This team of students partnered with the American Heart Association Department of Health Strategies to help develop recommendations for schools to use in developing tobacco policies. The team researched current school policies throughout Michigan and the U.S. to identify best practices of reducing tobacco usage among student populations. The students were encouraged to identify policies that use a lesser or non-punitive approach in terms of punishing offenders within a student body. In addition, the team used their findings to craft policy recommendations for revising current...

The team’s research sought to uncover how to create a more participatory, justice-centered budgeting process for Washtenaw County. Their final presentation summarizes these findings in a way that’s accessible to citizens looking to become engaged around this issue.  The team focused on 1) current county budget processes and 2) best practices for implementing participatory budgeting. They found that while change tends to be incremental, there are signs that trying to create more opportunities to change the budgeting process is viable. If those changes come in the form of participatory...

Made possible by the 2012 JOBS Act, Community Capital fundraising has become an increasingly popular way for small regional businesses and fledgling startups to raise capital while providing investment opportunities to investors at all levels of income and sophistication.  This report analyzes data from Honeycomb Credit, a major crowdfunding platform, to evaluate SEC regulations on crowdfunding, identify gaps in current reporting requirements, and recommend areas for further research. The team looked at comparisons between businesses within two major cities, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, due...