Free public policy personal statement example (downloadable)

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Published: 5th July 2019
Word count: 800 words
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As a researcher, I have a working knowledge of public policy. I know for a fact that issues which we face everyday are directly linked to the workings of public policy. Poverty at its most basic level (for instance parents living in the streets giving away their children), or the lack of response to calamities such as the Super Typhoon Yolanda, or the legislators’ insistence of allocating pork barrel into the national budget, or the failure to curb graft and corruption both in and out of government-these can all be traced to the workings of public policy.

As a researcher, I came to understand that no other course has a deeper link to the directions which a nation takes than public policy. And as a researcher, I came to understand that no other course has a better understanding of a nation’s growth and development than public policy. This encouraged my resolve to apply into the PhD Public Policy program of the Johnson-Shoyama School of Public Policy.

In the course of my application, I intend to specialize in budgetary policy. This will give me a deeper understanding of why a certain sector of society gets much more and another gets very little in the share of government resources, even at the expense of justice and fairness. For example, in the Philippines, government employees get very large bonuses while the government could barely build roads and bridges in the countryside that are crucial in alleviating the plight of small farmers.

My intent is to analyze the politics and policy making process involved in a country’s national budgetary system within the context of a parliamentary government and with its own particular institutional characteristics and leadership processes.

Why? The budget is generally considered the most important piece of legislation adopted each year. It is the main ingredient in the conduct of fiscal policy. It is also the master plan of government around which revolves the central political question ‘who gets what, and how’? It reflects a government’s social and economic policy priorities more than any other document, and translates policies, political commitments, and goals into decisions where funds should be spent and how funds should be collected. It is likewise indicative of ongoing political dynamics, a mechanism by which political coalitions bargain over conflicting goals, make side-payments, and try to push one another to accomplish their objectives.

Likewise, better understanding of the budgetary process of any government would ably contribute to avoiding a budgetary impasse or a fiscal cliff in which conflicting interests of ‘stakeholders’ result to a non-passage of the National Budget law.

MY TENTATIVE RESEARCH STATEMENT

This early, I have already a tentative research statement, subject to changes depending on how it will develop with research advisers. My tentative research statement is as follows:

The main research problem of this study is to determine what factors (or variables) has the greatest impact on a country’s national budget, and how do they affect funding allocation of certain areas of concern.

The research objectives of this study are identified as follows:

To examine the dynamics of the budgetary process. This will be either an entire country or a particular state or province.
To determine the priority areas of certain ‘key players’ in the budgetary process. These groups include political parties, lobby groups, or perhaps individual Members of Parliament.
To propose mechanisms that will generate greater harmony and cooperation among ‘key players’ or ‘stakeholders’ in the budgetary process, with the end-in-view of producing a national budget that favors the real priorities of the country as well as avoid a budgetary impasse or a ‘fiscal cliff.’
To determine which group or sector dominates in the national budget process, and how to they dominate.
To pinpoint budgetary reforms which are needed for the growth and development of the country or state or province where the research is conducted.

Overall, this study seeks to contribute to a more systematic understanding of an important policy – the national budget. The policy process of the national budget has been little studied in the past. The importance of this approach has been overlooked unlike the economic and business approaches wherein there are many studies.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS AND HOW TO ADJUST TO SUCH LIMITATIONS

Given limited time and resources, this study can be limited as follows, upon consultation with the adviser: 1) A particular sector in government, such as Health, Education, Defense, Public Works, Transportation, etc; 2) A particular local government, such as the Ontario Provincial Government, the Saskatchewan Provincial Government, a city or town in Saskatchewan such as Saskatoon, etc; and/or 3) A combination-a particular sector in a particular local government.

CERTAIN KEY CONCEPTS

The key concepts in this study are: 1. National budget; 2. Budgetary laws, policies, and politics; 3. The parliamentary system of government; 4. Stakeholders involved in the national budget.

Why this example works — strengths and ways to improve

This PhD statement shows genuine concern about budget politics, anchored in Philippine examples, and offers an unusually concrete tentative research plan. However, you never evidence your research experience, methods or prior study, and several claims are sweeping. The project lacks a defined question, case and method, and its fit with Johnson-Shoyama is asserted rather than explained.

Subject motivation

government employees get very large bonuses while the government could barely build roads

This Philippine contrast is your most convincing motivation because it links budget allocation to fairness for small farmers. The opening, by contrast, relies on lists and absolutes like 'no other course', which sound rhetorical. Explain what you personally observed or studied that moved you from general concern to budgetary policy.

Academic preparation

As a researcher, I have a working knowledge of public policy.

You repeat 'as a researcher' three times but never say what research you did, where, with what methods or findings. For a doctoral application this is the central gap. Name degrees, projects, publications, data or methods you have used, and show how they prepare you for budget analysis.

Evidence and reflection

The policy process of the national budget has been little studied in the past.

This claim is risky: budgetary politics has a substantial literature. Without citing scholars or debates, it suggests limited engagement with the field. Reflection on why budgets matter is generic textbook description; engaging specific frameworks would demonstrate the analytical maturity a PhD panel looks for.

Relevant experience

No concrete experience appears: no job, fieldwork, government role or study is described, despite references to typhoon response, pork barrel and corruption. These examples read as public issues rather than things you worked on. Even modest research or professional involvement, described specifically, would strengthen credibility considerably.

Credibility and voice

I know for a fact that issues which we face everyday

Certainty phrases like this, plus the goal of proposing mechanisms for 'greater harmony' among stakeholders, overreach for a proposal not yet scoped. Your voice is earnest, but small errors ('result to', 'how to they dominate', 'has the greatest impact') undermine precision. Measured claims and careful proofreading would read as more scholarly.

Structure and format

a particular state or province.

The headed proposal sections are useful, but the scope stays undecided between national, provincial or city budgets, which also strains the 'national budget' and parliamentary framing. The Ontario and Saskatchewan options hint at fit, yet you never explain why Johnson-Shoyama, its faculty or the Canadian context suit your question.

What you’ve done well

The Philippine bonus-versus-rural-infrastructure example gives a concrete, values-based reason for studying budget allocation.
You present a tentative research problem, objectives and limitations, showing awareness that doctoral work needs scoping and supervision.

How this draft could improve

Replace the repeated 'as a researcher' claims with specific evidence of your prior research, methods and qualifications.
Narrow the project to one case and question, name a method, and situate it within existing budgetary politics literature.
Explain why Johnson-Shoyama specifically fits your project, and proofread grammar to support your scholarly voice.

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Public policy personal statement example