Capstone Projects

Policy Change Studio

Training Policy Change-Makers to Solve Problems in the Real World

Selected Past Capstone Projects

2024

Building a Sustainable Mini-Grid Sector in Sierra Leone (Sustainable Energy for All)
Combating Online Harms in Young and Professional Demographic (Netsafe)
Countering China's Use of Private Firms in Foreign Information and Manipulation Operations (DoubleThink Labs)
Driving Change to Traffic in Accra, Ghana (Ghana Center for Democratic Development)
Grassland Degradation in Mongolia (The Asia Foundation, Mongolia)
Horizontally Scaling AI, Digital Governance in Brazilian Public Defender's Offices (Institute for Technology and Society, Rio de Janeiro)
Undersea Cables and Lack of Digital Resilience for Taiwan in Conflict Scenarios (National Taiwan Ocean University/Taiwan Law and Technology Association)

2023

2022

Increasing Healthcare SMEs' Resilience against Ransomware Attacks (Cyber Threat Alliance)
Decarbonizing Industrial Heat in the Indonesian Textiles Sector (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Narrowing the Employment Gap for Johannesburg Township Youth (United Nations Development Programme, South Africa)
Creating a Sustainable Taxpaying Culture in Tunisia (Wasabi)
Women's Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Information in India (SheThePeople.tv)
Imposing Costs on Hybrid Aggressors in the Baltics (International Centre for Defence and Security)

2021

Curbing the Illicit Use of Cryptocurrencies (U.S. Government)
Addressing the Venezuelan Migrant Crisis (Organization of American States)
5G and Global Governance (International Organization)
Botnet Threat Mitigation (Cyber Threat Alliance)
Bringing Clean, Reliable, and Affordable Energy to Businesses in the Yucatan Peninsula (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Addressing Online Harassment of Female Human Rights Activists and Journalists in Uganda (Internews)
Content Moderation by Large Social Media Companies in the Middle East and North Africa (Social Media Exchange)
Russian Encroachment in Northeastern Europe (International Centre for Defence and Security)

2020

Access to quality water in Suleja, Nigeria
Government accountability in Suleja, Nigeria
Nuclear stability between the U.S. and China
Lead acid battery recycling in Bangladesh
Human-trafficking in the Balkans
Vulnerability disclosure reporting in the European Union
Russian disinformation on Ukrainian social media
Internet shutdowns in Cameroon
Barriers to Access to Justice in Chile

2019

AI's disruption of the global political economy
Behavioral approaches to improving health outcomes in developing countries
China Belt Road Initiative
Illicit Uses of citizenship- and visa-by-investment programs
Promoting mobile money through social enterprise
Zero emission vehicle mandates

2018

Tobacco control and industry interference in Russia
Building an East Africa regional hub for NGO asylum access
Building Political and Strategic Support for Interpol's global policing efforts: Policy lessons from other multinational institutions
Creating a help-line for families and friends of people who are at risk of being radicalized
Evaluating the efficacy of online counter-speech on behavior

Project Implementation

Center for Global Security Research - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is currently developing Floating Nuclear Power Plants FNPPs and has expressed intentions to potentially deploy up to 20 of them in the South China Sea. The proposed uses of these FNPPs include powering military bases, desalination, heating, and supporting sea oil drilling activities. The research project identified three key implications of Chinese FNPPs in the South China Sea.

ICDS Policy Brief - Russian money laundering and a possible smart response

The Kremlin’s foreign policy toolkit includes ‘hybrid’ or ‘grey-zone’ measures of social, political, and economic influence. To successfully counter Russia, NATO and EU states need to be able to deter its malign activities in all these domains.

The Guardian Nigeria - Stanford varsity students propose roadmap for Suleja water services

In an effort to ensure the revamp of Suleja Water and Sewerage Corporation (SWSC), improve livelihoods and meet obligations to the citizens, graduate students of Stanford University have developed a water access platform that outlines some innovative steps to meet the gaps in water services.

The Guardian Nigeria - Niger State adopts Stanford students’ urban policy proposal for Suleja

Determined to improve living conditions in the city of Suleja, the Niger State Government has adopted a policy proposal developed by two Stanford university master’s students in international policy, Elani Owen and Mariann Varga.