Harvard is rightfully proud of its leadership in developing case studies as the core for professional education - beginning roughly a century ago with the Law and Business Schools, and later with the Kennedy School, Medical School, and others.

Compared to traditional lectures, teaching cases are engaging. Students have to analyze and work with each other, not simply listen. Cases explore real problems facing real people.

Using the web, we're now offering a new kind of case in a series of contests. In these contests, leaders describe what they are doing about a problem and then ask contest participants for advice about what to do next.

The student submitting the best response will win $1,000.

The practitioner submitting the best response will win a scholarship to an upcoming executive education workshop -- worth roughly $2,000.

This could be a good fit for you -- or your staff. In our first case, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and CIO Teri Takai present their work in shaping a statewide economic development program.

The case itself is engaging. Thinking about the Michigan problem might also shed light on how your own jurisdiction might address similar problems. Finally, you or a student or staff member might be a winner, with your ideas presented and acknowledged on the web and at the March 8-9 workshop.

Here's the case: http://www.3eproject.org/micase

And here's the March workshop: HERE

I hope we hear from you. Feel free to write me back with any questions you might have.

But, please note the January 15 deadline. Tick, tick, tick…

Best,

Jerry