During the 2021–2022 academic year, RCP partnered with Towerside Innovation District, Hennepin County Elections, the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association, the UMN American Indian Tribal Nations Relations Office, SouthWest Transit, Washington County, and the Cities of Maplewood and Little Canada on projects to advance community sustainability, equity, and resilience. You can learn more about the projects below.
If your local government agency has a project idea to build community resilience that could benefit from research or technical assistance from the University of Minnesota, consider applying for an RCP Partnership today!
Towerside Innovation District: Building Equity and Economics for a Resilient Towerside
Project Goal: Identify how Towerside can align with potential industry and partners’ goals to guide future strategic planning and attract further investment. (Project Brief)
Partner: Towerside Innovation District
Project Lead: Sabina Saksena, Board Director, Towerside Innovation District
Course Matches:
PA 5211 Land Use Planning (Fall 2021) | Final Report >
PA 8081: Urban Planning Capstone (Spring 2022) | Final Report >
Hennepin County: Preparing for the Future of Elections
Project Goal: Analyze voting behavior and the potential impact the 2020 election will have on future voting trends. (Project Brief)
Partner: Hennepin County Elections
Project Lead: Nimisha Nagalia, Elections Administrator, Hennepin County
Course Matches:
IE 5801: Industrial and Systems Engineering Capstone Project (Fall 2021) | Final Report (unavailable) | Presentation > (video)
PA 5190: Designing Change for the Public Sector (Spring 2022) | Final Report >
Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association: Improving Emergency Medical Services in Minnesota
Project Goal: To analyze policy in order to support policy changes to improve emergency medical services in Minnesota. (Project Brief)
Partner: Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association (MSFCA)
Project Lead: BJ Jungmann, Legislative Chair, Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association
Course Matches:
LAW 7606 Independent Research (Spring 2021) | Final Report | Final Presentation (video)
PA 8081 Public Affairs Capstone (Summer 2021) | Final Report | Final Presentation (video)
UMN American Indian Tribal Nations Relations Office: Towards Recognition and University-Tribal Healing (TRUTH)—A Strategic Analysis of the Morrill Land Grab in Minnesota
Project Goal: To provide an analysis of the economic value to the University of Minnesota and other land-grant institutions of lands that were not willingly ceded by Indigenous peoples in Minnesota under the Morrill Act. (Project Brief)
Partner: University of Minnesota American Indian Tribal Nations Relations Office
Project Lead: Tadd Johnson, Esq., Senior Director of American Indian Tribal Nations Relations, University of Minnesota; An Garagiola-Bernier, TRUTH Project Research Assistant
Course Matches:
RCP Scholars Team (Fall 2021) | Final Report > | Final Presentation > (video) | TRUTH Project Presentation (video) > | Storymap >
PA 8081: Urban Planning Capstone (Spring 2022) | Final Report: University-Tribal Relationships > | Final Report: Permanent University Fund >
SouthWest Transit: Understanding the History and Evolution of Transit System Governance in the Twin Cities Region
Project Goal: To provide current and future stakeholders with key information related to the timeline and history of transit governance in the Twin Cities region. (Project Brief)
Partner: SouthWest Transit
Project Lead: Matt Fyten, Chief Operations Officer, SouthWest Transit
Course Matches:
PA 5232: Transportation Policy, Planning and Deployment (Fall 2021) | Final Report > | Final Presentation > (video)
PA 8991: Transportation Policy Independent Study (Spring 2022) | Final Report > | Final Presentation > (video)
SouthWest Transit: Assessing the Effectiveness of Transit System Governance Policy and Planning in the Twin Cities Region
Project Goal: To assess the effectiveness of transit system governance and planning in the Twin Cities region. (Project Brief)
Partner: SouthWest Transit
Project Lead: Matt Fyten, Chief Operations Officer, SouthWest Transit
Course Matches:
PA 5232: Transportation Policy, Planning and Deployment (Fall 2021) | Final Report > (coming soon) | Final Presentation > (video)
PA 8991: Transportation Policy Independent Study (Spring 2022) | Final Report > (coming soon) | Final Presentation > (video)
Maplewood: Developing a Single-Family Housing Rehabilitation Program
Project Goal: To identify best practices to create a program that offers affordable, owner-occupied, single-family homes (Project Brief)
Partner: City of Maplewood (with matching funds from the Metropolitan Council)
Project Lead: Jeff Thomson, Community Development Director, City of Maplewood
Course Matches:
PA 5261: Housing Policy (Spring 2022) | Final Report | Presentation (video) >
PA 8081: Public Affairs Capstone (Summer 2022) | Final Report and Presentation
Washington County: Improving Access to County Parks
Project Goal: To find ways to reduce barriers and increase park participation among underrepresented parks users (Project Brief)
Partner: Washington County (with matching funds from the Metropolitan Council)
Project Lead: Connor Schaefer, Public Works Planner, Washington County
Course Matches:
PA 5041: Qualitative Methods for Policy Analysts (spring 2022)
BIPOC Communities Team: Final Report | Presentation (video) >
Seniors Team: Final Report | Presentation (video) >
Little Canada: Creating and Sustaining Equity through Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Public Transit Connectivity
Project Goal: To identify strategies to improve and enhance the equity, accessibility, connectivity, and safety of pedestrian, bicycle, and public transit pathways (Project Brief)
Partner: City of Little Canada (with matching funds from the Metropolitan Council)
Project Lead: Corrin Wendell, Director of Community Development & Planning, City of Little Canada
Course Matches:
PA 8081: Urban Planning Capstone (spring 2022) | Final Report | Presentation (video) >