Research and analysis are critical elements to the Policy Studies program. Students and faculty regularly engage in projects that address real-world concerns, often in partnership with local community organizations.
2009 Projects
City of Renton
During 2009, a team of four students partnered with the City of Renton to explore demographic changes and trends within the city. Demographic information is used by the City of Renton to identify trends and most effectively allocate social service resources. The students' research approach utilized many sources of data, including Renton School District and the US Census American Community Survey updated for 2007. The analysis compared the year 2007 data to the 2000 Census data. The team focused on four key areas: population, education, housing, and ethnicity. The students made comparisons, and the City of Renton used their findings to update its demographic report, "The Changing Faces of Renton."
In addition to their final report, the students made a formal presentation to City of Renton's Department of Community Services and Renton City Council's Community Services Committee.
Project Ethiopia
Four Policy Studies students in Professor Keith Nitta's "Leadership & Organizations" put their learning to practice by partnering with the Seattle-based nonprofit, Project Ethiopia. Project Ethiopia collaborates with rural Ethiopian communities to address poverty issues through access to education, improved health conditions (clean water, family latrines and concrete floors), and farm-based business solutions. The organization's locally-driven approach focuses on transformational change, rather than transactional change, meaning communities are supported to become independent and sustainable without reliance on outside aid.
The student team provided consultation to Project Ethiopia on a variety of topics, including grant writing, funding opportunities, obtaining their nonprofit 501(c)(3) status, and long-term planning. The students' work included writing and submitting two grants and providing recommendations on resources and ways to diversify the organization's funding structure to build financial stability.
Working with Project Ethiopia gave the students a compelling environment to implement skills and strategies studied in class. The students learned a great deal from the organization's staff, who were exemplary models of the leadership fundamentals covered in Professor Nitta's course - passion, commitment to mission and vision, collaboration, and "gracious space" (a safe, supportive space where different backgrounds and ideas are valued).
2008 Projects
CityClub
In Fall 2008, Policy Studies graduate students in an advanced research design course partnered with CityClub, a non-profit civic engagement organization based in Seattle, Washington. In 2008, CityClub launched its first Community Matters Campaign, conducting 25 public dialogues which gave citizens a space to discuss the ways they are currently engaged in their communities and the barriers and opportunities they see to strengthening that engagement.
Employing the research design skills acquired in class, students analyzed data from the campaign to determine the extent to which participants are civically engaged, building social capital, and intending to increase their level of engagement. Students also examined whether the combination of civic engagement and social capital leads to a more robust measure of civic engagement called "civic capital." Students formally presented their results to Diane Douglas, CityClub's Executive Director, and their report is featured on the organization's website. Additionally, student recommendations will be shared with community leaders and partners and used to enhance future projects.
Collaborating with CityClub on the vital issue of civic engagement has been exhilarating. The knowledge and experience I have gained in just a few short months has affirmed that this program is unquestionably the right choice for me!
Solid Ground
Policy Studies graduate students often intern within local organizations, contributing to policy-related initiatives that impact our communities. Graduate student Jessica Bonney interned with Solid Ground, an organization dedicated to achieving a just and caring community, free from poverty, prejudice and neglect. Serving within Solid Grounds' Housing Counseling program, Jessica utilized her research and analysis skills for a housing advocacy taskforce that drafted a bill to remove barriers to accessing housing and the legal system. As it stands, people facing eviction often waive their right to a hearing because just the mere filing of a lawsuit will permanently damage their public record. Even in cases where the tenant wins in court the record of the eviction will cause them to be denied housing. While a large portion of filed evictions result in a settlement, the tenant is still marked with a negative record that impedes their ability to seek future housing. Jessica's role involved collecting and analyzing eviction and sheriff's office data from each county in Washington State, attending several coalition and advocacy group meetings, and training non-profit groups about the impact of the eviction process on the homeless and low-income tenants in Washington State.
"This experience has brought the policy process to life for me and I have been able to utilize skills learned in each of my classes to achieve social awareness and change in my community."-
--Jessica Bonney, Policy Studies Student
Global Climate Change Policies
In Fall 2008, students in Professor Nives Dolsak's "Policy Process" class designed policies implementing two laws recently enacted in Washington state. As mandated by ESSB 6001, policy makers in Washington State have been charged with "designing and recommending a comprehensive set of policies to the legislature and the governor on how to achieve statewide reduction in greenhouse gases emissions." Further, the state government has been charged with assisting local governments in reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to growth management (ESSB 6580).
Students chose to develop policies at the state level (Carbon Dioxide market), at the city level (they chose to develop policies for a city with a strong linguistic minority, requiring policy information materials to be bi-lingual), and at the level of industry (agriculture and timber). Read more...
2007 Projects
Seattle Traffic Congestion
"In Fall 2007, Professor Nives Dolsak challenged her students to respond to Seattle's traffic congestion by exploring three concrete demand-side solutions (Congestion Pricing, GoLoco, and Ride a Bus). The class was divided into three groups with each group exploring one of the above solutions." Read more...
--Mari Taylor, Policy Studies Student
"Project Ethiopia's courageous, respectful and life-changing work is an excellent example of development work which is not only effective, but which also fosters collaboration and mutual empowerment. Completing the Project Ethiopia work with my classmates gave me the opportunity to collaborate in a group environment and to apply policy skills in a real-world situation."
--Mariah Ortiz, Policy Studies student
"I grew up in Renton, and it was very rewarding to give back by applying skills gained in the classroom to make a real world change. Our team provided the City of Renton with a product that will help them to better serve their constituents."
--Jason McKinney, Policy Studies Student