CLOSUP Summer Internships: The CLOSUP Local Government Internship
Each year CLOSUP and the Ford School's Graduate Career Services Office work to arrange internship opportunities at units of local government in Michigan. These internship opportunities change each year. Below is a description of a recent opportunity, to provide a sense of the types of activities associated with these local government internships.
In 2005, the CLOSUP Local Government Internship provides a graduate student at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy with the opportunity to gain experience in downtown revitalization initiatives through a 10-week summer internship with the Ypsilanti DDA. The CLOSUP intern will work under the supervision of the Ypsilanti DDA Director and gain an exposure to a wide array of projects and issues involved in economic development within an historic downtown business district. The intern would work at the Ypsilanti DDA office located at 30 N. Washington Street in the heart of the downtown.
Proposed projects for Summer 2005 may include, but are not limited to, the following types of assignments:
- Assisting in efforts to administer the City of Ypsilanti's Cool Cities initiatives and specifically the Catalyst Project involving the expansion of the Riverside Arts Center into an adjacent DTE service building. This project will involve assisting with grant solicitation and administration, coordination of community input opportunities, project design and construction implementation, communications and promotion, and other related tasks.
- Assisting in efforts to administer the Huron Street Parking Lot and Streetscape Improvement Project scheduled for construction in 2005. This project will involve assisting with project communications, grant administration, coordination with project planners and contractors, and other related tasks.
- Developing a database to monitor the availability of space in the downtown and trends of investment and business start-ups/relocations. This project may also include updating available property listings for promotion through the DDA website and other resources.
- Assisting in research and development of recommendations on issues pertinent to the downtown and its revitalization including financial incentives for redevelopment, parking, pedestrian walkability, way-finding signage, promotions and marketing, business improvement districts and principal shopping districts, and other related topics.
- Assisting the Director in coordinating monthly Board of Director meetings for the Ypsilanti and Depot Town DDAs including meeting packet preparation, meeting minutes, Board requested assignments, and other related tasks.
Under the terms of the CLOSUP Internship, the student receives a paid fellowship in two installments during the summer. The internship is open to continuing MPP students at the Ford School.
