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About Us
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The PolicyOptions Wiki is a project of the Bonner Foundation in collaboration with colleges and universities across the country. We seek to connect the public policy research interests and capabilities of college students with the information needs of community-based organizations — especially at the local and state level — that are working to address pressing social, economic, and environmental issues.
The "missing link" for many community change efforts is up-to-date, comprehensive, neutral information on the distinctly different solutions for addressing issues facing the community. This information, which we hope to provide in issue briefs on the PolicyOptions wiki, will support more informed decision-making by community leaders.
More than 40+ years ago, David Hackett and the Youth Policy Institute established an approach for gathering and presenting information on distinctly different solutions on a wide range of public policy issues. In particular, YPI developed a methodology for organizing policy options into a "planning tree" framework that allows any individual, organization, or community to understand the options for dealing with a problem, based on the best thinking that has occurred on that issue worldwide.
We believe that colleges and universities can more fully realize their teaching, research, and service missions by including public policy research and analysis as part of their community engagement programs and courses. We have tapped into academic courses in which students write public policy papers and linked those efforts directly to the community outreach centers on campuses. We especially want to respond to requests from local, state, and national non-profit and government agencies working on the front-lines of community problem-solving.
“The very ignorance that confounds society is a call to action for universities. It underscores the other vital social purpose that we possess: to contribute the knowledge that will help society discover how to overcome its pressing problems.”
— Derek Bok, former President of Harvard University, in his final commencement address.
Started more than a decade ago, the PolicyOptions.org wiki is being revived this summer by a group of more than 40 Bonner students from 17 colleges and universities.
If you're interested in learning more, please contact me by phone (609-924-6663) or email (rhackett@bonner.org).
Robert Hackett
PolicyOptions.org Project Director
President, Bonner Founation
rhackett@bonner.org
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