Make a difference. Make a gift.
The Evans School of Public Affairs is one of the oldest public schools of public policy and management in the nation, consistently ranked at the top of the field.
The Evans School is dedicated to preparing leaders with the tools needed for making changes that will benefit society for generations to come.
Whether you are an intern or a top executive, the Evans School can help you reach your career goals through our degree and non-degree programs. Find out which program is right for you.
Evans School faculty are distinguished by excellence in evidence-based teaching, research, and service.
The Evans School's research centers and projects provide valuable services to the external community, opportunities for students to learn, and a forum for faculty to showcase their comprehensive expertise.
The fusion of Evans School instruction, relevant curriculum, and a cohort of peers in our Executive Master of Public Administration (Executive MPA) program creates an unparalleled, dynamic learning environment for senior leaders in today’s world.
Evans School students provide over 100,000 hours a year of direct public service through internships and hands-on policy and management projects that solve the real-world needs of nonprofit and public agencies.
More than 3,000 Evans School graduates work around the world, providing expertise in the public and nonprofit sectors across a broad spectrum of areas, including policy analysis, program management and evaluation, research, and executive leadership.
Resources for current Evans School students, faculty, and staff.
The Ideas for Action Award is a competition to develop new thinking to reduce poverty by shining a light on practical policy shifts that help low-income people build their futures.
In September 2012, a panel of experts in the field selected four innovative efforts to receive awards that pursue two significant approaches to poverty reduction:
Nearly 10% of the nation’s households lack banking accounts, and another have minimal savings. The nation’s banks contributed to the Great Recession but are too often an absent player in the struggle to increase low-income people’s assets and financial adeptness. Winning initiatives significantly increase the number, intensity, and impact of financial and asset-building services for low-income populations.
Getting and staying out of poverty presents multiple barriers. Many government assistance programs—including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)—utilize a “work first” approach that place women with children in a succession of low wage jobs. For many of these women, underlying problems contributing to poverty go unaddressed, leaving them stuck on the precipice of poverty. The award winning programs break this cycle by supplying the critical support and training to capitalize on opportunities for economic independence and stability.
The awardees hold great potential to open up new futures for people living in poverty. Below, learn exactly how these inspiring ideas are rooted in action. They will be enthusiastically shared with thought leaders, policy makers, and practitioners across the Upper Midwest, Pacific Northwest and nationwide. Winners will receive support for travel for presentations at specific conferences and partnership opportunities. Two submissions were selected to receive an Achievement Award of $10,000; two submissions were selected to receive a Promising Practices award of $5,000.
|
Arkansas |
Arkansas Career Pathways helps thousands of community college students (90% women) gain skills for jobs paying above minimum wage. Often, a “work first” approach creates active opposition to sending women on welfare to college. But in Arkansas, the alternative partnership between the Department of Workforce Services (TANF agency) and the Department of Higher Education’s community colleges identifies high-demand jobs, provides women in poverty with the training and support to fill those jobs, and works to close the skill gap which otherwise would make the state’s companies less competitive. Students in the program achieve a ten-point higher student success rate and the initiative exceeds all performance measures set by state legislators (enrollment, attainment, entering and retaining employment). |
|
New York |
Navigating the bewildering post-recession world of financial development is a critical step in escaping poverty. The Financial Clinic is an exemplar of new approaches to increase the number, intensity, and impact of financial and asset-building services boosting low income populations. The Clinic, working in conjunction with numerous public, private, and nonprofit organizations including United Way of New York City and New York City Human Resource Administration- Emergency Intervention Services, embeds financial services and asset building assistance in countless locations where low income populations seek help, from homeless shelters to literacy or skills training programs. |
|
Boston |
|
|
www.iowacreditunionfoundation.org Des Moines |
The Iowa Credit Union Foundation helps struggling people to start and build savings by lining up matching funds, cutting red tape, and delivering additional assistance. The Foundation’s broad coalition of partners in government, nonprofit, and business has successfully overcome traditional challenges to the Individual Development Account (IDA) model, including administrative costs and matching fund sources. It has proved that IDAs can be critically valuable tools for securing education, housing, and a way forward for people with virtually no assets, especially when paired with additional financial services such as credit counseling. |
Learn more about Ideas for Action, or contact us if you have any questions.
 The Northwest Area Foundation is committed to a thriving, robust Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest by supporting the work of proven and promising organizations that strive to reduce poverty and build sustainable prosperity. The Foundation’s service region includes the urban, rural and Native American reservation communities of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. |
|
 The CSPG at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs develops practical, independent, and non-partisan solutions to pressing political and policy challenges to foster effective and efficient governance, increase the transparency of government processes, and rebuild public trust. Lawrence Jacobs, the Center’s founder and current director, brings an extensive record of politics and policy research and collaborations with a number of foundations. |
