Program in Practical Policy Projects

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...

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...

In support of the city of Ann Arbor's A2Zero initiative to "achieve a just, community-wide transition to carbon neutrality by 2030,” - Ford School MPA and MPP students provided a presentation and research report with potential policy solutions to combat green gentrification displacement (GGD) that could threaten the Bryant neighborhood. A2 selected the Bryant neighborhood–a historically marginalized and lower-income community–with equity and climate action top of mind. The city wants to funnel millions of investment dollars in renewable energy and residential upgrades, transforming Bryant...

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...

Councilmember Tonya Burns partnered with a Ford School MPP student to research municipal home rehabilitation programs and considerations for the City of Flint. The impact of the water crisis, paired with the already existing economic decline the City of Flint has experienced due to the shift in manufacturing from America’s Midwestern cities and towns to overseas manufacturers, has left Flint with a population half of what it was in 1960.  This decline has led to an increase in abandoned commercial and residential structures, as well as a dwindling tax base to provide services to residents....

The team of students continued their work on a project with the Superintendent's Office of the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD). Last semester, 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...

Sanctuary Farms is an urban farm and nature sanctuary in Detroit, with a mission to connect the local community with the environment and food through active participation in closing the food loop. As part of their operations, Sanctuary Farms aims to engage in industrial-scale composting, and this research project involved conducting extensive research to understand the policy and permit requirements for composting in the City of Detroit, as well as at the state and federal levels. The research process involved gathering information from various resources, including the client and the UM...

During the Winter semester, students partnering with Detroit Public Schools Community District devised a list of best practices from nationwide districts on fostering gender inclusivity in schools. The recommendations include policy guidelines, student support, and resources for policy implementation. The policy draft includes student and staff rights, provides definitions for important, relevant terms, applies to staff members, and has a legal basis. It also recommends respecting name and pronoun changes, defines discrimination, harassment, and bullying, and outlines locker room and restroom...

A student assisted Planet Detroit in building an online resource hub to help inform Detroit residents and relevant stakeholders of a wide variety of environmental health risks. Environmental health risk categories included flood, climate, heat, air quality, and lead levels. The resource hub includes a written description of the data and lists the type of data provided. The resource hub also includes relevant information from participating impact partners who provided the research and data. The student helped with data entry and collection to assemble the resource hub and make it discernible...

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...

This project involved an examination of diversity, equity, and inclusion policing issues in the city of Livonia, Michigan.  The student team examined the correlation between race and interactions with police in Livonia using criminal justice data, census information, and other available...

The students developed a water infrastructure asset map that identifies stakeholders, agencies, and updates at every level of government that impact the area. Final deliverables also included information about funding opportunities for infrastructure repair from philanthropy and federal...

Students worked with the U.S. Department of Energy's Arctic Energy Office to create an “Arctic Research Resource Compendium,” which identified and cataloged university-based Arctic research institutes in the U.S. and Canada. The research resources included a list of Arctic and polar institutes, the focus of each of these institutes, and specific research projects of interest, particularly in the energy, environment and climate...

The research fellow performed a landscape analysis of curricula aimed at training government officials in the tools at their disposal to affect municipal, state, and federal policy...

A PCLP fellow studied both the local cybersecurity training ecosystem and best practices in communities with demographics similar to Flint. Topics of interest included available types of training, cost, and delivery methods for high school students. Through virtual interviews with local stakeholders, the fellow learned if there was a demand for this type of training, and documented challenges and opportunities in communities that have been able to implement cybersecurity training programs. The research findings will be used to help inform UM-Flint’s Office of Economic Development, as well as...

The fellows provided technical assistance to design the survey methodology for the State of the Court Administrative Office Friend of the Court Bureau’s Guideline revision project. Separate surveys were created for two distinct audiences of the Guideline users:  parents who have an existing custody, parenting time, and child support case; and legal/court professionals who work with parents to determine a parenting time schedule. The parents survey, in particular, explored the impact of a change in parenting time on payment of a child support...

Two fellows were charged with researching current school policies throughout Michigan and the U.S. to identify best practices of reducing tobacco usage among student populations. The fellows were encouraged to identify policies that use a lesser or non-punitive approach in punishing offenders within a student body. Fellows used their findings to craft policy recommendations for current policies that could be adapted and provided research for the development of non-smoking/vaping social...

The research fellow worked with the Michigan League of Conservation Voters to research “Soil Reclamation Best Practices” as part of a pro-environment legislative proposal to reform the regulation of aggregate (gravel) mining in the state of Michigan. The fellow’s research identified successful industry and government practices from around the world and analyzed the efficacy of those practices within the State of Michigan's regulatory...

The research fellow worked with Detroit’s Civil Rights’ Inclusion and Opportunity (CRIO) Department to develop an advocacy primer for municipal officials. The primer laid out a framework for action and identified strategies for working at multiple levels of government to improve equity and inclusion in the city of...

The research fellow investigated the likely impacts of adopting a nonpartisan primary with ranked choice voting in Michigan at the request of the Michigan Consensus Policy Project (MCCP). The MCPP is a bipartisan working group of former state officials that seeks to identify nonpartisan solutions to the state's most pressing...

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...

The Dearborn Department of Public Health (DPH) was formally launched in April 2022, becoming only the second 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. The goal of Health in All Policies is to ensure that all decision-makers are informed about the health, equity, and sustainability consequences of...

Oakland County maintains a high standard of living, but food insecurity exists throughout pockets of the county.  For Oakland County to maintain and further strengthen its economic prosperity, community health, and workforce, it must reconsider its approach to meeting its communities' basic needs. In March of 2021, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) was signed into law, distributing money to states and counties to address urgent COVID-19 response efforts and the systemic public health effects that have contributed to the unequal impact of the pandemic. The students were tasked with identifying...

The team’s research evaluated the economic benefits of three city-government climate resilience projects implemented in the Great Lakes Region (GLR). The case studies are adaptation projects implemented in Toledo, Ohio, Two Harbors, Minnesota and Ann Arbor, Michigan.  The cases indicate climate-resilience focused interventions were cost-beneficial for Two Harbors and Ann Arbor and projected to be cost-beneficial for Toledo. The research illustrates the complexity of climate-resiliency projects and the economic considerations that exist within them. The report provides an overview of each...

The team provided a framework and guide for future policy makers enrolled in the City of Detroit’s Executive Leadership Program. The presentation is divided into three categories: policy making process, influences on the policy making process, and limitation on influences/ethics.  There are six steps identified in the policy making process: proposing legislation; submitting legislation to City Council; public input; committee hearings; voting; implementation; and corporation council review. City Administration may also create regulations, decisions or executive orders. Policy can be...

The Great Lakes Commission’s Action Plan for a Resilient Great Lakes notes, “All members of the Great Lakes community have a role to play in securing a more resilient Great Lakes Basin.” One such role community members can play, and a stated goal across the Action Plan, was to connect existing knowledge on the Great Lakes Basin and ensure community expertise is available. Responding to this need in the community, the Great Lakes Commission (GLC), in partnership with Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, sought to aggregate existing studies and assessments that identify risks related to...

The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides subsidized community service work to low-income Americans 55 and older. The program is unique in that it targets older workers and offers insight into employment outcomes later in life. SCSEP has two statutory goals, providing opportunities for community service and transitioning participants to unsubsidized employment. This report explores how well SCSEP is meeting its dual purpose before turning to whether those proposals are broad enough to capture the important benefits of SCSEP.   The report specifically: Examines...

The Hamtramck Practical Community Learning Project (PCLP) team had three specific objectives: design a one-page resource guide informed by research and merchant focus groups; develop a database of small business resources from local, state, and federal partners; and assist the Hamtramck Community and Economic Department (CED) team in facilitating a city-wide merchant meeting. These objectives were successfully completed by the student team over a three-step effort involving analysis, resource development and design, and resource implementation. The team assisted in the planning and execution...

Numerous factors contribute to special education teacher and paraprofessional shortages in K-12 education in the United States. The project is a comprehensive literature review that examines existing information and data on this topic, identifies gaps in research and access to information, and offers some potential policy solutions or responses.  The team’s key takeaways and conclusions from the literature review: Better certification, recruitment, and retention policies at the local, state, and federal levels are needed to respond to shortages and prevent future shortages in special...

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...