New research projects exploring teaching, public schools, affordable housing, the health of the Great Lakes and community fiscal health are winners of IPPSR’s 2018-19 Michigan Applied Public Policy Research (MAPPR) grants.
IPPSR is beginning to publish those research findings. Click here to read new research titles.
More than 30 proposals were submitted for competitive grants made by Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) in MSU’s College of Social Science.
The grants were announced Monday by IPPSR Interim Director Arnold Weinfeld. “We are excited to see the depth of these projects,” he said. “They ask and will propose applied policy to answer some of the state’s most important 
questions on education, the environment and community solvency.”
They also reflect interests expressed by the Michigan Legislature and communities around the state, he said. The MAPPR program is designed to link faculty research to current public policy discussions, and to connect research with practice.
IPPSR accepts MSU faculty research proposals for grants of up to $25,000 on an annual basis.
This year’s winners include the College of Social Science, Education, Engineering, Agriculture & Natural Resources and MSU Extension:
- Substitute Teaching Shortage: Exploring Substitute Teaching in Michigan. Researchers are Nathan Burroughs, Senior Research Associate, Center for the Study of Curriculum, College of Education, and Jaqueline Gardner, Data Specialist, Office of K-12 Outreach, College of Education.
- Spatial Mismatch in Housing and Employment: A Tool for Targeted Intervention in Michigan Neighborhoods. Noah J. Durst, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Planning, Design & Construction, College of Social Science, is the researcher.
- Line 5: Oil Spill Detection, Remediation, and Risk Perceptions in Winter Conditions. The researchers are Grant Gunn, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Environment & Spatial Sciences, College of Social Science; Doug Bessette, Assistant Professor, Community Sustainability; Robert Richardson, Associate Professor, Community Sustainability; Michelle Rutty, Assistant Professor, Community Sustainability, and Volodymyr Tarabara, Professor, Environmental Engineering and ESPP 39.
- Crime-Prevention through Environmental Design for Public Schools in Michigan: An Assessment of Safe School Environments and Suggestions for Public Policy. The researchers are Suk-Kyung Kim, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Interior Design Program, School of Planning, Design, & Construction, College of Social Science; Linda Nubani, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Interior Design, School of Planning, Design, & Construction; Jun-Hyun Kim, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture, School of Planning, Design, & Construction, and Tongbin Teresa Qu, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Urban and Regional Planning, School of Planning, Design, & Construction.
- Partnership Reform: Turning around Michigan Schools. Researchers are Chris Torres, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Administration, College of Education; Katharine Strunk, Ph.D., Professor and Erickson Distinguished Chair; Co-Director, Education Policy Innovation Collaborative; College of Education; and Joshua Cowen, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Education Policy, Founder and Co-director of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC).
- Deploying a Fiscal Stress Indicator System for Michigan Local Governments. Mary Schulz, Associate Director, MSUE Center for Local Government Finance & Policy; Eric Scorsone, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, and Shu Wang, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
Past MAPPR papers have focused on antibiotic resistance, economic development, educator training, community emergency managers, online purchasing, invasive species, healthcare, the environment and infrastructure. Past research papers can be seen at http://ippsr.msu.edu/public-policy/michigan-applied-public-policy-research-mappr/paper-archive.
More information about this year’s program, including project summaries, is available online at http://ippsr.msu.edu/public-policy/michigan-applied-public-policy-research-mappr.
IPPSR, which specializes in political leadership, public policy discourse and survey research, is also home to MSU’s Public Policy Forums, Michigan Political Leadership Program, State of the State Survey, State of the State Podcast and the Office for Survey Research.
It makes its online home at ippsr.msu.edu.