Student Opportunities at CLOSUP for AY2020-21

The Michigan Redistricting Project: Communities of Interest

Summary:

The CLOSUP Michigan Redistricting Project is seeking research assistants to conduct research on "communities of interest" in Michigan and build a database that can be used for outreach to these groups during Michigan's upcoming redistricting process. In particular, we hope to identify groups that tend to be under-represented, are under-resourced, and are unlikely to participate in the redistricting process without being engaged by outside stakeholders.

Background:

In the fall of 2019 CLOSUP launched its Michigan Redistricting Project on behalf of the Michigan Secretary of State's Office to provide advice to the state's new Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC). A team of Ford School students led by professor emeritus John Chamberlin conducted research to provide insights to the ICRC on how to handle the new redistricting criterion known as "Communities of Interest" (COIs). Their report was included in the ICRC's initial briefing packet in preparation for their first meeting, in September 2020.

COIs are a new concept in Michigan, but have been included in redistricting in other states. There is no common definition of what COIs are, and yet they are one of the highest priorities the ICRC will have to address in drawing Michigan's new maps. According to the CLOSUP report to the ICRC:

Communities of interest “may include, but shall not be limited to, populations that share cultural or historical characteristics or economic interests.
A Community of Interest is associated with a contiguous area on a map.
The common bonds associated with a Community of Interest are linked to a set of public policy issues that would be affected by legislation. These shared interests in legislation are likely to result in a desire to share the same legislative district in order to secure more effective representation.

Examples of COIs include:

Historical communities; economic communities; racial communities; ethnic communities; cultural communities; religious communities; immigrant communities; language communities; geographic communities; neighborhoods; economic opportunity zones; tourism areas; school districts; outdoor recreation areas; communities defined by natural features; creative arts communities; media markets, etc.

Student job description and desired qualifications:

We are seeking students to assist in researching and identifying potential COIs, and constructing a database that can be used by stakeholders to engage COIs in Michigan's upcoming redistricting process. The types of information that will be collected for the database include very brief overview descriptions of the COI; the types of public policies that may be of particular importance to the COI; its geographic location; whether it has the capacity to engage in the redistricting process with assistance by outside stakeholders; website URL if it has a web presence; and contact information for key personnel.

Skills and desired qualifications: Experience with Excel. Attention to detail. Some familiarity with state and local policy. The ability to work both independently and as part of a team is critical. Strong written and oral communication skills are needed. The work will be completed remotely, with regular meetings/supervision. We expect the work to range from 5-10 hours per week and to last at least through the fall semester and possibly into the winter semester.

Interested students should email their resume and a brief statement of interest to CLOSUP-Student-Jobs@umich.edu, with the subject line “COI RA position.”

The Michigan Public Policy Survey (Applications Closed)

Summary

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at the Ford School of Public Policy is looking for a research assistant to work during the fall (and possibly winter) term on various projects related to the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS). The MPPS, an annual census survey of all 1,856 general purpose local governments in Michigan, investigates local officials’ opinions and perspectives on a variety of important public policy issues. The program gathers longitudinal tracking data on “core” fiscal, budgetary and operational policy issues, as well as covering a wide range of additional topics over time.

Student job description and desired qualifications:

The MPPS research assistant will work approximately 5-10 hours per week on a series of projects including data processing, curation and archiving of past MPPS survey datasets with UM’s open ICPSR data archive; analysis of MPPS opinion survey data, including comparisons with survey data from other sources; assisting with survey planning by researching topics for upcoming waves, and assisting with current survey operations.

A master’s or undergraduate student in public policy, political science, economics or a relevant social science discipline is preferred, though undergraduate students with strong skills will be considered; interest in issues of state and local government and/or public policy more generally; basic knowledge of social science research methods and concepts; excellent computing skills, including the ability to learn new software packages quickly; experience with social science statistical software package including Stata.

Interested students should email their resume and a brief statement of interest to CLOSUP-Student-Jobs@umich.edu, with the subject line “MPPS RA position.”

Understanding Local Government Fiscal Health (Applications closed)

Summary:

Launched in 2019 by CLOSUP and Stephanie Leiser, and working in partnership with the Michigan State University Extension Center for Local Government Finance & Policy and the Michigan Department of Treasury, the CLOSUP Local Fiscal Health project is aimed at developing a deeper understanding of the fiscal health and fiscal challenges of local governments in Michigan. This deeper understanding will contribute toward a proactive approach to local fiscal health in Michigan, promoting greater transparency and early detection of signs of fiscal stress.

The Local Fiscal Health project will combine insights from local officials, reported through the Michigan Public Policy Survey, with insights from various sources of local government financial and economic data to explore research questions such as:

How do local officials assess their fiscal health, and how are their assessments related to various aspects of fiscal health, including budget balancing, service delivery, infrastructure, and retiree pensions/healthcare?
How do local officials’ assessments compare to measures of fiscal health derived from financial and economic data? To the extent that they disagree, what accounts for the difference?
Are there systematic differences between governments that report higher levels of stress versus lower levels of stress?

Student job description and desired qualifications:

We are seeking students to assist in data collection and analysis.

Experience building and working with databases (in Excel and Stata) are preferred. Familiarity with financial concepts and data are preferred (e.g. Pub Pol 715), although not required. The ability to work both independently and as part of a team is critical. Strong written and oral communication skills are needed. The work can mostly be completed remotely, with regular meetings/supervision. We expect the work to range from 5-7 hours per week and to last at least through the fall semester and likely into the winter semester.

Interested students should email their resume and a brief statement of interest to CLOSUP-Student-Jobs@umich.edu, with the subject line “Local Fiscal Health Project RA position.”

The Functioning of Democracy across the Urban-Rural Spectrum (Applications Closed)

Summary:

To complement the UM Democracy and Debate Theme Semester, CLOSUP is launching a special project this fall to explore the functioning of democracy across the urban-rural spectrum.

There is much talk, especially in recent years, about the urban-rural divide: the idea that urban and rural people think fundamentally differently about a whole range of policy issues, and about governance itself. Most commonly, this divide is attributed to politics and demographic differences between urban and rural residents. But differences in geography—specifically population density, land use, and prevailing industry—may also contribute to different policy preferences and participation in government. And further, while much attention is drawn to areas of disagreement, there are areas where Americans share common ideals.

Using data from previous iterations of the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), this project will identify where there are and—importantly—are not differences along the urban-rural continuum, especially as it relates to the functioning of democracy at the local level. In particular, we will explore:

The state of civil civic discourse
Public participation in decision-making
Community engagement practices
Access to government information and an informed citizenry
Local government policy priorities

Student job description and desired qualifications:

We are seeking 5 students to commit 8-10 hours per week for the Fall semester to conduct background research, perform data analysis on existing survey data, and draft a ~10 page research paper on one of the above topics, as well as present their work on a webinar in late November. While students will be working on individual projects, each week they will (remotely) meet as a group with the CLOSUP project manager to jointly develop a report outline, troubleshoot data analysis, and peer review eachother’s work.

We are seeking masters students who have experience with statistical analysis in either SPSS or Stata; an interest and ability to work both independently and as part of a team; strong written communication skills; and an interest in exploring urban/rural issues. Experience with independent research is preferred, though not required.

The day/time for the required weekly group meeting will be determined once students are selected.

Interested students should email their resume and a brief (1-2 page) statement of interest to CLOSUP-Student-Jobs@umich.edu, with the subject line “Urban/Rural Project RA Position.”

If you have a preference for a particular bulleted topic, please address that in your statement of interest.

Submission Deadline:

Interviews with qualified candidates will begin August 27th.

CLOSUP Communications Assistant (Applications Closed)

Student job description and desired qualifications:

CLOSUP is looking for a student to assist with communications and outreach. The assistant will develop tweets and facebook posts to advertise new reports, events, and highlight prior research results; assist with CLOSUP website maintenance; update and maintain the CLOSUP mailing list; research audiences for targeted messaging for specific CLOSUP reports and other communications;

Desired qualifications: excellent computing skills, including the ability to learn new software packages quickly, interest in communication, experience with twitter and other social media; experience with adobe photoshop and/or illustrator.

Interested students should email their resume and a brief statement of interest to CLOSUP-Student-Jobs@umich.edu, with the subject line “CLOSUP Communications position.”

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Student Opportunities at CLOSUP for AY2020-21

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10/15/20: New research assistant position on "communities of interest" listed

The Michigan Redistricting Project: Communities of Interest

Summary:

Background:

Student job description and desired qualifications:

Interested students should email their resume and a brief statement of interest to CLOSUP-Student-Jobs@umich.edu, with the subject line “COI RA position.”

The Michigan Public Policy Survey (Applications Closed)

Summary

Student job description and desired qualifications:

Interested students should email their resume and a brief statement of interest to CLOSUP-Student-Jobs@umich.edu, with the subject line “MPPS RA position.”

Understanding Local Government Fiscal Health (Applications closed)

Summary:

Student job description and desired qualifications:

Interested students should email their resume and a brief statement of interest to CLOSUP-Student-Jobs@umich.edu, with the subject line “Local Fiscal Health Project RA position.”

The Functioning of Democracy across the Urban-Rural Spectrum (Applications Closed)

Summary:

Student job description and desired qualifications:

Interested students should email their resume and a brief (1-2 page) statement of interest to CLOSUP-Student-Jobs@umich.edu, with the subject line “Urban/Rural Project RA Position.”

Submission Deadline:

CLOSUP Communications Assistant (Applications Closed)

Student job description and desired qualifications:

Interested students should email their resume and a brief statement of interest to CLOSUP-Student-Jobs@umich.edu, with the subject line “CLOSUP Communications position.”