Public, private, and nonprofit organizations partner with our students to address real‑world challenges.
Working closely with clients, student-consultant teams produce high-quality, evidence-based reports that can inform legislative agendas, assess program funding, support programmatic improvements, or determine areas of future focus. Students analyze existing data, search for data and information in the research literature, and collect information through interviews with experts. These partnerships provide students with practical experience and offer clients valuable deliverables.
There is no cost to clients, but the organization must have a dedicated point person with the capacity to be responsive to the student team throughout the semester. Our staff can work with you to determine which student effort is best suited to your needs.
"The student team produced a cost-benefit analysis on par with what I would expect from professional consultants. They are overseen by experts in their field and produce professional quality analyses."
Kate Battiato, Vice President of Workforce Development, Wisconsin Health Care Association
Types of projects
Cost-benefit analysis project
Timing
Clients submit projects in the spring; students work on projects each fall.
Deliverable
Clients receive a cost-benefit analysis of proposed policy alternatives, along with recommendations for additional studies or next steps, if appropriate.
Best suited for
Projects requiring a pure cost-benefit analysis to determine the least-cost or highest-cost alternative among identified policy options.
Capstone policy project
Timing
Clients submit proposals in the fall; students work on projects each spring.
Deliverable
Clients receive a final report with policy recommendations and supporting documentation, along with recommendations for additional studies or next steps, if appropriate.
Best suited for
Program evaluations, policy analyses, literature reviews, and comparative analyses that have a sufficient amount of existing data to inform the research.
Is my project a good fit?
What makes a good project?
- Clearly stated problem, challenge, or opportunity and clearly defined deliverables that can be accomplished in approximately 14 weeks
- Dedicated point person with capacity to respond to the student team (time commitment of point person is approximately 4-6 hours during weeks 1-4, 10-12 hours during weeks 5-10, and 6-8 hours during weeks 11-14)
- Available data and/or documentation
- Support of organizational leadership
- Openness to unexpected analysis results
- Interest in sharing results with policymakers and public
Questions teams helped answer
- What would be the impacts of mobile dentistry in areas of low utilization?
- What are the costs and benefits of lowering Wisconsin’s state-mandated elevated blood lead levels intervention threshold?
- How can the Cities of Hudson, New Richmond, and River Falls implement a regionalized shared-ride taxi system?
- What conservation policies can be implemented in Ecuador to decrease deforestation on privately protected lands?
- Which areas in sub-Saharan Africa should be prioritized for immediate electrification investment to improve health outcomes?
- What are the costs and benefits of increasing public access to AEDs in Milwaukee County?
Project proposals
Let us know about your project idea and organization by submitting a project proposal. We are now accepting applications for capstone projects. The deadline to submit is October 24, 2025.
First-time applicants are encouraged to contact outreach@lafollette.wisc.edu before submitting project proposals to determine if the project scope and focus are a good fit for our courses.
Selection and timeline
This is a competitive recruitment process. Our faculty select projects based on several criteria including student interest; clearly stated problem, challenge, or opportunity; and clearly defined deliverables.
- October 24: Deadline for proposals
- Mid-December: Clients notified of proposal status
- December 2025-January 2026: Client intake meeting with faculty advisor
- Mid-January 2026: Initial meeting with organization and student team members
- February–May 2026: Client works with student-consultant team
- May 2026: Final presentation to organization and promotion of reports to policymakers and public
Stories about partnerships
La Follette students drive forward regionalized taxi system for three Northwest Wisconsin municipalities
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
La Follette student projects inform real-world policymaking in Wisconsin
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Student report recommends regionalized taxi system in Northwest Wisconsin
Thursday, August 15, 2024
Student projects address challenges in Wisconsin and beyond
Friday, July 19, 2024
Contact
Interested in working with our students? We welcome project proposals from public, nonprofit, and private sector organizations. Contact us with any questions or to determine if your project is a good fit for our courses.
Email: outreach@lafollette.wisc.edu.