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Policy School Seminar Series: Mildenberger on Democratic Responsiveness in Congress
In the December 2023 installment of the Policy School Seminar Series, attendees heard from Prof. Matto Mildenberger, political scientist at UCSB specializing in the politics of climate change. Titled “Contacting Congress: Evidence of Reactive and Organizational Bias from Administrative Records of Contacts to Congress,” Mildenberger's talk delved into citizen engagement with Congress, unveiling demographic biases in constituent contact and revealing a 'reaction bias,' highlighting that Congress hears more from opponents of the status quo, leaving supporters of change and advocates for orphan issues underrepresented in communication. Mildenberger's analysis offered valuable insights into the intricate dynamics of democratic responsiveness.
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BARI Conference 2024 Call for Proposals
The BARI Conference 2024: Greater Boston’s Annual Insight-to-Impact Summit will take place at the Microsoft NERD Center in Cambridge on Friday, April 12th, 2024. This unique conference serves as a collaborative forum, uniting community leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to exchange insights on advancing data-driven research and policy in the Greater Boston area. Submit your proposals now! The deadline for submissions is January 19th, 2024.
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BARI Director Prof. Dan T. O'Brien | |
Director's Dialogue logo designed by summer intern Sienna Robertson | |
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Director’s Dialogue Series Creates New Discussion Space for Policy School Students
New student programming initiatives in Fall 2023 included the launch of a Director’s Dialogue series. Designed to provide small groups of Policy School students opportunities to meet and engage with Director Maria Ivanova, the gatherings generated substantive conversations and enthusiastic connections among students. “This really served as an open forum,” says Associate Director of Academic Operations Michele Rosenthal, “for students to ask questions about a broad range of topics. Participants discussed, both in person and virtually, issues in transportation policy, proposed the creation of a Teams channel for online students, and even swapped housing information.” Policy School students can look forward to more Director’s Dialogues in Spring 2024, including a session exclusively for online students. “It’s a great opportunity,” says Prof. Ivanova, “to exchange perspectives and offer feedback in a curious and candid manner.”
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Fall 2023 Capstone Symposium
Student teams in Prof. Ted Landsmark’s Fall 2023 Policy Capstone class gathered at the end of the semester to present their Policy Capstone projects with the School's community partners. The Policy Capstone Symposium gathered Policy School faculty, staff, and peers. This semester’s community partners for Prof. Landsmark’s class included Eastern Bank Foundation, MetroWest Regional Transit Authority, Taunton Redevelopment Authority, TSK Energy Solutions + Greater Grove Hall Main Streets, and Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology. "We are very pleased to have been able to work with public agencies, community-based organizations, a local foundation and an educational institution," said Prof. Landsmark, "to advance economic development and social justice."
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Posters for Fall 2023 Capstone projects | | |
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Michael Gleba Explores Housing Decision-Making at IMCL 2023 in the United Kingdom
In October 2023, part-time Lecturer Michael Gleba delivered a presentation titled "Let the Neighbors Decide, Too: Prospects for Sub-municipal Land Use Decision-making in the United Kingdom and the United States" at the 59th International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) conference held in Dorchester/Poundsbury, United Kingdom. Gleba explored strategies to enhance housing production, drawing inspiration from initiatives in Great Britain, such as "street voting." This concept involves empowering and incentivizing nearby residents to participate in land use decision-making, specifically authorizing denser development on their streets. The presentation also examined the potential implementation of such approaches in the United States.
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Kimberly Lucas Honored with the Bruin Excellence in Civic Engagement Award
Kimberly Lucas, Professor of the Practice in Public Policy and Economic Justice, joined 39 other awardees in Los Angeles this past November to receive the inaugural Bruin Excellence in Civic Engagement Award from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
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Pictured center right: Ted Landsmark | |
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Ted Landsmark Honored for Excellence in City Building
Ted Landsmark, Distinguished Professor of Public Policy & Urban Affairs and Director of the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban And Regional Policy, received the Norman B. Leventhal Award for Excellence in City Building Distinguished Leader Award. Named in memory of A Better City’s founding director, the awards recognize civic leaders and innovators who have made significant contributions to our built environment. Hear speakers celebrate Ted's legacy.
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Listed in order of appearance: PhD students Alaina Kinol, Elijah Miller, and Yutong Si, and Prof. Jennie C. Stephens | |
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AASHE 2023 Sustainability Award Recipient: Climate Justice in Higher Education
PhD students Alaina Kinol, Elijah Miller, Yutong Si, Hannah Axtell, Ilana Hirschfeld, Sophie Leggett, and Prof. Jennie C Stephens, Dean's Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy, were honored with the 2023 AASHE Sustainability Award in Campus Sustainability Research for their work on "Climate justice in higher education." This award, presented by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), recognizes their commitment to advancing sustainability within academic institutions. The research proposes a transformative role for colleges and universities in prioritizing climate justice across administration, operations, teaching, research, and community engagement. AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser commended the winners for reshaping the sustainability landscape in higher education.
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Listed in order of appearance: Prof. Shantanu Khanna, Prof. Nishith Prakash, Prof. Sara Constantino | |
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J-PAL Grant Explores Impact of Theater-Based Learning in Secondary Schools in India
Profs. Shantanu Khanna, Nishith Prakash, Sara Constantino, and external colleagues were awarded a significant grant from J-PAL’s Learning for All Initiative. The project will use a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) across 100 schools in India to estimate the causal impact of an experiential, theater-based learning pedagogy in secondary schools. The project will focus on measuring impacts on cognitive skills (critical thinking and learning), social skills (class participation, network formation, communication skills, pro-sociality), and emotional skills (stress, anxiety, self-care, self-esteem). This project is in partnership with Rang Kaarwaan, a grassroots organization working in the state of Uttarakhand, India.
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Kimberly Lucas to Assess Shared Services Expansion from Boston to Merrimack Valley
Kimberly D. Lucas, Professor of the Practice in Public Policy and Economic Justice, in collaboration with Wendy Wagner Robeson from the Wellesley Center for Women, has been awarded a $100,000 grant by the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, a nonprofit committed to building local economic prosperity in communities in eastern Massachusetts. The grant will fund an evaluation of the extension of their Shared Services program from Boston to the Merrimack Valley.
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Top: Istiakh Ahmed and Maddie Craig-Scheckman, Bottom: Olga Skaredina presenting at UNEP | |
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Three Northeastern PhD Students Represented the Policy School at COP28 in Dubai
Three Northeastern University PhD students, Istiakh Ahmed, Maddie Craig-Scheckman, and Olga Skaredina, represented the Policy School at COP28 in Dubai. During the event, Northeastern collaborated with other Boston universities, sharing a booth to amplify the School's impact to a wider audience. After COP28, Olga traveled to Nairobi, Kenya and delivered the closing statement representing the Children and Youth Major Group at the United Nations Environment Programme—UNEP.
Money + Rule: Unveiling Insights on Loss and Damage Fund Operationalization at COP28
Istiakh Ahmed co-organized and presented at a side event titled "Money + Rule: Towards the operationalization of the loss and damage fund under the UNFCCC." During this session, he shared insights derived from a recently published Nature article co-authored with Professor Laura Kuhl and PhD student Johan Arango-Quiroga. The article emphasized the urgent need for swift and pragmatic climate finance solutions, drawing on lessons learned from the Green Climate Fund.
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Pictured left: Istiakh Ahmed with fellow panelists Prof. Lisa Vanhala (University College, London UK), Brenda Mwale (CC Youth Advocate), Amb. Adao Soares Barbosa (Timor-Leste, L&D Negotiator), Harjeet Singh (Climate Action Network International), and Hafij Kahn (WIM Ex-Com Member, L&D Negotiator-LDC, L&D TC Advisor) | | |
School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs | |
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