About our Policy Camps
The Public Policy Camp is an APPAM initiative aimed at introducing the field of public policy to a group of students who might not otherwise be familiar with it, and increasing the pipeline of diverse students into APPAM institutional member graduate public policy and public affairs schools. We know that only by having all voices at the table can we be successful in our efforts of improving critical public policies for all.
NORC and The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy
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Public Policy as a Force for Positive Change – Your Voice Matters!
September 27, 2024, 9:00am-4:30pm
NORC at the University of Chicago 55 E Monroe St, Chicago, IL
Hosted by the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and NORC, this one-day conference is open to students of all backgrounds and presents an opportunity for underrepresented undergraduate students who have shown an interest in public policy. This is a great chance to:
• Meet policy practitioners and researchers
• Learn about diverse career paths
• Explore graduate school opportunities
• Network with peers and professionals
THERE IS NO COST TO ATTEND!
NORC’s downtown Chicago office is conveniently located in the Loop, accessible from any CTA or Metra train line. Limited street parking and private lots are available nearby.
Policy Camp Agenda - September 27
9:00 am - 10:00 am: Registration and Breakfast
Think-Pair-Share Activity
- Why is policy important to me?
- Why am I here today?
Think-Pair-Share is a learning activity that provides space for individual reflection (think), small group collaboration (pair), and broader learning and engagement (share). The aim of such activities is to enable participants time to formulate a response, feel comfortable in their response, gather feedback in a safe environment, and enable the group to learn from one another in an efficient manner (because we no longer need to hear from everyone).
We will be applying this technique to “get to know you” questions so that everyone has an opportunity to introduce themselves to their neighbor and consider their reason for attending without having. We expect some students will come with a peer, but students can come from a vast number of institutions. On each table will be four questions with instructions to ask these of your table mates.
- What is your name and why did you come today?
- What do you hope you will learn today?
- When you think of public policy, what does it mean to you?
- If you could eat any ice cream flavor, what would it be?
- Do you have a policy question you’ve been burning to know the answer to?
- If public policy was a tree, what would the tree be like?
10:00 am - 10:15 am: Opening Remarks and Welcome
- Harris leadership remarks
- NORC leadership remarks
10:15 am - 10:30 am Share Out from Think-Pair-Share
An opportunity to hear from each table so students can begin to know who is in the room
10:30 am – 11:30 am Harris Public Policy Overview & Applying to Graduate School (Incl. public policy intro)
- Admissions discussion
- Harris Video
- Current Students Panel that describes applying to and working in graduate school as well as what drew them to the field and what they are learning
11:30 - 11:45 NORC Policy Speaker
NORC will provide three brief talks on public policy work of interest and relevance to students. Talks will be positioned to illustrate public policy questions, how they can be answered, and what happens with that research. The talks will be interactive and illustrate how policy researchers think about social issues.
11:45 am – 12:00 pm Break/ Lunch setup
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Careers in Public Policy Lunch Discussion with NORC and Harris
Lunch discussions will be led by Harris students and NORC junior staff to provide intimate time to ask questions about graduate school and work at NORC.
Lunch Session Leaders are Harris graduate students and NORC junior staff who can answer questions about applying to graduate school and working in the policy sphere. The goal is to have people who can speak to both graduate school and work, particularly for students from community colleges whose trajectories to graduate school may be longer and who are more likely to come from underrepresented backgrounds.
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: Policy Problem Activity (10 ppl/group): Policy as Storytelling with David Chrisinger
David Chrisinger is the executive director of the Harris Writing Workshop and the author of Public Policy Writing That Matters. He is a master at turning data into persuasive prose and about how well-framed storytelling can catapult a policy issue to prominence.
2:00 pm - 2:10 pm: Break
2:10 pm - 2:45 pm: NORC Policy Discussions
Two policy-relevant projects will be presented in ways that ask students to engage with the topic, consider solutions, and question findings.
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm Panel Discussion: Shaping Tomorrow's Policy Leaders Today
Panelists will have questions beforehand so they can prepare brief responses. Questions will focus on what they do in their job, how it relates to public policy, and their career trajectory.
Moderator: Rachel Feldman, Senior Research Scientist, NORC
Panelists
Sarah Boyle, Director of Strategic Projects, Chicago Police Department
Adam Flores, Senior Insurance Advisor, Illinois Department of Insurance
Ali Fendrick, Policy Program Manager, Chicago Public Schools
Caleb Herod, Director of Income Growth, Chicago Community Trust
Marvin Slaughter, Senior Legislative Affairs and Research Portfolio Manager, Inclusive Economy Lab
Julian Williams, Evaluation Officer, MacArthur Foundation
3:30-4:30 Closing and Ice Cream Social
For additional questions, please contact Leslie Ofori at lofori@appam.org.
