Online Event Archive Recorded September 20, 2023
NCRC announced a new Fellowship Program with UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Policy (GSPP) that provides NCRC member organizations located in the San Francisco Bay Area (in Northern CA) with an exciting opportunity to increase their impact as they tackle the most pressing community development challenges facing the communities they serve!
NCRC members located in the San Francisco Bay Area are invited to submit a project proposal to work with a GSPP student to help them solve a specific and current policy problem. This serves as the student’s final capstone project and is a graduation requirement. Throughout the Spring 2024 semester, the student will conduct advanced research and analysis to inform recommendations for evidence-based and actionable solutions to the problem scoped by the organization. These solutions will be presented to the organization to consider for implementation.
In general:
- Proposals should begin with a statement of a problem or a perceived problem currently facing the organization or the community they serve, and clearly state the decision for which the organization is seeking recommendations.
- Ideal projects are those where the organization is not sure how to move forward, and should not be based on an organization’s preferred solution.
Transcript:
NCRC video transcripts are produced by a third-party transcription service and may contain errors. They are lightly edited for style and clarity.
Speakers:
- Sabrina Terry, Chief of Strategic Programs and Development, NCRC
- Anne Campbell Washington, Senior Assistant Dean for Academic Programs and Dean of Students, GSPP
- Cecille Cabacungan, Managing Director of Career & Alumni Services, GSPP
- Hector Cardenas, Capstone Faculty, GSPP
- Erika Weissinger, Capstone Faculty, GSPP
- Caitie Rountree, Director of Membership and Events, NCRC
Terry 1 0:00
All right. Hello, everyone. My name is Sabrina Terry. I am the Chief of strategic programs and development and CRC. Thank you for joining us today to discuss the fellowship for equitable development and our exciting new partnership with the Goldman School for Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Just a quick reminder, before we jump into it, that NCRC is Code of Conduct does apply to this webinar. And that, you know, throughout the presentation today, you can feel free to submit questions in the chat or in the q&a section of the Zoom screen. And we will definitely answer them in a follow up conversation or at the end. I’d like to move on by saying that, you know, as many of you know, this is the second year of the fellowship for equitable development, which aims to match talented graduate students with our outstanding members to advance equitable development strategies in bipoc communities across the country. This program was specifically structured so that both students and organizations can benefit from each other’s expertise and passion to make a difference. The fellowship for equal development was really NCRC’s way of acknowledging and or acknowledging that many of the issues that we work on today are I say interrelated and profound, and will take years if not generations to really reconcile or address. And because of that, we really wanted to make sure that we were thinking about how to engage the workforce of tomorrow, just a quick stat in less than five years, generation Zers will make up more than 20% of the workforce. And Millennials or Generation Y, depending on what you call them, will make up more than 50% of the workforce. So embracing the generational shift that’s taking place within the workforce, and providing targeted professional development opportunities to empower the next incoming champions of equitable commune development is really central to what the fellowship for eco-development is about. It’s a part of NCRC is guiding values, to support our coalition members to really build community-based power. And we believe that by connecting students, to our members that we are then helping to build that community-based power and also increase the sustainability of the work that we do over time. So our partnership with the Goldman School of Public Policy, we’re able to actually expand this fellowship opportunity in Northern California. And we believe after several conversations that the values of the Goldman School of Public Policy really do align with the values of NCRC in our membership network, and that is a value add for everyone involved. And so we are very excited to share more about the opportunity with you all today more about what we’re looking for how you can apply and address any questions that you may have. So thank you for taking the time out and we hope that you find this an enlightening experience. And from there, I will pass it off.
Campbell Washington 3:23
Thank you so much, Sabrina. We are so excited to be here today. I am going to just ask the seal to move to the next slide. My name is Anne Campbell Washington and I’m Senior Assistant Dean for Academic Programs and Dean of Students at the Goldman School of Public Policy. And I want to just first take a moment to introduce you to the team of folks who are here today to present this exciting opportunity and talk through some of the program aspects. First, I would like to introduce the CEO kappa Coogan. Cecile.
Cabacungan 4:00
Hello, everyone. Thank you, Anne. I’m the Managing Director of Career and Alumni Services at the Goldman School. And part of my role is to work with students and our faculty with these exciting projects that we’re going to share more about with you today. So I’m happy to answer questions, and I’m excited to pursue this partnership with all of you. Thanks, Annie.
Campbell Washington 4:24
Thank you, Cecille. Hector.
Cardenas 4:28
Hello. Very nice to meet you. I’m on the faculty at the Goldman School of Public Policy and I’m also the the Faculty Director for the Master’s in Public Administration. And I teach the Capstone one you know, several Capstone sections. So I oversee, oversee the way that the students are carrying out their capstone assignment. It’s a real pleasure to be here and very excited to to get some of your your fellows
Campbell Washington 4:56
Thank you, Hector. Erica?
Weissinger 4:57
Hello, everybody. My name is Erika Reisinger and I am a professor of practice at the Goldman School, I also oversee several Capstone sections. So I really have the pleasure of getting to see students interacting with clients and producing work that is relevant in the real world and helpful to clients and also an instrumental part of their learning experience here at the Goldman School.
Campbell Washington 5:23
Thank you so much, Erica. And on behalf of the Goldman School of Public Policy, I just really wanted to express a giant amount of gratitude to Sabrina Terry and the team at NCRC, Sabrina had the opportunity to meet with our Dean David Wilson, which is where the idea for this partnership was born. And I’m very grateful. And we’re excited to share more about it with you now, since you. So just to give you a tiny bit of history on the Goldman School of Public Policy, our school was founded in 1969. And it’s one of the very first public policy schools in the nation, we are ranked often as the number one public policy analysis program in the nation by US News and World Report. And we’re proud to hold that title, but also to be at the number one public university in the country. At UC Berkeley, we really take pride in the fact that we are a public university, we’re serving California, we’re serving the country and serving the world. We are a professional school preparing students for diverse careers, whether it’s in development practice, domestic intern, or international policy, or any sector, frankly, our students go off and work in the public sector at the local state, national international level, as well as the private sector and nonprofit sector. And we’re thrilled to be partnering with you, in this way, Cecile. So, the exciting opportunity that was born out of this relationship is that we every year, require our students in their final semester before they graduate that they must take on a capstone project. So in their final semester, they are taking on a client project and really serving as a consultant with that client to complete a capstone project. The goals for our students are that they conduct research and analysis to inform recommendations to that client organization that they’re working with, to solve a specific and current real-world policy problem. And the deliverables can be many, but for sure, they will deliver a final report as part of their capstone report, but they also can be required to make a presentation to their client, they can be required to make a presentation to the client’s constituents. It really can be a broad set of deliverables that the students are asked to complete. But they will be outlining their evidence-based recommendations with actionable solutions to the problem that you have identified. So seal. So the proposals that you will come up with as the client, you will come up with a proposal that starts with a problem statement. So we ask the clients to really hone in on what is the problem or perceived problem that’s facing your organization or the communities that you serve by, by really taking the time to outline that problem, you’re setting yourself up with a student to be able to tackle that problem, and really get you to something that will be meaningful. In the end, we ask that that proposal is intellectually and analytically challenging. So it must involve a policy or programmatic choice that you are facing, and is something that you are actively seeking an answer to. And that problem should really require qualitative or quantitative data analysis in order to develop alternative solutions or recommendations. And Hector, we’ll get into a little bit more detail about the proposal requirements. Thank you, Hector.
Cardenas 9:13
Thank you. Thank you, Anne. Yes, I think sometimes it’s easier to talk in the negative and say what it shouldn’t be. Right? And because there’s a little bit of confusion, sometimes. It shouldn’t be a literature review. Right? This is not this is not a theoretical exercise. It’s, it shouldn’t be a literature review. It shouldn’t be something that is part of somebody else’s work. It has to be sort of self-contained, so that the student can take ownership of what they’re working on. And most importantly, it has to address a real problem that you really want an answer to. And ideal shouldn’t be either an answer that you already have, like they just want confirmation of something that you already think, but rather, it’s an open-ended problem that you want to deal with. With and you would like some advice. And you would like somebody to go deep into the issues and give you some ideas about how to solve it. What are the alternatives that could make an impact, and then put it all together for you in a really nice, nice package. That’s that’s essentially what we’re looking for in a in a capstone. So I think Erica, you’re going to show us…
Weissinger 10:27
Sure. In terms of in terms of the program structure, the first phase is in the beginning that people are creating project proposals and selecting students, and then refining that within within NCRC member organization. In phase two, between January 16, and may 3, the students will be actually engaging with the project and completing the project with a member organization in consultation with a gspp faculty advisor. And he or Cecile, do you want to add to this?
Campbell Washington 11:03
Yes, we’ll pass it over to Cecile. Now, thank you.
Cabacungan 11:09
Thank you. So just to go into that deeper into each phase of this program. So the very first kind of milestone is coming up in a few weeks. And that’s the deadline to submit proposals, which is on October 2 20 2003. And during this period between today and that deadline, we are open to NCRC members reaching out to less if they have questions on how to how to construct their proposal. If they have questions about scope, or anything to help you prepare the best proposal possible that would be attractive to our students. We’re here to provide assistance with that. And so we we definitely want to make sure that, that any, any questions are answered for you in this stage. And then after the deadline, to submit proposals that will become the period where students will review the projects that were submitted by NCRC members, and they’ll apply to those projects that they’re interested in. So they’ll have about two week a two week period to apply to proposals that they’re interested in. And then after the application period NCRC members will review any student applications that were received and the Goldman School will will manage that process and send applications in batches to organizations that had submitted proposals. And at this point, it’s really up to the for the member organization to decide, you know, which students they would like to interview or get to know better in terms of deciding you know, who might be the best fit to work for their project at the end, and then at the end of those interviews, the NCRC member would actually select the student to work on their project if they find someone who is a good match for the work that they want done. And that deadline to select a student for your project is November 3. Once everything is all in place, and the student has accepted to do the work, then a little more work can can can be done between the student and in the organization during the month of November, to further define or refine the project scope, and that can also be done in consultation with the students Capstone faculty advisor and then at the end of the day by December 1, all of the project scope and an agreement in writing about the work that has to be done should be in place by December 1. There is flexibility with these dates if if you know an organization finds themselves in a situation where they need more time, so always feel free to reach out to us if that’s your situation. And as I mentioned earlier, during this first period, the proposal submission process, I would be the first point of contact if you have any questions or would like some assistance and then we will determine who is the best person to To help each organization. Moving on to phase two, which is the very exciting part where organizations will actually see the students start working on the project. As mentioned before, in consultation with our capstone advisor, they will be working throughout the spring semester, which is about 15 weeks long, you know, starting off with, you know, further defining the problem determining, you know, data sources that are needed in order for the student to really dive in and, and dig deep on any kind of data analysis to see what’s really causing this problem. And how can this data inform any kind of alternatives or recommended solutions that will be outlined in a final report. Part of the work that’s done during, during the 15-week semester are definitely regular check-ins between the student and the client organization. And that schedule would be finalized and agreed upon between the student and the client. And again, throughout this whole period, the students will be advised by their faculty advisor. And they’ll also be given periodic assignments along the way, just to make sure that the students are staying on top of of everything and moving towards progressing to finish the project. In April, is usually when there’s a draft version of the report that’s due both to the students Capstone instructor, and also to the client organization for review and feedback. But that doesn’t mean that, you know, throughout the, you know, the couple of months before that, that you’re not seeing interim drafts of things. So the student would be sharing jobs throughout the process. The final deadline to submit the final report is May 3, in 2024. And final presentations would happen at some point in early May as well. So hopefully, it’s a big, broad overview of the two phases of this project. And I think at this point, all of us are ready to answer questions from anyone who has any.
Campbell Washington 18:01
Thank you, Cecille. So I can see that there are five member organizations here. Okay, good. I see someone submitted a question there on the q&a. So we’ll take a look at that. How much grant money is the NCRC? member or awarded? You? So I’m not exactly sure about the question here. But what I want to call it, the agreement that’s being developed is between NCRC And the Goldman School of Public Policy to be able to pay the students for for working with a member organization. On this client project. Is that correct? Cecille, so I don’t know that that there’s any requirement of the member organization. Caitie, can you help me here?
Rountree 19:00
Sure. Thank you. Just to clarify, there’s actually not money that goes in either direction for the NCRC member there’s on the one hand, the NCRC member does not need to pay fellow right. And on the other hand, the NCRC member is not receiving a check from either Berkeley or NCRC. The benefit the value of this program is the work and the project that the fellow is performing for the NCRC member. And then you know, we are paying that stipend separately so that our member organizations don’t have to incur that cost to make sure that that work that that fellow is doing is being supported.
Campbell Washington 19:46
Thank you, Caitie, you stated that very eloquently and I was struggling a little bit. But that is a benefit to the NCRC. Member org because very often the clients that take on our students are paying them directly that stipend but in this case That stipend has been paid by NCRC. So that is the benefit to the number organization. That looks like there’s another question here. Do you have an expected enrollment for the number of students and projects? Would you like to take that Cecille?
Cabacungan 20:13
Sure. Of all of our graduating students who will be doing this project there, there are about 140 students who are looking for our project. And then, for each project, it would be one student working with one organization. So hopefully that answers your question here.
Campbell Washington 20:39
I think the question is actually the number of NCRC member organizations that are being funded through the agreement.
Rountree 20:46
Yep. And I can sorry about that. I didn’t know your answer was good. And I think it’s really helpful for our members to know that this is part of a broader, you know, on both sides, right. Like for NCRC, we offer this fellowship across the country, and we’re doing something unique with y’all and in the Bay Area. And similarly, y’all have a larger program. But we have a very specific target, that we’re hoping to support five of our member organizations in this first iteration of this and then revisit that partnership and see if there’s room for expansion. And I think there’s a little bit of flexibility, but just in terms of, you know, our capacity and learning as we go. That’s the That’s the aim.
Campbell Washington 21:32
Thank you, Caitie. Okay, the next question is, so the fellow internship is non-paid on our end? That’s amazing. Thank you. Yeah, that’s true. I appreciate the dual response from both institutions. Yes, that is correct. Taylor. So from the members standpoint, this is no cost to you.
Rountree 22:00
And just to be clear, that’s something that you know, as NCRC has been listening to our members and trying to understand what y’all need to be successful in the work that you’re doing on the ground, creating adjust economy, an extra pair of hands and extra smart brain don’t have the money, you know, for another position, but I just need more more bright minds, applied to the problems of my community is a thing that we’ve heard over and over again. And so this broader Fellowship Program is a way for us to provide that support to our members. And we’re thrilled, thrilled to be able to continue to grow that program.
Campbell Washington 22:36
Thank you, Caitie. And I will just piggyback to say, please do not hesitate to reach out to Cecile, if you’re thinking about a project, and you’re not quite sure how to form that project scope, Cecile will be so happy to help you. And she will also be able to reach out to our faculty advisors, either Hector and Erica, who are on today, or the other faculty advisors who teach the capstone project course. And they’re more than willing to have that type of one-on-one conversation with you about how to perfectly frame a capstone project to make sure that it can fit into the not just the structure that we’ve talked about, but also the timeframe, which is that spring semester timeframe.
Weissinger 23:30
I see that there’s a question, “can we provide two or three problems in advance of submission for feedback on which problem would be most applicable skill sets of the students?” Mike, that is a great idea. We love that we love to receive possible questions and give feedback on them. I was thinking it could be helpful for us just to walk through a scenario or an example of a type of question that students might respond to. And I actually have a problem that I’ve been thinking about a lot that I wish a student would work on, I wish the city council person in my neighborhood would would ask for it. And I might suggest it. So the problem I’ve been thinking about is in my neighborhood, which is historically redlined. We don’t have a lot of trees. And we do have a tree planting program in the city of Berkeley and trees are planted by request of homeowners. So this pretty naturally disadvantages neighborhoods where there are a higher density of rentals because landlords may or may not be connected or just may be concerned about the maintenance and upkeep of a tree. So if a student were to take on this type of problem, they would first what we do what we call assemble some evidence. So really think about the tree canopy in a community. What are the benefits of trees, who’s requesting trees, where where’s there the most tree density. So that would be the first stage of kind of defining the problem assembling some evidence. And then from there, perhaps think about, you know, more equitable ways of figuring out how a city could strategize about tree planting, present some options based on values, and then ultimately make a recommendation. So that would be an example of a type of policy question that that a student might work on in a in a master’s thesis. So that’s that’s a hypothetical. And there’s would it be helpful to maybe give another example like Hector, maybe a somebody that recently did something wonderful?
Cardenas 25:30
Yes, certainly. Well, we had a, we had a student who did a really good project, and she was looking at how do we reduce the number of shootings in a in a neighborhood? Right. So she was looking at, she was worried she was looking at Berkeley, and she was concerned about that. And she said, Well, we have we’ve had an uptick in shootings. And you know, some of them cause death, some of them cause injury, but many of them don’t cause any of that they just are disturbing to people who live in that in those neighborhoods. And so similar to what Erica mentioned, right now, first started by understanding the problem, where is it that this is happening? How many of these incidents actually lead to somebody getting injured or or dead? Is it concentrated in certain areas? Specifically, who does it affect? Who are the people who are most at risk of being injured or being distressed by this? Right? So she looked at all of this stuff. And she had some very interesting insights, one of the insights that she realized is that, yes, while this was happening in certain communities that were, you know, mostly communities on the west side of Berkeley, that are heavily minority inhabited, it was also true that it was mostly minority community members who were most affected by this, right. And so her thinking about it completely changed. Because her initial view was, well, whatever we do, we don’t want to have more police, right. And then as she started looking into it in a more detail, which was way, wait a second, the people who are most suffering the most, you know, are precisely people who are, you know, under-protected. And so then she started looking at that and looking at different options, and what could we do community policing? Could we have more community organizations involved to try and prevent this kind of stuff, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So she came up with a with a list of very interesting recommendations that took from different areas. It wasn’t just one approach. It wasn’t ideological, and it wasn’t cookie-cutter, she actually tailored something that was going to work for those communities in that place at that time. And that’s that’s sort of the kind of stuff that we want people to work on.
Campbell Washington 27:49
Thank you both for sharing those. Any other questions? Caitie, will our slides be shared to members who weren’t able to attend today and the recording also?
Rountree 28:18
Yes. And actually, that reminds me I didn’t want to share will this will be on a slide as we close. But for folks to be able to see directly the landing page, where we’ve got all that, you know, a lot of information, fantastic unity. And then we’ll add this to the slides. And the link to this recording will live there as well. Yeah.
Campbell Washington 28:44
Fantastic. That’s great. Well, thank you so much for the opportunity to be here today and to talk with people directly. We really appreciate it. We’re very excited about this. I think it’s going to be a great partnership.
Rountree 28:55
Well, and thank you guys, you know, our friends at Berkeley for taking the time to walk through and answer your questions. And thank you for members who have joined us. You know, as I said, before, you know, we really were excited about this opportunity to expand our members capacity, and also get to participate in helping to form the next generation of leaders in this field. So it’s a it’s a win, win all around. Really excited to see the proposals that come through and the great work that is moved forward because of this opportunity. So thank you all.
Campbell Washington 29:34
Thank you so much, Caitie. Thanks. Thanks, everyone who came today.
All speakers 29:43
Thank you. You
