Engaged Learning

The University of Michigan-Flint Office of Economic Development received a Cybersecurity Training Center designation and is interested in pursuing and implementing cybersecurity training in North Flint. The team recommended a cybersecurity training program, CyberStart America, and identified a community center, Berston Field House, to gauge community interest and discuss implementing this program. They also worked with Berston Field House to create a survey to be used to understand community interest, which can also be used as supporting documentation for future grant proposals by...

Students supported the development of a Climate Health Agenda for the eastside of Detroit through policy research, working with government departments at various levels, and utilization of project management...

The students worked with YFSU to assess policies impacting custodial and noncustodial families in the child support system and develop a toolkit to be used with potential funders and...

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...

Provided research assistance to INL’s efforts to create nimble data tools to support informed...

The students provided a concept paper which analyzed the feasibility of the US Government working with the Government of Azerbaijan to develop its capacity to provide maritime security in the Caspian Sea as a block on...

The student team assisted the partner in navigating the legal and governmental requirements for possible expansion of their programs into additional...

The student team conducted a grocery store feasibility study to help the community determine if the Township has the necessary traffic to support a full service grocery store and also help to determine the best location as well as the best type of grocery store for the...

This policy project is focused on displaced workers in Michigan. The students will provide research assistance looking at the effects of technology on middle skill workers, The research findings will be used to inform strategies for re-engaging workers displaced by...

The student research assistant created a menu of avenues for the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and the Huron Clinton Metro Parks to work together in moving forward with a public-private...

The student provided ACCESS with strategic planning support, including qualitative program evaluation (survey design and implementation, focus groups), agency-wide theory of change model, etc., to help streamline internal...

The team of students developed a strategy and action plan to achieve legislative support for the commercial ports of...

Soularadity in Highland Park is a community driven, energy justice non-profit building a brighter future with education, organizing and people-powered clean...

The student documented the existing pathways for locally-based renovation contractors to take advantage of economic opportunity in...

The students worked with PACENation on policy research and recommendations regarding a potential residential PACE program in...

The research fellow worked with the office of State Representative Kevin Coleman and conducted a 50 state feasibility study of nursing home responses to the COVID-19...

Students partnered with the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative to create a toolkit to assist with grant applications, brought together knowledge on “agrihoods,” and collected information to improve property maintenance code...

Summer fellows evaluated and challenged the barriers to equity faced by students in the Oakland County School District. Using data primarily from government and research institutions, the fellows analyzed discrepancies in schools based on factors such as race, income, and school budget, and made policy recommendations to the...

To support Michigan reformers in their consideration of possibly adopting the top-two primary, the P3E student team conducted research and produced a report on the likely benefits and challenges of adopting the top-two primary in...

This project examined the connection between schools and the juvenile justice system that creates barriers to diversity, equity, and...

Planet Detroit is a weekly online newsletter whose mission is to raise awareness about Metro Detroit’s environmental and public health challenges and potential solutions, hold powerful entities accountable, and empower readers to take action in their communities. Planet Detroit is working to build a resource hub for Detroit residents and relevant stakeholders to be able to understand the assets, gaps, and needs in the local information on public health and environmental data. To assist with this project, the students worked to identify and collect relevant local data relating to risk and...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

Two students provided Flint Councilwoman Tonya Burns with data and information on housing incentive programs and mortgage down payment assistance. The Flint housing market has some of the most affordable housing in the country, however, despite this, housing insecurity in Flint continues to be a pressing issue. There are multiple causes of this issue ranging from low incomes and job security, to thousands of blighted houses in the community, and the effects of redlining are still being felt to this day. Many residents of Flint cannot afford to buy houses, yet Flint has ample housing stock. To...

The Homeless Action Network of Detroit (HAND) is developing a coordinated approach to engage with landlords to rent to people experiencing homelessness in Detroit to ease coordination and communication by consolidating housing resources into one system-wide database. The researchers’ role focused on investigating housing databases and best practices, compiling contacts and resources for use in the database, conducting case studies of successful landlord engagement in comparable cities, and compiling a report of the findings. Their report provides HAND with the necessary information to...