Date July 9, 2024

Watson MPA students demonstrate career readiness in Policy in Action Symposium

By Pete Bilderback

At this year's Master of Public Affairs Policy in Action Symposium, graduating MPA students presented on a wide range of policy issues from a variety of perspectives, in each case informed by the hands-on experience they gained working with an external organization.

(l-r) Fatima Rezaie, Allie Hansen and Allison Clark with their "Siddi Chittarra - Developing an NGO Operational Plan" report. Photo Credit: Azurae Cruz

Spencer Budden also a contributor to the project. Photo Credit: Azurae Cruz

(l-r) Spencer Budden, Allie Hansen, Allison Clark and Fatima Rezaie. Photo Credit: Azurae Cruz

The Brown University Master of Public Affairs (MPA) Policy in Action Symposium, this year held on May 8 and 9, is the capstone experience of Brown University MPA students' educational journey. The Policy in Action Project is a core component of the MPA program in which students work in small teams and apply their skills to address policy-related challenges in a professional setting. The program offers MPA students the opportunity to get hands-on experience solving real-world problems working with organizations in the government, nonprofit and private sectors.

A distinctive feature of a Watson Master of Public Policy education, the program's faculty director, David Blanding, called the Policy in Action Project "the single greatest learning tool in the program's toolkit." Blanding said, "The Policy in Action experience is a signature piece of the Watson MPA program and an opportunity for students to channel all the intellectual frameworks, all the methodological techniques, all the leadership competencies, and all the collaborative skills we try to inculcate over the course of the MPA program into meaningful change for a real organization."

This year, graduating MPA students presented on a wide variety of pressing policy issues. Several groups analyzed broad national and international issues, including climate resilience, cybersecurity, the responsible use of AI, threats to American democracy from emerging technologies, support for early-career teachers, and policy issues related to the U.S. Coast Guard's study of the Arctic.

The Policy in Action experience is our signature opportunity for students to channel all the intellectual frameworks, all the methodological techniques, all the leadership competencies, and all the collaborative skills we try to inculcate over the course of the MPA program into meaningful change for a real organization. It is the single greatest learning tool in our program's toolkit.

David Blanding Faculty Director of the Master of Public Affairs Program

Other groups focused on local issues, including assessing the needs of recent immigrants to Rhode Island and the experience of immigrant students in Massachusetts public schools, workforce development and the impact of AI on Rhode Island's workforce, improving data capture for Providence's Department of Recreation, and alleviating the energy burden on Rhode Islanders.

One group spent five months developing an operational plan with Siddi Chittaraa, an organization that advocates for the Siddi community, a group of people of African descent who have lived on the Indian subcontinent for centuries.

Each of the 14 groups, each comprising three to four students, worked on projects submitted by a select government, nonprofit, or private sector organization. This year's participating organizations included a variety of state agencies, including the Rhode Island Department of Human Services, the Governor's Workforce Board and the Department of Labor and Training, the State Innovation Exchange, as well as the city of Providence's Department of Recreation. Participating local nonprofit organizations included the Annenberg Institute at Brown and the United Way of Rhode Island. Federal government PIA project sponsors included the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the Federal Communications Commission, and the binational non-profit U.S.-Mexico Foundation.

Dany Bahar, associate professor of the practice of international and public affairs, taught this year's Policy in Action course. Bahar noted, "The Policy in Action presentations provide the best evidence that, in just a few months, MPA students are able to skillfully apply frameworks taught in the program, along with their own research and previous experience, to become experts in their respective domains."

Bahar said he was impressed by how, in their presentations, students were able to explain difficult and complex concepts in an easy-to-understand manner for non-experts and answer any questions that came their way with ease. "Teaching the Policy in Action course and advising many of these groups, seeing this is tremendously rewarding," said Bahar. "It represents the best evidence that these students are ready to embark on successful policy careers."