Applied Policy Projects (APPs) are a mandatory element of the MPA program at SPP and are structured as a student-run, team-based, policy-oriented capstone project done for an external client. They provide an important opportunity for students to bridge classroom and experiential learning. The APPs are done in the second year of the program, but first year students are encouraged to observe ongoing projects and teams, especially during Fall term visits by client representatives and the Spring term closing Expo.
Applied Policy Projects integrate and enhance student learning in different arenas: a policy related content or issue area; key professional skills including project management and teamwork; and methods for gathering, analyzing, and reporting data. Teams work with clients to design and organize their projects into a detailed implementation plan that results in a high-quality work product intended to help improve the client’s performance and meet its policy objectives. Clients include non-profit organizations, governments, international organizations, and other policy-related institutions.
Starting in Fall term of their first year, MPA students are invited to participate in recruitment of external clients for their APPs by exploring their preferences, reviewing past projects, suggesting potential clients to the APP office and, if they wish, reaching out to organizations themselves. A list of organizations approached in the past will be distributed. Students should make an appointment to meet with the APP Director by the end of October and must by the end of November submit a list of at least three potential clients they are interested in working with. On the basis of these lists, the APP office will form and meet with tentative teams at the end of Fall term. Teams must be at least two, and no more than six students; three to four students is an ideal size. (Students that may have a conflict of interest with any project they want to work on must declare this to the APP office.)
Students prepare for the APP by taking the Applied Policy Lab, a course offered in the Winter term of the first year. The course teaches understanding and interacting with clients, work planning and budgeting, teamwork basics, giving and receiving feedback and research, analysis, and policy development skills. Applied Policy Lab is mandatory for MPA students and mandatory/elective for MAPP and Mundus MAPP students (they have to choose either the APL or the Internship in the Spring).
Also during Winter term, the APP office will recruit clients identified in the previous term, with the expectation of finalizing clients and teams by end of term. In Spring term, teams are assigned a faculty adviser, and begin preparations for their project. This is the formal start of the APP. Each team will receive a Milestone Document setting out the project and key dates along the way, and is responsible for updating this document with feedback from their adviser, the APP director, and the client as the project progresses. The Milestone Document is an important tool for maintaining clarity and mutual accountability throughout the APP.
SPP supports a limited amount of field work, normally one to two weeks. The best time to do field work is either over the summer, or during pre-session and zero week in September, when second year students have no obligations. APP fieldwork may be done at other times, but will not excuse students from their normally scheduled classes. It is important to plan and budget fieldwork by the end of Spring term of the first year.
SPP also facilitates visits by client representatives to the campus, to meet the teams and where possible, speak to the broader School community. These visits may be at any time, but late in Spring or early in Fall term are recommended. Teams are responsible for working with their clients and the APP office to schedule these visits.
Teams work on their projects throughout Fall and Winter terms of the second year with a goal of delivering their final products to the client by exam week of Winter term. (APP delivery deadlines may be extended without penalty to the end of Spring term if teams, their advisers, and the client all consent.) The final product may take any form: a written policy report, a series of shorter articles in any policy genre, a series of podcasts or videos or any other form approved by the client and faculty adviser. APP concludes with an Expo event in Spring term, at which teams present their findings and share the lessons they have learned with the whole SPP community.
The APP yields a total of 10 academic credits and is a requirement for graduation from the MPA program. APPs are graded pass/fail by faculty advisers taking into account feedback from clients and the APP office. Grades are individual, and are based on two equally weighted components: one for the team (shared equally by all members) and one for each individual student. Students and teams will be graded on the quality of their final product(s) and on their professionalism, including teamwork and project skills taught in the Applied Policy Lab course. Teams or individual students at risk of failing will be cautioned by their advisers in advance and given an opportunity to improve and pass.
The contact person for questions, comments, and support related to the Applied Policy Projects is the Skills and Applied Learning Coordiantor. Additional detailed information, program structure, requirements and process can be found in SPP’s Applied Policy Project Handbook.