As the capstone project of your MPP experience, the Policy Memorandum integrates the knowledge and skills you will learn in and outside the classroom.

The Policy Memorandum will give you the opportunity to experience firsthand the type of practical and professional work often required of a policy analyst. You will identify and define a real-world policy issue; analyze the issue by conducting research, gathering data and interviewing professionals with opposing views; analyze the costs and benefits of the issue; and recommend courses of action.

Previous policy memoranda

All memoranda are in PDF format.

2012-2013

• Jin Tsuchiya— Urban Revitalization Efforts in Denver's Five Points Neighborhood: An examination of policy options along the Welton Street urban corridor
• Dustin Moyer— Denver Food Deserts and the Impact on Public Health
• Sarah Gathright— Options to Increase Health Care Access to Reduce Childhood Asthma in St. Louis, Missouri
• Allie Moore - Diabetes Treatment Policies in Denver
• Ariel Bravo -  Firearm Background Checks in Denver
• Michael Thomas - Water Treatment Options for San Diego County: Comparing Alternative Water Sources

2011-2012

• Hanna Schum— Water Conservation in the South Platte Basin: Using the City of Fort Collins as a Case Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Four Policy Options
• Jen Giorgio— The Social Costs of a Free Ride: Fare Evasion on RTD's Light Rail
• Erin O'Reilly— Medicaid and adults without dependent children: An examination of various policy options regarding Medicaid expansion for adults without dependent children
• Tim Griesmer— Corrections Sending in Colorado: Examining the Effects of Alternatives to Incarceration for Non-Violent Drug Offenders
• Kelson Bohnet— Crisis of Counsel: A Legal and Social Analysis of Representation Policy in America's Immigration Courts
• Megan Comlossy— Environmental Goals & Economic Constraints: Analyzing Trash and Recycling in Denver, Colorado
• Erica Michel— Longer-term lease agreements and the Public interest: Privatizing public goods to close budget gaps
• Alice Wheet— Immigration Detention in the United States: An Evaluation of Policy Options
• Michael Stephens— Tragedy of the Commons and the South Atlantic Vermilion Snapper: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Current and Future Policy Options
• Jenny Ly— Rare Earth Minerals and National Security

2010-2011

• Kristin Bugbee— School Vouchers: Providing Choice to Improve Student Achievement and the Quality of Public Schools
• Jeff Quinlisk - Combating Traffic Congestion in the Denver Metro Area: Examining Proposed Solutions and Their Effects
• David Peterson -  Environmental Sustainability: Policies and Programs for Suburban Policymakers
• Kara Nett - An Analysis of the Impact Tiered-Rate Pricing Structure for Electric Utilities have on Coloradans Living with Disabilities and Chronic Disease
• Angela Mendiola - Colorado Springs' Housing First Program from a Cost-Benefit Perspective