Program in Practical Policy Projects | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
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Program in Practical Policy Projects

Program in Practical Policy Projects

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Program in Practical Policy Projects

Retirement Savings Plans

September 2018 - December 2018
About half of workers—especially those who are low income or employed by small firms—lack access to a retirement savings plan through their employer. To address this issue, a growing number of states have proposed or begun implementing programs to provide access to workers whose employer does not offer a retirement plan. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is interested in learning more about recent developments in state efforts to expand coverage in retirement savings plans. For this project, students conducted internet searches and conducted in-depth case studies of 2-3 states to...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Responsive Budgeting

September 2019 - December 2018
The Ann Arbor City Council asked the city’s CFO to recommend a new approach to the city’s budgeting process that would better engage citizens and produce a budget that is more responsive to their preferences. Students conducted research on best practices in peer communities, interviewed key informants and stakeholders, and made recommendations to the...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Policy Research of the Virginia Park Neighborhood’s Community Development

June 2019 - July 2019
During this projects, students supported the organization’s effort to prepare for grassroots-driven community and economic development.  They researched the development of the Virginia Park neighborhood by analyzing data sets and surveys spanning from 1976 to present day in order to address the needs of residents and outline a plan for future...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Michigan Food Security Council Research Project

January 2021 - April 2021
COVID-19 has highlighted issues across Michigan’s food assistance programs. In order to better understand and rectify these inequalities, the Michigan Food Security Council’s Food Security Policy Workgroup and the Ford School conducted an environmental scan of food assistance and food security policies, and also completed a literature review that describes the effectiveness and requirements of various food...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Locating Affordable Housing

January 2019 - April 2019
The student team assisted the community partners to make the case for development of affordable housing.  They also helped determine which parcels might be most feasible and/or best suited for this sort of development, allowing the partners to prioritize which parcels are recommended to City Council for affordable housing or mixed-income...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Local/Regional Food System Workforce Needs Assessment for Michigan

January 2019 - April 2019
This project focused on researching the framework for approaching and defining food systems in Michigan with the intent of informing future policy recommendations. These recommendations will aid in the creation or revision of educational and technical training programs to fill identified workforce/talent gaps. Student provided assistance with conducting informant interviews and developing a case study example around Michiganders who perform various food systems jobs. The student also helped with secondary data collection and analysis, as well as employer outreach, cataloguing and vacancy...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Local Investing

September 2018 - December 2018
NC3 is a national organization that advocates for changes in policy and practice to open opportunities to small-scale investors. NC3 is motivated by the idea that democratizing investing benefits businesses, investors, and communities. To help create a knowledge base of best practices, successes and failures, students conducted in-depth case studies of local investments from across the U.S., developed an evaluation methodology and used it to analyze the cases, and wrote a report that will be used as background information at the National ComCap Conference in Detroit in Spring...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Economic Impact of USCBP on the Port of Monroe

September 2018 - December 2018
The Port of Monroe, Michigan, is a municipally owned port, strategically located on the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes Seaway. In recent years, the port has taken an aggressive strategy towards the development of its facilities in order to compete as a major player in maritime shipping. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) has taken a very stringent approach to how the port handles international cargo, causing the port to miss several key opportunities. Students examined the USCBP’s policies relative to other Great Lakes regions and estimated the economic losses, both direct and indirect,...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

“People’s Bills” 51% workforce and water affordability

January 0219 - December 2019
Six Ford School students conducted relevant policy research, engaged with the community, and provided recommendations to aid on legislative initiatives that addressed workforce development and water security for Detroit...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Detroit: Bee City USA

September 2019 - December 2019
The students worked with Detroit Hives to establish Detroit as an office Bee City.  They prepared the official application to Bee City USA and laid the groundwork for the passage of a Detroit City Council...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

City of Dearborn Department of Public Health

September 2022 - December 2022
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Noah Attal (MPP '24), Ellie Bai (MPP ‘24), Samir Deshpande (MPP '23), Sophie Greenberg (BA '23), Nora Lewis (BA ‘24), Mariam Odeh (BA ‘24)
The Dearborn Department of Public Health was formally launched in April 2022, becoming only the 2nd city in Michigan with a public health department, and the first to do so voluntarily. The Department was founded on the principle of Health in All Policies. Health in All Policies is a collaborative approach to improving the health of all people by incorporating health considerations into decision-making across sectors and policy areas. Health in All Policies aims to ensure that all decision-makers are informed about the health, equity, and sustainability consequences of various policy...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Michigan State Representative Kuppa Legal Immigrant Policy Advocacy

January 2022 - April 2022
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Jessica Williams (MPP ‘22)
State Representative Padma Kuppa has been working to pass H.R. 248 – a policy resolution in the state of Michigan that calls for the federal government to quickly enact legislation addressing the backlog in employment–based (EB) green cards, including, but not limited to, H.R. 3648 (the EAGLE Act). The goals of the project were: to research the landscape of EB green cards, including the national backlog and economic impact of the immigrant workforce; to document previous and proposed legislation on the national backlog at the state and federal levels; and to identify and engage with...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Redevelopment Ready Communities: Advancing Sustainable Economic Development Through Inclusion

January 2022 - April 2022
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José Lemus (MPP ‘22)
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation's Redevelopment Ready Communities Program (RRC) helps Michigan communities build effective zoning ordinances, streamline their development review processes, and design stakeholder engagement practices to incentivize community-driven economic growth. As an RRC fellow, the student helped the City of Lincoln Park obtain RRC certification by updating the city's public participation plan, mapping the city’s development review process, and cultivating a working relationship with Lincoln Park’s Hispanic entrepreneurial community. Through the work,...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Supporting Environmentally Friendly Mining Legislation in Michigan

January 2022 - April 2022
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Samir Deshpande (MPP ‘23), Rachel McGivern (MPA ‘22), Kjersti Swanson (BA ‘23), Yuer Wang (MPP ‘24)
Four fellows provided research support for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters and the office of State Senator Rosemary Bayer to improve a bill (SB 429 of 2021) that was introduced in the Michigan Senate to update regulations on the mining of aggregate materials (e.g., sand, gravel, stone, clay). The team conducted case studies of nine states, focusing on the relative authorities of state and local governments in the permitting and restoration processes, as well as topical overviews around soil conservation best practices, the use of recycled aggregate materials, and stakeholder...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Supporting Father Involvement in Michigan

January 2022 - April 2022
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Rene Rosas Escalona (MPP ‘23)
The Michigan Action Plan for Fatherhood Involvement was created to explore ways of expanding support for the involvement of fathers in parenting/custody arrangements and to guide the establishment of permanent structures for improving policies and programs that benefit fathers and their families. The project sought to understand 50/50 shared parenting legislation on the state level and ways the organization could advocate and support such initiatives. During the project, the student researcher considered questions such as: how do states define 50/50 shared parenting, are these pieces of...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Homeless Action Network of Detroit Housing Policy Research

January 2022 - April 2022
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Donovan Gayles (MPP ‘23), Anna Kelly (MPP ‘23)
The Homeless Action Network of Detroit (HAND)’s core mission is to provide leadership to address homelessness in Detroit. One part of executing this mission involves advocacy to promote policies that increase affordable housing stock. For their deliverable, the team created a memo presenting an analysis of federal, state and local legislation relevant to HAND’s interest in the creation and maintenance of affordable housing stock in Detroit. The memo offers a variety of advocacy options at the federal, state and local level. Options include advocating for federal legislation to create...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Digital Access and Literacy in the Villages at Parkside

January 2022 - April 2022
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Alexia Carillo Villalobos (MPP ‘23), Devon Regal (BA ‘22)
Friends of Parkside (FOP) is a not-for-profit, community-based organization located on Detroit’s east side in the Villages at Parkside, a public housing complex. FOP has a 15-member board of directors consisting of Parkside residents and representatives from community-based organizations.This project focused on digital access in the Parkside community, specifically identifying residents’ ability to access resources and participate in programs that will enhance their ability to use less energy and save money. The deliverable was a participant pre-survey of the residents in the housing complex....
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Detroit Construction and Demolition

May 2022 - July 2022
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Alyssa Donovan (BA '23), Jinan Abufarha (BA '22), Divya K. Periakaruppan (BA '23), Sofia Olgado (BA '23)
Blight is a serious issue in the city of Detroit; in dealing with this issue, the mechanism of demolition poses a variety of issues relating to safety, sustainability, and funding due to the financial costs associated with demolition. To deal with blight more sustainably, deconstruction prior to complete demolition was proposed. In response, the PCLP Spring 2022 fellows crafted several recommendations, divided by immediate, intermediate, and future actions. The recommendations included: (1) addressing current demolition practices, (2) increasing accountability for residents from city...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Tax Popularity Research

September 2022 - December 2022
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Iulia Dobrin (BA ‘23)
The student worked with Fund MI Future to help compile local property tax votes in Michigan to help identify policy opportunities to tip the State’s fiscal landscape to be more supportive of poor and middle-income communities. The research focused on what margin millages and millage renewals from 2012-2022 passed or failed and for what the millage was raising...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

State Data Privacy Laws

September 2022 - February 2023
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Annie Eng (MBA/MPP ‘25)
The student worked with Engine Advocacy and Research to evaluate the impact of state-by-state privacy laws on startup technology companies. Currently, data privacy laws are on a state level, resulting in varying definitions of compliance. Through interviewing stakeholders of different startups, the student learned about the impact of the current data privacy laws landscape on barriers to scalability, compliance costs (legal, operational, technology, etc.), and any implications of these costs. The student’s findings will ultimately help inform policymakers and ensure a conducive environment...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Flint Businesses Resource Toolkit

September 2022 - December 2022
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Kaei Li (MPP '24), Ellie Bai (MPP '24)
Students collaborated with the City of Flint’s Economic Development Department and UM-Flint Office of Economic Development staff to develop a guide for new and existing businesses to understand, act on, and sustainably operate in Flint. Students engaged with key city of Flint and UM-Flint Office of Economic Development staff to understand existing resources and resource gaps for businesses and commercial property owners. A list of resources and appropriate steps were assembled to guide entrepreneurs when locating a business in an existing neighborhood context, along with business-related...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Detroit Demolitions Policies and Procedures

September 2022 - December 2022
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Krysta December (MPP/SEAS '23), Yu-Yu Lin (MPP '24)
Two students partnered with District 6 City Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero to provide policy recommendations regarding the processes for dealing with dangerous buildings within Detroit. The students gathered and synthesized information about local demolition practices in Detroit. Through research and engagement meetings, they collected information about the dangerous building notification processes, resident rights throughout the process, city processes from determination to completion, and data regarding demolition processes in similarly-sized midwestern cities. Given the lack of...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Building Stakeholder Capacity for Impact Investing

September 2021 - December 2021
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Isaac Nico (MPA ‘22), Doug Ortiz (MPP ‘22)
Impact investing is the practice of investing to both seek a financial return and create tangible social or environmental benefits. It is a tool that is emerging in philanthropy providing foundations new ways to use their capital more effectively and create social impact while possibly gaining a financial return or return on capital. The goal of this project was to support the Council of Michigan Foundations’ (CMF) efforts to provide impact investing education and resources for the CMF community of philanthropy. It provides a starting point for foundations that are interested in this emerging...
Program in Practical Policy Projects

Behavioral and Physical Health Policy Research for the Detroit Public School District

September 2022 - December 2022
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Cara Bradley (MPP ‘23), Malak Kalasho (BA ‘24), Micah Sweet (BA ‘24)
The team of students worked on a project with the Superintendent's Office of the Detroit Public School and Community District (DPSCD). They recommended and drafted changes to the District's administrative policies, so they better supported the behavioral and physical health of students in the District. The project included a four-phase process: first, the students researched best practices and policies in other school districts in the U.S.; second, they interviewed DPSCD staff and education professionals about existing practices and the feasibility of potential administrative changes; third,...