Roles and Responsibilities

Each APP is a true collaboration between the Batten MPPs and your organization and relies on commitments from both parties. If selected, your organization will serve as the subject matter expert on a policy problem facing your organization or field of work (see Types of Projects for examples). While client involvement varies, at a minimum your responsibilities will include:

• Submitting a project proposal application (see attachment)
• If selected, participating in 2-3 meetings (in-person or virtual) with the student to further define the problem statement submitted in your application.
• Committing to the process of both analyzing the problem and identifying solutions.
• Providing the student with relevant resources – institutional information, data, and access to key organization members and partners – that will help the student gain a deep understanding of the trade-offs that are critical to developing workable options to address their policy problem;
• Periodic conversations and email exchange to discuss progress and challenges as needed; and
• Reviewing the final APP report
• Reporting any issues that arise during the project period to Batten faculty
• Participating in a brief evaluation of the process.

The student assigned to your organization will serve as a technical consultant, responsible for providing you with recommendations for how to address the policy problem. The student’s responsibilities will include:

• Facilitating 2-3 meetings (in-person or virtual) with the client organization to further define the problem statement.
• Conducting literature reviews, key stakeholder interviews and data analysis as appropriate to understand the context of the problem.
• Investigating potential solutions based on these findings.
• Evaluating potential solutions based on criteria such as cost-effectiveness, feasibility, sustainability, etc.
• Making recommendations to your organization based on the findings

Students are expected to act professionally and to plan meetings and deliverables according to their client’s schedules. All students have completed training provided by the University of Virginia’s Institutional Review Board about the handling of sensitive data.

Supervision from Faculty

During the Fall and Spring Semester, each student is assigned 1 faculty member to work with them. Students will have weekly check-in with the faculty and workshop through issues they may have. Both semesters have deliverables throughout: literature review, alternatives proposals, criteria selection, half-time report, oral presentations, cost-benefit analysis, and final report.