Public Policy 1802 "Engaged Research/ Engaged Publics: The Science and Craft of Applied Policy Research" is an innovative, multidiscplinary policy research course where students learn to master engaged policy research techniques—ethnographic observation, interviews, shadowing, and oral history—in order to investigate a contemporary urban policy issue. This research is then used to inform the development of multimedia “policy narratives” with the aim of communicating policy research in formats that are legible to audiences within and beyond the academy.

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In partnership with the City of Providence Office of Innovation, students worked in teams of three to four (three teams total) to investigate the lived experience of small business owners-of-color in Providence. In particular, students investigated how business owners experience the licensing process and how licensing (and other business operating processes) could be enhanced to improve the experience of business owners in the city.

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This course and the final products displayed here would not have been possible without our amazing partners in the City of Providence Office of Innovation, the 11 incredible undergraduate students who conducted this research, our dedicated teaching assistant Isabel DeBre, our informative guest speakers (who are too numerous to name), Brown University's Engaged Scholars Program and Public Policy Department, and, of course, the small business owners who make Providence such a fantastic place to live, work, eat, and shop! Many thanks to everyone!