EAST LANSING, Mich., September 18, 2023 – Today, the Insitute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) at Michigan State University (MSU) announced the recipients of its 2023-24 Michigan Applied Public Policy Research (MAPPR) grants. This year, six research projects were chosen, each focused on a major policy issue facing the people of Michigan. These research projects will run for one year.
"For over 20 years, the MAPPR grant program has supported breakthrough public policy research, which has helped shape the direction of our state and improve the lives of Michiganders," said IPPSR director Matt Grossmann. Grossmann continued, "We believe that the recipients of the 2023-24 MAPPR grants will continue this fine tradition and add to Michigan State's legacy of researching public policy that directly benefits people of our state."
The recipients of the 2023-24 are:
Benjamin Bushong, Dept of Economics. Information and beliefs about expected Earned Income Tax Credit refunds: This project will work with the Office of Survey Research (OSR) to examine the critical role of a person’s beliefs in determining whether that person claims the EITC.
Stephen Gasteyer, Sociology. Groundwater Contamination Perceptions: This project will assess the attitudes and perceptions concerning risks to drinking water in Michigan.
Sue Grady, Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences. Children’s blood levels in Detroit Pre and post-demolition: Demolitions in the city of Detroit between 2014-22 will be mapped and compared to blood test levels amongst children to find possible health risks.
Jean Hardy, Media Information and Communication Arts. High-tech development projects in rural Michigan: This project will seek to answer several questions about the effects of High-tech development projects on rural Michigan, including; the perceived benefits of locating high-tech economic development sites in rural areas, what opportunities communities see, and how these sites support issues of digital and economic equity.
Mieka Smart, Human Medicine. Michigan Police Use of Force Policy evaluation: This project will seek to determine which counties in Michigan do and do not have a policy specifically outlining police use of force procedures; and which policies incorporate eight elements that have been evidenced to prevent death.
Robert Richardson, Community Sustainability. Tipping the scale on recycling in Michigan: This project will seek to understand the recycling behaviors of Michigan households, what are barriers to household recycling, and gauge support for increasing disposal surcharges for solid waste.
Since its founding in the late 1990s, the MAPPR program has supported dozens of research projects covering a vast swath of public policy issues. A listing of past MAPPR grant recipients as well as their research papers, can be found here.