O’Neill student earns scholarship, job in Indiana legislature

Internship leads to scholarship, job in Indiana legislature for O’Neill student

Posted on December 9, 2019 by Leslie Wells

As his patient settled into the chair, Luis Niño retrieved the tools of his trade. In 2017, he was still an optician—a job he took after unexpectedly leaving college six years earlier. He knew it wouldn’t be his final career but he wasn’t sure where to go next.

He began to fit a new set of glasses onto his patient’s face and struck up a conversation to break the ice. The pair exchanged pleasantries—the benign kind you have with any stranger. This patient was not unlike many others he saw every day. The optometrist’s office where he worked was two blocks from the Indiana Statehouse, attracting busy government workers.

The conversations usually turned to careers and politics, sparking a new interest for Luis in how people were making a difference through public policy. While Luis helped his patients improve their vision, they had helped him see his future more clearly.

Luis hadn’t been in a college classroom in six years. He was a sports management major when he left IUPUI in 2011. Like so many students, money and his interest in his major had dwindled. He didn’t want to take out more loans until he had a solid plan, but always knew he would come back; 2017 was the year it would happen.

“I had a conversation with a patient who was running for an elected position,” Luis recalls. “That person influenced my decision in wanting to work in government and politics, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready.”

His fiancé gave him the final boost of confidence to return and he enrolled in O’Neill’s Civic Leadership major.

“All of my classes provided a wealth of knowledge and my instructors truly helped me grow as a student and an individual,” he says.

They also helped guide him toward unique opportunities within the O’Neill School, including internships at the Indiana Statehouse and research opportunities with the IU Public Policy Institute.

He worked as a researcher with PPI, focusing on issues relating to social equity as well as economic development. He worked closely with Drew Klacik, a senior policy analyst at PPI who also taught a course at the O’Neill School.

“What I love about O’Neill is the connection between research and the classroom,” Luis says. “It allowed me to talk to Drew outside of class and develop a mentoring relationship. He really helped guide me into the right lanes.”

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The artist’s role in civic innovation

Posted on December 2, 2019 by Leslie Wells

This blog is the result of a research partnership between the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts: the Arts, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation (AEI) Lab.

By Jessica Sherrod Hale and Dr. Joanna Woronkowicz

Artist-in-residence programs are a way for spaces that don’t typically include artists’ input—such as hospitals, corporations, and public agencies—to incorporate their work. Many of these programs aim to tap the creative potential of artists to boost creative problem-solving and organizational innovation. The literature on creativity suggests there are many avenues for artists to amplify an organization’s creative potential, such as offering new insights, reshaping the collaborative process to bolster group-level creativity, or modeling creative processes for other group members.

Narrowing the focus on the idea of artist-in-residence programs as engines of innovation, the Arts, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation (AEI) Lab recently conducted an experiment to test the impact of artists on creative problem-solving in the public sector. We asked employees of public agencies in the Indianapolis metropolitan area to work in small groups to develop a grant proposal addressing the city’s rising homicide rate. The problem was based on newspaper accounts of the changing nature of violent crime in the city. Half of the groups included an artist while the other half did not. In addition to collecting proposals, we videotaped the groups’ collaborative efforts, which allowed us to observe differences in processes and outcomes for groups with and without the creative contributions of an artist.

Our preliminary findings suggest that artists offer new insights to groups of public sector workers and may boost the creativity of solutions to civic problems. Artists and public sector workers completed two tasks prior to working together to solve the civic problem. In the first task, we presented participants with several realistic problems that they may encounter in everyday life and asked them to generate as many creative solutions as possible. In the second task, we asked participants to brainstorm a solution to the civic problem in advance of working with their group. For both tasks, we counted the number of unique ideas (originality) and the total number of ideas (fluency) that each individual generated. The results for both tasks are presented in Figures 1 and 2 below.

Bar graph showing differences in realistic problem solutions between artists and public sector workers. For originality, groups with artists scored 6.53 while public sector workers scored 4.63. For fluency, artists scored 6.73 vs. 4.82 from public sector workers.

Bar graph showing differences in brainstorming solutions between artists and public sector workers. For originality, artists scored 2.20 while public sector workers scored 1.94. For fluency, artists scored 5.80 vs. 5.49 from public sector workers.

For both tasks, the artists generated more ideas and more original ideas than the public sector workers, though the results are only statistically significant for the realistic problems task. To determine if the artists simply generated more original ideas because they generated more overall ideas, we also calculated the average originality of the ideas generated by each person, which are presented in Figure 3 below. The artists also showed higher average originality for brainstorming solutions.

Bar graph showing differences in originality of generated ideas between artists and public sector workers. For realistic problems, groups with artists scored 0.97 while groups with only public sector workers scored 0.96. For brainstorming solutions, artists scored 0.48 vs. 0.31 from public sector workers.

We were also interested in determining whether these differences in individual-level originality translated to differences in the creativity of group solutions. We asked two experts in local government with the familiarity of the Indianapolis metropolitan area to rate the group solutions for overall creativity as well as novelty and usefulness, which are key dimensions of creativity. The results are displayed in Figure 4 below.

Bar graph showing differences in how solutions were rated from groups with artists and those without. For creativity, groups with artists scored 2.95 while groups with only public sector workers scored 2.75. For novelty of solutions, groups with artists scored 2.75 compared to 2.63 for those without. For usefulness, groups with artists scored 3.30 vs. 3.50 from public sector workers.

The average ratings for groups with artists were higher for creativity and novelty, but lower for usefulness. Due to the small number of groups, we did not find a statistically significant difference in this study, but this relationship merits further investigation. In our future analyses, we will examine how artists changed the collaborative process and contributed to public sector workers’ problem-solving abilities.

This experiment, overall, shows promise for the concept of including artists in civic problem-solving to achieve greater creativity. That greater creativity, in theory, should increase public sector innovation and effectiveness in tackling public problems.

Through experiments like this one, we at the AEI Lab hope to highlight the importance and utility of artists in society. Watch for more blog posts showcasing AEI Lab projects and results in the months to come.

Study abroad and gain a new perspective

Posted on November 25, 2019 by Leslie Wells

Jason Sprinkle stands in front of colorful houses in Denmark — Jason Sprinkle, MPA Nonprofit Management, participated in the O’Neill International program in Denmark.

A change of scenery can make a world of difference when it comes to understanding complex issues through a global lens. That’s why the O’Neill School offers its O’Neill International study abroad opportunities. For the summer semester, there are 13 programs offered in 14 locations around the world, from the Caribbean to Europe to South Africa.

Applications for summer programs are due by December 15, 2019, and the deadline to apply for a scholarship is on December 17, 2019. The sooner students apply, the more time they have to complete a scholarship application. Every student is eligible for a scholarship to help offset the costs of the program. Those scholarships often make trips possible for many students. But don’t take our word for it. Read what Jason Sprinkle, an O’Neill graduate student pursuing his MPA in nonprofit management, had to say about why he studied abroad and the importance of scholarships.

Q1: What did it mean to you to earn a study abroad scholarship through the O’Neill School?

“The chance to study abroad is such a life-changing experience and I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity I had to travel to Copenhagen. Learning while immersed in another culture is not an experience many get to enjoy, and I did not take the opportunity lightly. Studying about the nonprofit sector overseas will have a lasting impact on my current career in nonprofit philanthropy and future trajectory as a nonprofit professional.”

Q2: What is the value of studying and traveling abroad?

“The value of studying abroad is remarkable yet immeasurable. Our program in Denmark allowed us to study in a different culture, interact with experienced professionals on a personal level, and learn from a highly-sophisticated system that is the perfect mirror image of the U.S. nonprofit sector. This experience shows students how different the world of nonprofits can be. It completely changed my outlook on the U.S. and global nonprofit sector and forced me to take a hard look at my own career and how this advanced education could help me make more of a difference. I am so grateful for the opportunity to study abroad with O’Neill and for the scholarship I received.”

Q3. How important are study abroad scholarships for students?

“I would encourage all O’Neill alumni to give back to benefit study abroad programs. In order for our students to remain competitive in today’s workforce and the nonprofit world as a whole, they must have some international experience. These experiences improve students’ practical and theoretical skills, expand their understanding of the world, and set them up for further success in their chosen career.”

To apply to the O’Neill International program, visit this link or contact oneillqa@iupui.edu with questions.

IU Executive Education helps organizations plan for a better future

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Leslie Wells

In libraries and church basements across the state, community leaders gathered to discuss addressing minority health issues in Indiana. It was the late 1980s and there was no cohesive statewide effort to focus on minority health disparities.

Those many meetings over many years helped lay the foundation for the Indiana Minority Health Coalition. Carl Ellison was there for its founding in 1994; he’s now its president and CEO. In its 25-year history, IMHC has expanded across the state, creating a network of local affiliates and partners committed to creating a unified voice for minority health issues.

“When we started, we never could have envisioned that we would be where we are today,” Ellison admits. “There is no model in the United States for who we have become. It’s been breathtaking to watch IMHC grow.”

IMHC followed its strategic plan through 2019 into exciting and uncharted territory, but the future would require a new course. Ellison and IMHC leadership knew they needed an outside eye and experienced ear to help them plot the organization’s next steps.

Ellison had worked with IU Executive Education when he was a board member for Covering Kids and Families Indiana. He knew their consulting services could help organizations with executive and leadership development, organizational assessments, governance, and strategic planning.

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O’Neill alumna helps community and students prepare for future

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Leslie Wells

Like many students, Kassandra Buster’s path has had a few twists and turns in it. She started at O’Neill in 1997—the first in her family to pursue higher education. She dreamed of a job in homeland security but that dream was put on hold.

“Life just got in the way,” she admits. “I dropped out.”

She left college for a job at Riley Hospital for Children but was still drawn to criminal justice and eventually took a position as a 911 dispatcher. By 2009, she realized not having a degree was holding her back.

Buster returned to O’Neill with more motivation and commitment than ever. She earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, her master’s in criminal justice and public safety management, and a certificate in homeland security and emergency management.

She’s now putting those degrees to use for the community. As the senior coordinator with the IMPD Homeland Security Bureau, she updates Indianapolis’ emergency management plans and manages community outreach for disaster preparedness, including the Community Emergency Response Team.

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