The aviation industry has no shortages of problems and challenges that require new thinking and innovative solutions. For this assignment, investigate a struggling airport or spaceport of any size (as long as there is enough public information for this assignment) using various sources of financial data (airport annual reports, FAA CATS forms 226 and 127, ARN Factbook, etc.). Then, think through what the financials are telling you about the airport’s business model, review any airport Vision Plans, Business Plans, Economic Plans, or other sources that may add insight into what their business plan is. Briefly describe the logic you used to select the airport and assume the business plan.
Next, using the ‘symptomatic’ financial information you used to select your airport, trace a possible root cause for the airport’s financial position. Describe the problem you identified. Use your creative thought process to think about the global, national, regional, or local nature of the problem and if it is due to financial, economic, regulatory, operational, infrastructure, environmental, demand, and/or other causes. With this information and additional research about emerging management methods, technology, organizational structures, regulations, operations, procedures, etc., create a possible innovative idea to address the root cause of the problem you found.
The intent of this assignment is to document your logical thought process to identify a financial problem and find the root cause for the problem. Your idea should be reasonable and presented as if you were seeking investment funding, a grant, or approval to go ahead with it.
Your paper should be a risk-based, data-driven, professional submission that considers potential safety and security consequences and clearly explains how your idea may address your problem, as well as any other positive spin-offs. Evaluate your approach, funding, regulations, community engagement, technologies, etc., and provide any graphics, references, previous attempts, and information that decision-makers would need to support your concept proposal. Be sure to identify any assumptions, estimations, or educated guesses you made in the paper.
Paper Content
The following contents will be included in the concept paper:
Title: Your title should be easy to understand and accurately reflect what you are attempting to do.
Introduction: This section provides an overview of your ideas. It is typically one paragraph (three or four sentences) and summarizes the key points of your idea/solution. It should include a sentence stating what support you are seeking and why, and another that identifies the main purpose of the project. The introduction should be very compelling, clear, and to the point. Do not use abbreviations or jargon.
Rationale: Briefly describe the problem you seek to address, the market you hope to serve, and the importance of the issue. Do not assume that your audience understands the situation. Provide enough detail to substantiate your proposal, including statistical or comparative data and qualitative information. Discuss other efforts to solve the problem and how your proposal will fill a gap in services or knowledge. If you are proposing a national project, use evidence that supports a national emphasis. If your project is local or regional, you might discuss both the national and local trends and data. In making your case, begin with broad ideas and then bring it home with a rationale that addresses your targeted area specifically. Include any assumptions you make in your paper.
Organization: Include a brief paragraph that describes what skills and expertise will be needed to implement your proposal.
Project Description: Briefly describe the proposal. Focus on goals versus specific objectives. Include statements that address innovation or uniqueness in your approach. Describe the compelling reasons to fund this work at this time. Give time frames for implementation and describe any agencies that will be important when implementing your proposal. Include a brief statement about how your proposal will be evaluated for success.
Budget: A concept paper does not typically need a full budget. Include a general statement that gives the total expected expenditure and the main use and source of the fund (if known).
Infographic: Include an infographic that quickly conveys the central concept of your idea.
Summary: Close your concept paper with a summary statement that reiterates the importance of the project and the impact your proposal will have.
The paper should be 3 – 5 pages in length, demonstrating awareness of audience, purpose, context, genre, and medium as well as awareness of discipline and industry-specific conventions. The paper should be written using APA formatting. The use of Excel spreadsheets and/or Infographics that quickly convey the central concept of your paper is encouraged.
Resources
https://www.usaid.gov/gda/aps-2020-2022/concept-paper-template
https://www.usaid.gov/results-and-data/progress-data/transparency
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-C/section-200.206
