Student Individual Public Policy Project Mini Grant

• A defined public policy issue/problem
• A project proposal approved by the faculty supervisor(s).
  • Co-advisement by community mentors or faculty peers is permissible and is determined based on the nature of the project and by primary faculty supervisors.
• Public engagement with the issue.
  • This may be through interviews with elected officials, issue leaders, and stakeholders, and/or volunteering, internships, site visits, advocacy work, etc., in order to gain an applied understanding of the policy problem.
• A means for the community to provide feedback and reflection to the student(s) and mentor(s).
• A final paper/report.
• A presentation or poster session.
  • Must be completed at a conference sponsored by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (CURS)
• Public Dissemination of the results to the broader community outside of BGSU.
  • This may be a presentation to the community, websites, public poster display, etc.

Students at any level may participate in PPPs.  PPPs may be completed by individuals or groups of students working together.  Below is a list of typical expectations for the completion of a PPP:

• Identify and research a public problem
• Utilize community based research methods
• Identify possible solutions to public problems and discuss their viability
• Recommend a solution and a plan for its implementation
• Discuss the challenges to implementing the solution
• Complete a public engagement and public dissemination component
• Provide a means for community feedback and reflection

Faculty members may integrate a Public Policy Project into any undergraduate class in any discipline. Funds are available for class activities that support student engagement with, understanding of, and /or the ability to successfully complete research on a public policy issue.

Course based projects may involve individual projects, small group projects, or a project that all class members are involved with.

Topics may be generated by students, defined by the faculty members, or linked to a project identified by a community partner or organization.

Funding will be prioritized for projects that have relevance to regional communities/organizations and where there is a strong partnership with community partners.

For faculty who’s own research has a public policy focus the Student Policy Scholars Program can provide additional support through students engaged in an intensive research experience with a faculty mentor and/or a research experience with a community organization supervised by a faculty mentor.