Applied Research Client Projects (ARCP)

A key offering of the MAAIS program is the engagement between students and the Civic Council, which includes representatives from a broad range of internationally focused organizations. The annual Applied Research Client Project (ARCP) is one of the primary vehicles for this engagement, giving Civic Council members the opportunity to work directly with a MAAIS student team on an issue of importance to their organization.

ARCP, which takes place during spring and summer quarters, provides students with a real-world assignment that builds on their studies and draws on their individual and collective experiences. Students utilize the regional and functional knowledge they have gained through the MAAIS program and are expected to demonstrate key skills, including mastery of research, critical analysis and policy writing; formulation of actionable policy and programmatic recommendations; and presentation structure and delivery.

With support and guidance from instructor Mandy Lozano, ARCPs give students high-level project experience while demonstrating the MAAIS program’s importance as a resource for global leaders in the Pacific Northwest.

Recent ARCP Partners and Projects

• • Booz Allen Hamilton: Students researched emerging technologies and identified key stakeholders focused on removing mines and unexploded ordnance in post-conflict areas in the Pacific region and made recommendations on how best to facilitate innovation, improve efficiency and reduce costs for humanitarian demining.
  • Mercy Corps: Working with MicroMentor, an internal venture of Mercy Corps that connects entrepreneurs with volunteer mentors and other program resources through a technology platform, students developed a replication model for Latin America using strategic partnerships for expansion.
  • Microsoft: Students conducted research on global polices related to the use of analytics in education and participated in the development of a “manifesto for the data revolution in education,” under the auspices of UNESCO, to serve as a position statement and guide for education leaders.
  • OutRight Action International: Students produced situation analyses assessing the nature and extent of state-sponsored digital censorship targeting LGBTIQ content and populations in four countries and then put forward technical and advocacy recommendations aimed at fighting internet repression and curtailment of free speech.
  • Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER): Students analyzed a variety of data sets including government R&D spending and startup activity to identify key innovation drivers, capabilities, gaps and opportunities for the regional economy in the U.S. and Canada and then recommended several nascent clusters of economic activity that could be nurtured through public/private partnership.
  • Starbucks: Students explored how corporations, working collectively or in partnership with nonprofit organizations or government agencies, can adopt purchasing practices and policies that promote farm worker protections throughout the supply chain.