competition.
  • The Organiser reserves the right to use, reproduce, publish, print, edit and distribute any case study submitted for the Competition without obtaining further prior permission and payment of any fees or royalty to the Participant/s.
  • Where any case study of a Participant/s is published by the Organiser, the Participant/s will be credited.
  • The Organiser reserves the right to use, reproduce, publish, print, edit and distribute the names of the winning participants and photographs of any event associated with the Competition.

Case Preparation and Resources

For any enquiries, please email the Organiser (decb64_bGt5c3BwY2FzZUBudXMuZWR1LnNn_decb64).

FAQ

S/N Questions and Answer

Q1

Can I be in more than 1 team?

Answer 1

No, 1 entry per person.

Q2

Can I send in more than 1 submission?

Answer 2

Nope, 1 entry and 1 team per person.

Q3

Are we allowed to change team members after the competition starts?

Answer 3

Yes. Please send an email to notify CSU and provide details of changes.

Q4

Are cross-faculty teams eligible to join the competition?

Answer 4

Yes, as long as the team members are affiliated to the same institution and have valid student IDs.

Q5

One of my team members is not from the six Public Universities. Can we still participate?

Answer 5

No, the competition is only open to students from the six Public Universities. Eligible students can participate individually or as a group of up to 3. Members of the team must be from the same institution. Each team may consist of members from the same discipline/education level or a variety of disciplines/education levels.

Q6

I am an international exchange student at one of the six Public Universities. Am I able to join the competition?

Answer 6

Yes, as long as you have a valid student ID during registration.

Q7

What is the role of the Faculty Advisor for the competition?

Answer 7

While participants are not required to have a Faculty Advisor, the Faculty Advisor can help by providing advice on scoping and writing the case study. Participants should seek the faculty member’s agreement, before including him/her as a Faculty Advisor in the competition registration. Although CSU does not require any specific mode of engagement with the Faculty Advisor (e.g. frequency of discussions/meetings), participants are highly encouraged to discuss the scope and writing approach with the Faculty Advisor, and seek the Faculty Advisor’s feedback on the case study before submitting it.

Q8

Can the Faculty Advisor be someone outside of the institution?

Answer

No, the Faculty Advisor must be a faculty member or research staff (e.g. Research Fellow) at the individual’s/ team’s institution.

Q9

Can CSU help to assign me/my team a Faculty Advisor?

Answer 9

Participants are responsible for identifying and securing the agreement of their Faculty Advisor. Participants often approach faculty members who are currently teaching them, or who have expertise in areas similar to their case study topic.

Q10

Are we allowed to change topic after submitting our registration form?

Answer 10

Yes, you can change the topic. However, it must be done at least 1 month before the closing date. However, it is not encouraged, and the new topic has to be reviewed and accepted by CSU. Please send an email to notify CSU and provide details of changes.

Q11

Are we allowed to change the case study title after submitting our registration form?

Answer 11

Yes, you can change the title. However, it must be done at least 1 month before the closing date. Please send an email to notify CSU and provide details of changes.

Q12

Will there be any confirmation of our registration?

Answer 12

Yes, CSU will send an email to confirm your registration within 1-2 days after registration closes.

Q13

Could I make a comparison between 2 to 3 countries? And if so, could one of the countries be outside Asia (as long as there is at least one Asian country)?

Answer 13

Yes, you may, although the main focus must still be on contemporary issues in Asia.

Q14

Can we start working on our case study after submitting our registration form?

Answer 14

Yes, you may, but please note that CSU may provide feedback on the scope of your proposed case study. Such feedback, if any, will usually be provided within a week of receiving your registration.

Q15

I have a case study written for another purpose previously. Can I submit it for the competition?

Answer 15

Yes, you can, provided the case study is an original work that has not been submitted and/or published elsewhere. In situations where the case study was written for a specific purpose (eg. for use in a university module), participants should seek the agreement of the faculty member/person-in-charge before submitting it for the competition.

Q16

Could we ask for a registration/case submission deadline extension?

Answer 16

No, please adhere to the competition deadline. Changes, if any, to the competition registration and/or entry submission deadlines are at the sole discretion of CSU.

Q17

If my entry did not win, can I submit the case study in another competition?

Answer 17

Yes, you can, but please do so only after the competition results have been announced, i.e. your entry should not be submitted for another competition at the same time. Please refer to the Intellectual Property paragraph for details.

Q18

What topic area does my entry fall into?

Answer 18

Select the topic area that best represents your case. If CSU feels that another topic area is more appropriate, we will recommend changes.

Q19

Can I interview someone who was involved in situation that I’m writing about in the case study?

Answer 19

Yes, having a real-life perspective from someone directly involved in the situation can enrich your case study. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that you obtain your interviewee’s agreement to be identified and quoted in the case study which may be subsequently made publicly available.

Q20

When will winners be notified?

Answer 20

Please refer to the competition timeline for details. Winners will also be informed by email.