Policy Brief Workshops

FACING WICKED PROBLEMS

POLICY LAB – HONORS STUDENTS DEVELOPING FRESH IDEAS

The PPRI Policy Lab is a team of faculty, students, and staff focused on producing interdisciplinary, policy-relevant research. In the 2016-2017 Academic year, the Policy Lab is focused on producing “Leading Indicators” in the areas of energy efficiency policy in the states, ocean pollution, policies to counter marginalization in education, and policies relating to refugees. Policy briefs and videos from each of these areas can be found on the PPRI website.

The Policy Lab is headed by Laurel Weldon, and includes Faculty Fellows, Postdoctoral Students, Graduate Policy Fellows, and Undergraduate Policy Fellows. The 2016-2017 Policy Lab included Honors College Professor Jengelley (specialist in terrorism and the media), PPRI Postdoctoral Fellow, Tyler Spence, PPRI Undergraduate Policy Fellows, and Honors College Students from the Leading Indicators class.

INTERSECTIONAL EDUCATION

Education leads to greater future success, freedom, autonomy over one’s lifestyle, and an overall better quality of life. Unfortunately, women make up seventy percent of the world’s out-of-school youth, and minority groups are suffering from lack of access to educational resources (Intel 2012). Not only are both groups suffering separately, but the intersection of female and minority groups are not achieving the same educational outcomes as majority or male groups.

OCEAN POLLUTION

The problem of ocean pollution requires a two-part solution: cleaning up the existing mass of pollution, and reducing current and future inputs of waste into the ocean. But who is responsible for doing so? This team developed a nine-point indicator which points to eleven wealthy, industrialized nations which are among the direst polluters. EXTREME VETTING OF REFUGEES

In the current political climate and push for “extreme vetting” of refugees, common rhetoric implies that more extreme vetting would decrease refugee intake numbers. Yet, given the recent refugee crisis and the large number of refugees actively seeking resettlement, such a decrease seems neither wise nor likely.

POLICY BRIEF WORKSHOPS

PPRI’s Policy Brief Workshop is an excellent tool for faculty and students in various disciplines to enhance the impact of their research by adding policy brief writing skills to their toolbox of effectiveness. Participants can learn the how-tos on policy brief writing and dissemination to broaden the audience and use of your discoveries. PPRI’s skilled members and their affiliates present tips and explain how to best write a policy brief to gain attention to your research. Examples of PPRI’s policy brief library are available during the workshop as well as in digital form on PPRI’s website. A quick reference guide on policy brief writing and clips of previous workshops are also available online.

FACING WICKED PROBLEMS

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

PPRI Participates in the Discovery Park Big Idea Challenge

Dr. Leigh Raymond; Dr. David Ebert

In the Fall of 2016, Discovery Park issued a challenge to Purdue faculty in an effort to spark additional interdisciplinary research on global challenges. This new program, called “The Discovery Park Big Idea Challenge, ” provides resources to interdisciplinary teams at Purdue pursuing bold proposals.

Of the seven teams ultimately selected, PPRI advises four and is part of two projects. The projects in which PPRI is contributing a policy piece, are (1) Affordable Net Zero Housing and Transportation Solutions led by Leigh Raymond, and (2) Resilient and Sustainable Food-Water Balance under Evolving Environmental Conditions led by David Ebert.

Affordable Net Zero Housing and Transportation Solutions: Current housing and transportation options create environmental and social challenges and, in particular, impose high costs on low-income families. Drawing on expertise from multiple departments and colleges, this project aims to transform the affordable housing sector so that onsite renewable energy and smart home and transportation technologies are the rule rather than the exception. Resilient and Sustainable Food-Water Balance under Evolving Environmental Conditions: By the year 2030, food production must be increased by 70 percent in order to feed a larger world population. Today, almost 80 percent of the world’s fresh water withdrawals from rivers, lakes, and aquifers go to agriculture. This project will develop a human-computer collaborative decision-making system for sustainable agriculture that takes into account the complex relationships between real-world data, the sociopolitical environment, and on-the-ground practices. The system will provide planners and policy- and decisionmakers with more accurate information than previously possible, helping growers to optimize crop yields and minimize use of water and other resources.