Policy Challenge

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 it’s founding in 2014, leading to the development and implementation of proposals focusing on a large range of policy issues across the District.

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 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.

If you would like to learn more, please contact publicpolicychallenge@georgetown.edu

• Policy Challenge 2020
• Policy Challenge 2019
• Policy Challenge 2019 Finalists 
• Policy Challenge 2018
• Policy Challenge 2017 National Finalists
• Policy Challenge 2017
• Policy Challenge 2016
• Policy Challenge 2015