CCDE Fellowships

Fellowships for Spring 2024 Capstone (APA) Projects [MPP Students]:
Furthering Democratic Engagement and Civil Discourse in Public Policy 

Application Deadline: 5:00pm (Pacific), Friday, December 8, 2023

GSPP’s Center on Civility & Democratic Engagement (CCDE) is pleased to announce its Spring 2024 Capstone (APA) Fellowships program, "Furthering Democratic Engagement and Civil Discourse in Public Policy."

We welcome applications from MPP students planning Capstone (APA) Projects for Spring '24 in the areas of democracy and democratic engagement broadly understood.

While we are open toward supporting a wide range of democracy-related projects, we are particularly interested in projects concerned with improving democratic decision-making, enhancing community participation in policy-making, increasing representation, and providing meaningful voice for communities typically excluded from democratic processes.

RECENT AWARDEES

Recent awardee project-titles have included the following: (i) Is Democracy Dead? Gerrymandering and Reapportionment; (ii) Increasing Minority Law School Admissions; (iii) Improving Staff Rights in the California Legislature; (iv) TCAC Affordable Housing Criteria & Discrimination Against Low-Income Communities of Color; (v) The Future of Campaign Finance Reform; (vi) Implementation of the CARE Act; (vii) Juror Compensation and Representativeness; (viii) Farmer Participation in Sustainable Water Management; and (ix) Fighting Authoritarianism and Digital Surveillance in China.

Other recent topics include: (i) engaging unhoused encampment dwellers in the City of Oakland homelessness policy process; (ii) involving the formerly incarcerated in developing Fair Chance ("ban the box") housing policies; (iii) promoting more diverse participation in federal rulemaking; (iv) increasing community involvement by decentralizing school-level decision-making; (v) expanding/improving stakeholder engagement in policy impact evaluations; (vi) creating better open-government tools for more meaningful civic engagement; and (vii) promoting increased civic engagement through public election financing (separate projects in US, Chile, Colombia).
  
Additional past projects are described in the research section of CCDE’s website.

Please note that the purpose of the Center's APA Fellowships is to provide financial and programmatic support for student projects advancing the Center’s mission. As noted below, the financial support we provide is administered through the central-campus payment system and may be impacted by the awardee's eligibility and other circumstances (e.g., existing financial aid, employment, etc.).

REQUIRED FELLOWSHIP DELIVERABLES

(1) Final Capstone (APA) Report completed under the supervision of the student's faculty advisor.
(2) A post-semester policy brief or “case” generated from the full Capstone (APA) Report.
(3) Availability to present your work to various CCDE audiences. 

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

All second-year MPP (and MPP-concurrent-degree) students scheduled to undertake their Capstone (APA) Project in Spring 2024 are invited to apply.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, please submit all required items listed below in one single consolidated PDF document. Please submit the document as an attachment to an email message sent to Larry Rosenthal, CCDE Program Director. Please send that message to the address lar@berkeley.edu. Please use the email subject-line "Spring 2024 CCDE Fellowship Application" (without quotation marks). All applications must be received by 5:00 pm (Pacific), Friday, December 8, 2023. Early submission of applications is encouraged. Items and information required for the application are as follows:

• Applicant contact information (full name, email address, and telephone number[s])
• Resume, vitae, or link to applicant’s complete LinkedIn page
• Student's current degree program(s) and intended year(s) of completion
• Capstone (APA) Project working title
• Client information (e.g., name of individual sponsor and/or organizational client)
• Capstone (APA) Project description (max. 500 words) covering the topic and/or issues presented, tentative problem definition, nature of planned work-effort, skill-sets to be utilized and/or developed, likely data source(s), and nature of deliverable(s) promised to the client
• A brief statement (max. 250 words) describing how the project will furthering democratic engagement and civil discourse in public policy, consistent with CCDE's mission
• Links to any additional downloadable documents you wish to make part of your application, such as references, websites providing background information, or examples of work already completed
• A list of all other sources of support expected for the Capstone (APA) Project (e.g., client-provided stipend and/or in-kind project support)

FELLOWSHIP AWARDS

Fellowship award amounts will be determined by the Center, with a target average award in the $2,500-$3,000 range. The number and amount of fellowship awards will vary depending on the number of applications received, the number of selected applicants, and the annual allocation of Center resources toward the Fellowship Program. The Center aims to announce awards prior to the start of the semester. NOTE: Fellowship awards will be administered via standard UC Berkeley central-campus payment systems. Payment may depend upon the awardee’s eligibility, consistent with university compensation policies and/or financial aid limits.

THE CENTER'S ROLE

Once awards are announced, each recipient will be asked to meet with the Center's leadership prior to the beginning of the spring semester. These discussions will clarify project features, build shared expectations, and emphasize the Center's priorities and focus areas. 

Application Deadline

5:00pm (Pacific), Friday, December 8, 2023.

Questions?

Please direct your inquiries regarding the Center's Capstone (APA) Fellowships Program to Larry Rosenthal, CCDE Program Director (lar@berkeley.edu).