Humphrey Capstone Workshops
The Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota is working with the Hennepin-University Partnership to explore ways to build a stronger connection between County programs and student capstone projects. Capstone projects can be excellent ways to work with accomplished graduate students who produce quality work products at no cost to the County.
To move towards this objective, the Humphrey Institute is inviting Hennepin County departments to submit Capstone Workshop proposals for the Spring 2011 semester. Capstone Workshop projects are designed to provide a learning opportunity for second-year graduate policy and planning students to apply their knowledge through a client-based team project. The workshops include written reports for the client, oral presentations to the client that summarize the major findings of the report, and reflection papers on the workshop experience.
After a proposal is submitted, capstone student groups select the client they would most like to work with, and therefore, not every idea is selected for a project. While projects in any area will be considered, proposals in the following topics may have a better chance of being selected:
- Environment/energy/risk management
- The nature of government-nonprofit relationships. Students look at 1) funding; 2) advocacy; 3) strategic partnerships, restructuring, and networks
- Focus on the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood
- Social policy, particularly a project that uses quantitative evaluation techniques
- Collaborations (among public agencies, nonprofits, or a mix)
- Planning for sustainability at the community or project scale
- Non-motorized transportation
- Policy impacts of an aging population
To be considered, complete the proposal form and submit it to Stacey Grimes (e-mail to grime004@umn.edu or fax to 612-625-6351).
Humphrey Capstone Workshop Proposal Form
Notification of the selected projects will occur a few months before the beginning of the semester when work is to occur. Factors affecting project selection include:
- Number of proposals which are submitted
- Relevance of the proposal to University faculty research interests
- Number of student teams available
Are you interested but not ready to submit a proposal at this time? Projects for capstone workshops are needed throughout the year for Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.
Questions may be directed to Stacey Grimes at 612.626.1329 or grime004@umn.edu.