The #2022APPAM Fall Research Conference will feature some fantastic sponsors from across the policy research spectrum. Today we're shining a spotlight on the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington.
What programs does your school offer?
- Master of Public Administration
- Executive Master of Public Administration
- Ph.D. in Public Policy & Management
- Undergraduate minors in Public Policy and Leadership
- Continuing education programs
What would you list as your school's greatest accomplishments in the last 5-10 years?
In 2020, the Evans School renovated Parrington Hall, our home and one of the oldest academic buildings on the University of Washington campus. The reimagined Parrington Hall is an efficient, flexible, and inspiring learning environment for our current and future public service leaders.
In 2021, in partnership with our community, the Evans School articulated a new set of guiding principles by crafting a new mission statement, vision, and organizational values which influence our work daily, defining how we educate, convene, and contribute to the field of public policy. We also began taking steps to become a leading institution in the fight against racism, discrimination, and inequity. This includes constructing a new five-year Equity & Inclusion Blueprint (2021-2026), focusing our attention on constructing the organization we need. As part of that work, our faculty have led the integration of knowledge and racialized policy and management practices into our MPA’s core curriculum.
We also proud of our continued investments in our community, which include deepening our EMPA program and developing new executive certificates, strengthening support of our doctoral students, expanding our undergraduates programming through a new minor and initiatives such as NextGen Civic Leader Corps and Junior Summer Institute, and hiring world-class faculty and staff.
Why should potential students choose your school or program?
Evans offers MPA students well-rounded training in both analysis and management, carefully developed core curriculum with extensive elective options and areas of concentration including Analysis and Evaluation, Environmental Policy, International Development, Leadership and Decision-Making, Nonprofit Management and Social Innovation, Public Financial Management, and Social Policy.
Evans offers Ph.D. students field-leading training in policy and management research that provides them with deep substantive expertise and a strong analytic toolkit. Our students receive five years of secure funding and team-based mentoring from world-renowned faculty. Our PhD graduates hold positions in top academic, government, and private research organizations.
Is there any other information you'd like to include in your Spotlight?
The Evans School aims to engrain equity in public policy and public administration, and we cannot embark on this journey alone. We believe that the knowledge and wisdom of our community – both lived and learned – are resources in the critical work of dismantling systemic racism, fighting discrimination, and rectifying inequity. Deep collaboration is key, and by striving to center the expertise of those impacted by proposed programs and policy ideas, we can translate the momentum of innovation into systems worth of public trust.
A key initiative is the Evans Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) – a policy lab that brings together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and the public to co-design actionable solutions to complex societal problems so that our public systems serve all individuals equitably and justly. We partner with organizations to help them shift from talking about racial and social justice to taking and sustaining action, building institutional capacity to support systems change over time. We apply insights from science and human-centered design methodology to policy and management challenges, helping organizations adapt to the needs of the communities they serve and embrace change. EPIC demonstrates the Evans School’s purpose – to inspire public policy and democratize public service. By centering the expertise of those impacted by proposed programs and policy ideas, we can translate the momentum of innovation into a democratic system worthy of trust.