4.c. DMin Project Options

• There are several ways to frame the final DMin Project. In general, the final project should be “a
  written project that explores an area of ministry related to the student’s vocational calling,
  utilizes appropriate research methodologies and resources, and generates new knowledge
  regarding the practice of ministry” (from the ATS Standards).
  Here are the guidelines from Iliff’s DMin student handbook:
  The D.Min. Project should normally be about 75 pages in length, and no longer than 100
  pages in length (double-spaced in Times New Roman font). The project should reflect a
  serious and significant process of framing a question, developing a research method and
  apparatus, collecting data, and analyzing that data to draw effective integrative
  conclusions.
  D.Min. Projects will vary from student to student, but all projects in the D.Min. in
  Prophetic Leadership will typically share these characteristics:
• Grounded in the practice of ministry, contextually defined;
• Rooted in the study of religion and culture, and attentive to complex analysis of
  religious, cultural, and material realities;
• Concerned with the nature and function of leadership;
• Attentive to complex analysis of context, including religious, cultural, and
  material realities at play;
• Reflective of contemporary, responsible scholarship in the student's field(s) of
  study;
    The DMin Project is a significant project that furthers the student’s own professional
  work and is informative for others undertaking the same kind of work. It should be
  grounded in prior published research and inquiry, and designed to address constructively
  a particular problem or challenge. 

Many approaches to the final project are possible. Any that involve research with human
subjects or communities require IRB permission. Here are some approaches that could work
well:

1. Undertake Qualitative or Quantitative Research of Relevance to One’s Ministry Context

a. Articulate the presenting problem and a well-developed research question.
b. Engage in contextual and theoretical analysis of the problem.
c. Review literature of existing related studies to the problem.
d. Articulate a coherent method for your research and design and complete a process of
data gathering.
e. Engage in data analysis to articulate research findings.

f. Name implications of the analysis of the research for the problem as presented and as
potentially relevant to other contexts.

2. Development of a Contextually-Based Performance Ethnography or Collaborative
Artistic Production (theater, storytelling, spoken word, music, dance, filmmaking)
a. Identify a problem that a specific community is struggling with in consultation with
members of that community.
b. Engage in participant observation, interviews, focus groups or other forms of data-
gathering to understand in-depth what is happening in relation to the problem.
c. Review relevant literature and existing research with regards to the particular problem.
d. Drawing on the data and literature review, design and implement a process to
collaboratively create and produce an artistic production that communicates the problem
and potential constructive responses to it to a relevant audience.
e. Engage in assessment/analysis of the reception of the event, identifying any potential
changes it may have generated.
f. Reflect on the process of collaborative art production and what learnings it might
suggest to other contexts struggling with similar problems.

3. Consulting on a Strategic Visioning Project
a. Work with an organization/congregation for which you are not the current leader
in which you design a process that allows that entity to address a significant
presenting problem that the organization/congregation hopes to address.
b. Engage in significant contextual analysis and data gathering to determine what is
happening currently with regards to the presenting problem.
c. Review of literature relevant to the problem, including engagement with
stakeholders of the organization to help them learn from the literature to gain
perspective on their own situation.
d. Engagement with core values and mission of the organization to help imagine how
to better live into those values in relation to the current presenting situation.
e. Help the organization develop a plan for short-term and long-term initiatives to
address the presenting problem and live more fully into their core values and
mission.
f. An analysis of what problems will remain or are likely to arise once the strategic
plan is implemented along with what the learnings from this specific context might
offer to other organizations/congregations.

4. Development of Educational Materials for Other Ministry Professionals
a. Articulation of a contextualized problem with current praxis in an area of
ministry in which you are focused.
b. Contextual analysis of that problem with special attention to how it came to be,
why it continues, and how it reflects the current interests and values of its
participants.
c. Review of relevant literature to understanding the nature of the problem and
why it is happening in this context in this particular way.
d. Articulate a constructive response to the problem related to your analysis and
research.

e. Develop a series of in-service trainings, curricular materials, educational podcasts or
retreat sessions for educating or re-educating leaders who are impacted by this problem in
praxis.
f. Pilot the educational materials, assess their effectiveness, and document changes in the
educational design brought about by the assessment.

5. Work with an Organization to Design a Public Campaign for Education/Financial
Support/Call to Action
a. Work with an organization/congregation for which you are not the current leader
in which you design a process that allows that entity to shape a significant public
campaign related to an issue that the organization/congregation hopes to address.
b. Engage in significant contextual analysis and data gathering to determine the
current understandings related to the public campaign and beneficial ways to shape
the communication in light of the organization’s goals, core values, and mission.
c. Review of literature relevant to the problem, including engagement with
stakeholders of the organization to help them learn from the literature to gain
perspective on their own situation.
d. Design and implement a public campaign that addresses the goals of the
organization for educational outreach, increased financial support, or responsiveness
from volunteers, including assessment of its impact.
e. Engage in analysis of what was learned in the process of creating the campaign
along with what the learnings from this specific context might offer to other
organizations/congregations.

6. Generalized Practical Theology Project
a. Identify a theological problem or question that is relevant to a context of ministry that
you know well. Describe the context’s current practice in relation to the problem with
complex attention to how it is experienced by a range of people within the context.
b. Engage in analysis of why the current situation has come to be. What are the material
realities, histories, ideologies, interests, and ongoing values that keep the problem from
being resolved?
c. What ought to be going on? Identify a normative vision in language appropriate to the
community that draws on creative and critical engagement with theological and/or
wisdom literatures that are authoritative to the community in which the problem is
occurring.
d. How might the community shift its own practice to better embody their shared vision
for flourishing with regards to this problem? Articulate a pragmatic plan/solution that
holds promise for actualizing the normative vision through renewed or changed
practice.
e. Conclude with attention to how this response might have implications for other related
contexts.

7. Generalized Participatory Action Research

a. Identify a problem that a specific community is struggling with in consultation with
members of that community.

b. Engage in participant observation, interviews, focus groups or other forms of data-
gathering to understand in-depth what is happening in the community in relation to the
problem.
c. Review relevant literature and existing research with regards to the particular problem
including engagement with members of the community to help them learn from existing
literature to gain perspective on their own situation.
d. Drawing on the data and literature review, design and implement a process for the
community to collaboratively create and implement potential constructive responses to
the problem that they have identified.
e. Engage in assessment/analysis of the collaborative responses, identifying any potential
changes they may have generated in the community.
f. Reflect on the process of collaborative constructive response and what learnings it
might suggest to other contexts struggling with similar problems.