Project Run With It Competition

If you have questions or want to discuss this competition, please post them on the BAP Forums under Competitions

“Project Run With It”
Sponsored by Moss Adams LLP

Purpose/Mission
To further the service Beta Alpha Psi provides to the community and to provide members/candidates with an opportunity to engage in a real-world consulting project.

“Project Run With It” (“PRWI”) involves up to 60 BAP chapter student representatives working together during the annual meeting to develop solutions to real life business problems of actual not-for-profit (NFP) agencies. The students, working in fifteen teams of four, will have the equivalent of approximately one day to develop a formal presentation showcasing their solution to the business issues presented by the NFPs in their “request for proposal” for consulting services. Prior to the meeting, the NFP agencies provide background information and during the meeting are available to answer the participating students’ questions.

How to nominate a chapter member/Requirements of nominees
Each chapter may nominate as many chapter members as they wish, however if more than 60 chapters nominate at least one student, each chapter will be limited to only one participant.

Download 2012 PRWI Nomination Form (MS Word 2007 version .docx)

Download 2012 PRWI Confidentiality Agreement (MS Word 2007 version.docx)

Nominations are due May 1, 2012.

Students interested in being nominated for PRWI are required to:

Complete a 2012 PRWI Nomination Form per instructions on the form.
Complete a Statement of Interest in participating in Project Run With It and submit with the Nomination Form. The statement should be no more than one page and should answer the following questions:
1. Why do you want to participate in PRWI?
2. What skill set will you bring to your team?
3. What is your previous experience with NFPs and/or other community service?
Complete a confidentiality agreement form.
Submit the three required items NO LATER THAN May 1, 2012. Nominations are not accepted until all required items are received.

Once selected to participate, participants should familiarize themselves with the following case projects prior to arrival in Baltimore:

(Cases will be posted in early March)

In the likely event that more than 60 students apply for the competition, the selection criterion will be as follows:

Service to BAP
Grade point average
Major (ideally we would like to have a mix of accounting, finance, and information system majors). Students with declared double majors may use either major for purposes of nomination.
Statement of Interest described above
Affirmative statement by the student of his/her ability to attend the annual meeting and be able to arrive in time for the opening kickoff session.
Timeliness of nomination
The number of chapters that have nominated students

Students will be notified by the faculty coordinator of PRWI as to whether or not they were selected no later than May 30.

Once selected for participation, the participants will be notified which NFP / case study they will be assigned to (they will not know or be told their fellow team members’ identities prior to arrival at the annual meeting).

Competition Details
The participating NFPs will be announced at all the regional meetings and the cases will be posted on the BAP/PRWI website. Once the participating students are identified and notified of their participation, specific information relevant to the issues being presented for the NFPs will be provided to the students.

Note: Students will not be provided their assigned teams until arriving at the annual meeting. Each participant is expected to familiarize him/herself with selected project case prior to the meeting.

The schedule for PRWI participants generally follows this format:

Wednesday – 6p to 9p – General meeting with the NFP representatives. At this time, team assignments will be announced (five teams per project). After meeting with the NFPs, participants begin to work with their team members. Please note that YOU MUST ARRIVE IN BALTIMORE IN TIME TO ATTEND THIS SESSION. Because of the nature of the information provided, you will forfeit your right to participate in PRWI if you fail to show up for this general meeting.
Thursday – Participants work on their projects prior to community service day (CSD). After the CSD, participants will have until 11p to complete their PowerPoint® presentation for delivery to the PRWI coordinators. Each team will be provided a Moss Adams flash drive on Thursday.
Friday – Presentations will be delivered to the judging panels concurrently in three separate rooms starting immediately after the conclusion of the international chapter meeting.

The “case studies” are each written as a Request for Proposal (RFP) and the five competing teams for each NFP will present their proposal much like a consulting firm would (i.e., teams will “pitch” their proposal).

Saturday – Winning teams will be announced at the awards presentation. All PRWI participants are invited, but not required, to stay and meet with judges, including the NFP representatives, for feedback on presentations and recommendations.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT ALL PARTICIPATING STUDENTS ARRIVE INTO BALTIMORE WITH SUFFICIENT TIME TO TRANSIT FROM THE AIRPORT TO DOWNTOWN BALTIMORE (YOU SHOULD ALLOW ONE HOUR FOR TRANSIT, AFTER BAGGAGE PICKUP), CHECK-IN TO THE HOTEL, AND PRWI REGISTRATION. EARLY REGISTRATION FOR PRWI (WHICH WILL INCLUDE CONFERENCE REGISTRATION) WILL BEGIN AT approximately 5:00 PM.

The Judges, General Judging Criteria, and General Guidelines
A first-place team will be selected for each NFP by a panel of judges. The judging panels will consist of a representative from the team’s NFP, an academic representative, and a Moss Adams partner.

Presentations will be judged on the following general criteria:

Relevance to the NFP and their ability to implement the “solution” in the most cost effective way.
Research related to specific issue being addressed.
Professionalism of presentation.

Presentations guidelines are:

Maximum time for team presentations is 12.5 minutes
Additional time(up to 5 minutes)will be provided for follow up Q&A
Business professional attire is requested

The Prizes
Each chapter represented on the first place teams will receive a plaque (which will bear the name of the participating student and chapter) and a $1,000 cash award.

Rewards and Benefits
Students, participating NFPs, faculty advisors, and observers at prior years’ competitions considered PRWI to be intellectually challenging, personally fulfilling, worth the time investment, and resume enhancing. If these benefits sound interesting, Beta Alpha Psi and Moss Adams LLP invite your chapter to nominate up to two students to participate in the PRWI competition.

PRWI 2010 Review
2011 PRWI Video Review

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