Policy in Practice: Summer 2006
For the third summer, the Harris School’s Center for
Policy Practice (CPP) sent groups of students to apply
their classroom learning in the real world. Facilitated
and underwritten by CPP, the projects are rigorous and
relevant for the students, and of value to the agencies.
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Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores
(SRE), Mexico City, Mexico
Students: Paulo Esteban Alcaraz, MPP’07,
Dawn Bushover, MPP’07, Karla Gabriela
Mendoza Lopez, MPP’07, Christina Forst, MPP’07
Project: Are Mexico’s foreign missions optimally
located to support trade, foreign investment,
international cooperation, and tourism?
Results: The students created a model linking
Mexican exports to economic information,
bilateral relations, geographic and demographic
data, and other information. The Ministry
will therefore be able to better plan embassy,
consulate, and trade office locations, as well to
assess fully the economic impact of establishing
a new office.
Feedback: “The most valuable aspect of this
project was the opportunity to use and improve
the skills and concepts I learned in the statistics
and economics core classes. Being in a foreign
country was also beneficial because it gave me
new perspective and experience.” - Dawn Bushover
YMCA of the USA
Students: Reeba Daniel, MPP’07, Cynthia
English, MPP’07, Min Joo Kang, MPP’07,
Arezoo Riahi, MPP’07
Project: How can the YMCA improve its
services and support for women and children in
Latino communities?
Results: The students focused on supporting
the YMCA’s efforts to help immigrant Latino
women and children acculturate to the U.S.
They researched population trends, grant
opportunities, pending legislation, and the
YMCA’s preparedness and response to the needs
of this group. They also analyzed the YMCA’s
global cultural competencies to serve Latino
newcomer communities and developed curricula
to increase those competencies.
Feedback: “Group internships are a great
opportunity to learn from each other. Our work
as a group is so much better than what any one
of us could have done on our own.” - Cynthia English
“The group internship between the YMCA of the
USA and the Harris School has been a mutually
rewarding experience. Through the work of the
interns, we have strengthened our research
capabilities and developed relevant educational
and training resources to be used by YMCAs
across the country that are working with
newcomer communities. The results can also be
used around the world by more than 120
YMCAs in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America,
the Middle East and North America.” - Selma A. Zaidi, Deputy Director, International
Group, YMCA of the USA
Instituo Criança é Vida (ICV),
São Paulo, Brazil
Students: Mauricio Gonzales, MPP’07,
Harmony Ridgley, MPP’07
Project: Will establishing a partnership with a
U.S.-based organization enable ICV to further
enhance its work and ability to raise funds?
Results: A not-for-profit organization providing
health education to underprivileged communities
in Brazil, ICV asked students to analyze the pros
and cons of a partnership initiative, facilitate
contact with organizations that have developed
successful associations, and estimate the costs
involved. The students worked directly with ICV
staff, visited organizations that serve the target
populations, and attended ICV-coordinated
health care education events.
Feedback: “This experience was extremely
positive in all aspects. Harmony Ridgley and
Mauricio Gonzales worked…as a team and took
advantage of their individual strengths to get the
best results for ICV.” - Regina Stell Ribeiro Schwander, Director, ICV
Voices for Illinois Children
Students: Jaime Owen, MPP’07,
Carla Pazce, MPP’07
Project: What is the status of children’s health
in Illinois and how can public policy improve
their situation?
Results: Illinois Kids Count is a highly regarded
publication featuring up-to-date data on the
quality of children’s lives in Illinois and the
associated policy implications. This year, the
students broke new ground by using countylevel
data (prior efforts looked only at state-level
data) on the health status of Illinois children.
The students researched public policy solutions to address the needs they identified, and interviewed
health experts and community leaders across
Illinois about the major child health issues
facing the state today.
Feedback: “For international students, I
strongly recommend it. It is an interesting
opportunity to learn the similarities and
differences of the policymaking process in the
U.S. compared to those in their home countries.” - Carla Pacze
Illinois Department of Central
Management Services
Students: Olena Verbenko, PhD student,
Ross Biank, MPP’07
Project: How can Illinois and other state and
local governments transform their business
operations to improve administrative efficiency
as quickly and smoothly as possible?
Results: Central Management Services (CMS)
runs the so-called “business functions” for the
State of Illinois, including procuring goods and
services, administering state employee benefits,
maintaining the State’s motor vehicle fleet,
and more. The students tracked and documented
CMS’s recent efficiency initiatives—including
consolidating administrative operations—
which have resulted in $529 million in savings.
The students had unparalleled access to CMS
Director Paul Campbell and the deputy directors
who head its bureaus.
Feedback: “This internship provided an
opportunity to gain substantial public sector
‘real world’ experience, an opportunity to
network and develop relationships for a future
career, and an opportunity to work in a group
on projects with counterparts from Harris.” - Olena Verbenko
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