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Tackling a Real World Challenge: SIPA's Public Policy Case Competition
What will it take to turn around an inefficient and beleaguered state medical claims processing system? That was the problem addressed by the fifteen policy students who competed in SIPA’s Public Policy Case Competition on April 10, 2009. The winning team of Garrett Wright (MIA ’10), Chelsea Gorr (MIA ’10) and Aurora Cardenas (MPA ’09) crafted a solution and took top honors in the contest.
The SIPA Public Policy Case Competition is a case-based, problem-solving competition where policy students tackle a global policy and development challenge. With the increased complexity of policy decisions compounded by globalization, energy constraints, security concerns, and financial instability, there is a significant need to prepare the next generation of policy students to meet these challenges. The annual competition brings together students and consulting practitioners to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Fifteen SIPA students, selected from a pool of more than 50 student applicants, competed in teams of three. Each team was based on its skill-sets, work experiences and consulting acumen. While the competitors came from various academic concentrations, all demonstrated strong analytical, quantitative and presentation skills, along with a desire to make a difference in policy and development through consulting. Representatives from Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Oliver Wyman, Dalberg Global Development Advisors and McKinsey & Company judged the competition.
The winning team’s problem revolved around a real-world challenge faced by the Health and Human Services Department of an East Coast state. The department’s new medical claims processing system was not working as intended – claims from hospitals weren’t getting processed and doctors weren’t getting reimbursed. The winning team proposed to identify the short term constraints with the management team, resolve the immediate claims backlog, redefine the department's vision for sustainability and reshuffle staffing to meet the new vision for sustainability.The team also proposed the department increase short term staff or outsource parts of the operation to handle the immediate backlog of cases. At the same time, the consulting team would work with the department’s existing management to update their communication strategy to stakeholders and redefine the overall expectation for the department.
The second place winner was a team comprising of Nishant Shah (MIA ’10), Arif Kamruddin (MPA ’10) and Alejandro Gomez Palma (MIA ’09). Third place were Andrew Umans (MIA/MBA ’10), Ariane Ortiz (MPA ’10) and Teodora Berkova (MIA ’10).
Read the case here. 
Read the team’s proposed solution here.
Sponsor DAI’s news release on the competition is available here.