• Crime, Violence, and Justice: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Drug use and legalization, incarceration effects, prisoner outcomes, police and court processes, international crime, black markets, corruption, rehabilitation programs, recidivism, human rights abuses, etc.  This policy area may overlap with Employment and Training Programs on prisoner re-entry and job training.

 

• Demographic Developments, Migration, Immigration, and Refugees: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Immigration trends, culture, population growth and decline, aging populations, policy reactions to demographic changes, minority and immigrant migration, and labor migration across borders.

 

• The Ecological Crisis, Climate Change, and the Environment: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Climate change, energy options and use, new sources of energy, pollution, waterways, conservation efforts, protected land and species, natural resource scarcity and management, green economies, land reform, climate change, and sustainability.

 

• Education: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Head Start, pre-K, kindergarten, elementary education, high school, college, student loans, school and teacher accountability, disadvantaged students, charter schools, grants and financial aid, teacher evaluation and effectiveness, curriculum, student achievement and attainment, class size and composition, after school and summer programs, Veterans (GI Bill), arts and culture programs in schools, etc.

 

• Emergent New Technologies and Innovation: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Science as evidence in policymaking, resource allocation related to science, technology, innovation and economic development; knowledge management within and across organizations national borders, etc.

 

• Employment and Work: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Unemployment, underemployment, precarious employment, re-training programs, veterans transition to civilian careers, workplace accommodation for persons with disabilities, earned income tax credit (EITC), the Child Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit, unemployment insurance, internships, apprenticeships, outsourcing, etc. May overlap with Social Equity on affirmative action and diversity hiring programs. May overlap with Crime, Violence, and Justice on prisoner re-entry and job training.

 

• Family, Child, and Aging Adult Policies: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Marriage and marriage education, child support enforcement, child care access, child care subsidies and quality, infants and toddlers, child wellbeing, parental education and employment, vulnerable children and families, school readiness, intergenerational mobility, childhood hunger, family resource and income management, single parent and child custody issues, family planning, older adult supports, caregiving for older adults,, and elder abuse.  May overlap with Health Policy.

 

• Food Systems: This policy areas includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Regulation of food production and distribution, food transporting, food marketing, consumption, food waste, agriculture policy, and worker health and safety as it related to the food system.

 

• Health Policy: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), barriers to health care access, wellness programs disabilities, rehabilitation programs for veterans, obesity and nutrition (exclusive of SNAP and WIC), physical activity, injury prevention, reproductive health, health care costs, physician behaviors, health literacy, alcohol, drug and tobacco use, arts programs as rehabilitation, finance and management of healthcare systems, and Health in All Policies (HiAP). 

 

• Housing: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues:  Housing stipends, Section-8 housing, community development plans to alleviate crime and poverty, foreclosures, home ownership, relocation assistance, Federal Housing Assistance Loans (FHAs), mortgage assistance, home owner and rental insurance, veterans housing programs, etc. Housing policy issues pertaining to cities, suburban, and rural areas are all welcomed.

 

• National and International Security and Social Surveillance: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Core security issues such as traditional intelligence and defense analysis, international security problems in general, homeland security and emergency preparedness, and emerging issues such as peace operations and intricacies of information warfare.

 

• Politics, Media, and Comparative Policy Analysis: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Implementing policy, policy reform, policymaking, policy procedures, political participation in policy, policy analysis, accommodating changing attitudes, grant policies, policy across all levels of government: federal, state and local, government efficiency, participation in governance, bureaucracy, intergovernmental relations, budget allocations, the effect of politics on policy, elections, global politics, and the role of media in the policy process.

 

• Race, Gender, Class, Age, and Intersectionality: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Gender (including transgender and non-binary gender identification), race, social class, age religion, national origin, ethnicity, immigration and LGBTQ issues, affirmative action and diversity programs, etc. May have overlap with Employment on affirmative action and diversity hiring programs.

 

• Relationship Between Public and Private Financial Institutions: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Performance management, citizen assessments of public performance, measuring efficacy of federal, state and local programs, block grants, intergovernmental finance, nonprofit management and finance, program implementation, citizen engagement, tax policy, knowledge management, public information sharing, budget cuts, and government priorities.

 

• Scientific Research, Complex Systems, and Tools of Analysis: This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: Methods of analysis, big data, new and existing data sources, data comparisons, program monitoring tools and dashboards, data collection and structuring, research design, policy informatics, computational modeling, system dynamics, data visualization, applications of analytic methods, evidence-based decision making, estimating causal effects, assessing bias, and use of health impact assessments and other impact assessments.

 

• Social Policy and the Quality of Life and Wellbeing of the Populations: This section could include analyses of public interventions aimed at the universalization of social, labor, and political rights, as well as programs specifically aimed at vulnerable populations. This policy area includes, but is not limited to, research on the following issues: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP), the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, Home Energy Assistance Programs (HEAP), welfare, school breakfast and lunch programs, personal retirement planning and income, impacts on poverty and inequality,  the Great Recession outcomes, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), poverty reduction programs, savings and asset accumulation, disability programs including Social Security Disability Insurance  and Supplemental Security Income.