March Economic Madness 2021: Prompt 2

Round 2 for finalist teams

Starting the weekend of February 14, 2021, the State of Texas was plunged into a week of bitter cold, snow, and ice that led to disruptions of the power grid, problems with the water supply, issues with access to health care, and many other key problems.

Your assignment:

  • Based on what you have learned about your community to date, note the key problems the community faced or potentially faced during and in the aftermath of the winter storms.  Identify any specific community attributes that would have made this particular community vulnerable to problems or hardships.
  • Describe the specific economic impacts—for the city as a whole and for members of the community—that resulted or could have resulted from the problems and issues you identified.
  • Make a specific proposal for how your community could address one of the critical vulnerabilities you identified so that the community is more resilient in the future.  Explain in detail the resources and time needed to enact your proposal and the benefits that would result.

We are looking for presentations that demonstrate a deep understanding of the uniqueness of the community and a well-thought-out realistic plan for attainable, measurable impact.

Include the following:

  • Title slide
    • Brief presentation title which must include community name
    • List names and colleges/schools of each team member
  • 1 slide with general information about the community, how you conducted your research, and the types of data you collected.
  • 1 slide describing the community vulnerability and problems during and in the aftermath of the winter storms.
  • 1 slide describing the economic impact of the vulnerability/problems.
  • 4-6 slides concerning the following
    • The specific vulnerability or key challenge to be addressed
    • Summary of your proposed plan
    • Benefits or opportunities
    • Costs and sources of funds to cover costs
    • Challenges and how they could be addressed
    • Timeline, short-term and long-term
    • Fit for the community and its long-term strategy for sustainable community development
    • Anticipated community reaction or opposition
  • 1 slide summarizing your recommendations
  • 1 concluding slide, inviting questions

PowerPoint requirements:

  • 10-12 slides.
  • You should be able to deliver your entire presentation, without rushing, in 10 minutes or less.
  • Number your slides.
  • No animation of slides and no embedded media.
  • Slides should be easily scan-able/readable by the audience. We recommend the use of meaningful graphics, font sizes larger than 24 pt, and fewer than 50 words/slide.
  • Including comprehensive notes is important, because your electronic ppt submittal will be used to determine if your team qualifies for oral presentations.  Slide notes should be similar to the words you would speak in delivering the presentation; however, slide notes can be in bulleted format. 
  • Because your ppt file will be displayed on a different computer (not yours), you run the risk of having your slides look different from what you intend.  Read up on how to keep your PowerPoint fonts from changing by embedding fonts. The computer displaying finalist presentations will have PowerPoint 2016.