Avoid this
- Treating the issue as simple or one-sided
- Ignoring people who disagree
- Making a recommendation without evidence
High school project idea · Law, Policy & Society
If You Were in Charge...
Take the role of a real decision-maker and make a tough community call using evidence and leadership.
Leadership means making decisions when every option has tradeoffs.
Original Compass project by Davisville LabsReviewed August 2026Goal real work, evidence, and reflectionEditorial standards →
Why this project matters
Learn by doing something real.
Public decisions are harder than they look. Leaders must balance limited budgets, competing needs, public opinion, fairness, tradeoffs, and long-term consequences. This project helps students understand how policy decisions actually work by placing them in the role of a mayor, school board member, city planner, or community leader who must make a realistic decision and explain it clearly.
What you will create
Your project plan
Use these deliverables as milestones for If You Were in Charge.... Adapt the details to your interests, available time, and real-world opportunities.
- 01
Decision-Maker Role Brief
Choose a public role, such as mayor, school board member, city planner, governor, judge, or community leader, and explain what decision you must make.
- 02
Community Problem Analysis
Research the issue, explain why it matters, and identify the people, institutions, rules, budgets, or systems involved.
- 03
Stakeholder & Tradeoff Map
Identify who is affected, what each group may want, where interests conflict, and what tradeoffs make the decision difficult.
- 04
Policy Options Brief
Develop several realistic options and compare their strengths, weaknesses, costs, fairness, feasibility, and likely consequences.
- 05
Leadership Decision Case Study
Publish a portfolio-ready case study explaining the role, problem, options, recommendation, reasoning, feedback, and reflection.
Make the work stronger
What separates a finished project from a meaningful one?
For If You Were in Charge..., use these checkpoints to protect the quality of the work without turning the project into a performance for admissions.
Evidence that it is working
- A public decision-maker role was chosen
- A real community problem was researched
- Stakeholders and tradeoffs were mapped
If you want to go further
- Interview someone affected by the issue
- Watch or attend a local government or school board meeting
Skills you can build
Capabilities that travel beyond this project.
LeadershipCritical ThinkingCivic ReasoningCommunicationEthical Judgment
College application value
Use the project as evidence, not decoration.
Demonstrates leadership, initiative, civic engagement, analytical thinking, communication, empathy, problem solving, and the ability to evaluate competing priorities before making a decision.
LeadershipCivic EngagementAnalytical ThinkingCommunicationResponsibility
The goal of If You Were in Charge... is not to manufacture an impressive activity. Do real work, keep evidence of the process, and reflect honestly on what changed.
Related college majors
Which fields connect to this work?
Use If You Were in Charge... as a clue, then open a related major guide to compare coursework, career directions, reality checks, and other ways to test the field.
How this guide was made
Read editorial standards →If You Were in Charge... is an original Compass educational starting point designed around real work, visible evidence, feedback, and reflection. It is not an admissions guarantee.
Ready to build it?
Try this project in Compass