Policy Challenge

Applications are now open for the 2021 Georgetown Public Policy Challenge! 

Students enrolled in any Georgetown graduate program are eligible to apply, either as an individual or as a team of 2-5 students. Individuals can either indicate their interest to be placed on teams with other students with similar policy interests or work on the Challenge independently.  The application for the 2021 Public Policy Challenge can be found here all applications are due by February 12, 2021 at 11:59 PM EST. Please address any questions to publicpolicychallenge@georgetown.edu. 

Submit your application here 

The Georgetown Public Policy Challenge tasks graduate students with developing innovative solutions to issues in the Washington, DC region. Hundreds of students have participated and thousands of dollars in prize money has been awarded through this competition since its’ founding in 2014, leading to the development and implementation of proposals focusing on a large range of policy issues across the District.

The winner of the 2020 Public Policy Challenge was The Homeless Youth Parents project, a three-step proposal to assist the underserved and underrepresented population of young parents experiencing homelessness in Washington, DC. The proposal aims to change policy language to include young parents as a vulnerable and growing population, engage in a continuity of care planning cycle, and ensure earmarked funds for young parents by lobbying with local representatives and utilizing grassroots efforts.Past winning proposals have included a proposal designed to address DC’s high asthma prevalence and ER utilization rates, a mobile clinic to supply free flu vaccinations to vulnerable neighborhoods, a skills-based job training program housed within public libraries, a workshop teaching forgiveness and reconciliation to high-risk Latino youth, and a mobile-based application that directly addresses absenteeism and academic performance.

The application for the 2021 Public Policy Challenge can be found here all applications are due by February 12, 2021 at 11:59 PM EST. Please address any questions to publicpolicychallenge@georgetown.edu.