For Clients

Your agency is faced with a major problem. The budget was just slashed by five percent but the homeless population you serve has nearly doubled over the past year. You’ve tried reducing staff and eliminating salary hikes but these measures haven’t made a dent in the problem. Asking for more money from the state budget is out of the question. What are your other options?

Chances are, our Harvard Kennedy School students could help you answer that question.

Armed with training in economic, statistical, and financial analysis, second-year students in the Master in Public Policy (MPP) take part in the Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE).

Designed to serve as the capstone of the MPP program, the PAE offers students the opportunity to work with real-life clients from a variety of sectors and industries. Students work within a Policy Area of Concentration (PAC) in which they have specialized throughout the course of their studies.

After defining a client’s problem, students (solo or with a partner) gather and organize pertinent data, identify and evaluate a course of action, and propose recommendations.

The final product is a clear and persuasive 40-page written report or study that the students develop for the client.

Explore this site to learn how your organization can submit a proposal. You can also find samples of our students’ work, and answers to some commonly asked questions.

Download our PAE Brochure (Links to PDF) or to receive information on being a client in the Policy Analysis Program, please contact the PAE Program.