EAST LANSING, Mich., August 22, 2024- The Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) at Michigan State University (MSU) has announced the recipients of the 2024-25 Michigan Applied Public Policy Research (MAPPR) grant program. This year, seven research projects were chosen, each focused on a significant policy issue facing the people of Michigan. These research projects will run for one year.
MSU researchers will use the resources provided by the MAPPR program to explore key issues facing the people of our state and find solutions to some of their most pressing problems,” said Dr. Matt Grossmann, IPPSR Director. “The Institute for Public Policy and Social Research is proud to be a part of this vital research, and we look forward to working with this year's grant recipients.”
The recipients of the 2024-25 are:
Bryan Beverly, K-12 Outreach. K-12 and Expiring COVID Relief Funds: This project will explore how Michigan's K-12 districts have adjusted to the end of COVID relief funding. Staffing, financial stability, and other topics will be examined.
Frank Lupi, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics. Renewable Energy Siting: MSU researchers will measure rural residents’ willingness to make tradeoffs between renewable energy projects and alternative forms of compensation, including community-based compensation mechanisms.
Stephanie Nawyn, Sociology. Breanne Grace, School of Social Work, University of South Carolina. Election Year Attitudes of Michigan Residents Towards Immigrants and Refugees: Adding five questions to fall SOSS that can be compared to past SOSS data as well as to Pew and Gallup items.
Stephen Przybylinski, Geography. John Kuk, Political Science. MSU Students Housing Insecurity and Homelessness: This study will examine the rate of and factors contributing to homelessness and housing insecurity among undergraduate and graduate students.
Fatemeh Saeidi-Rizi, School of Planning, Design and Construction. Issues Impacting Neighborhood Blight: MSU researchers will address policy gaps in Lansing by developing strategies and recommendations for regulations and incentives that encourage collaboration between corporate landowners and neighborhoods. The project will focus on the Eastfield Neighborhood near Sparrow Hospital.
Mark Skidmore, Michigan State Extension. Inflation Dynamics and Cost of Living in Michigan: This project will examine the cost of living in Michigan over five years. The focus will be on 1) food-at-home and gas prices, 2) perceptions of Michigan residents regarding inflation and actual prices, and 3) differences in demographic and socioeconomic factors.
Meghan Wilson, Corwin Smidt, and Nura Sediqe, Political Science. Political views of Black, Middle Eastern, and North African Michigan residents: These researchers are investigating the political behaviors and policy expectations of hardly reached groups with a different survey method.
Since its founding in the late 1990s, the MAPPR program has supported dozens of research projects covering a wide range of public policy issues. A listing of past MAPPR grant recipients and their research papers can be found here.
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