Info for Students (D&G Workshop)

Workshop in Sustainable Development Practice 

The Capstone Workshop in Sustainable Development Practice (the D&G Workshop) is one of most exciting opportunities for students in the Development and Governance (formerly Economic and Political Development) concentration, and is also open to students in the MPA-DP program, as well as a limited number of students in other MIA/MPA concentrations. Officially, it is a spring-semester course for second-year students, but workshop activities begin in the fall semester through the course on Methods for Sustainable Development Practice. Through the Workshop, students gain practical experience while assisting a diverse range of clients on a variety of assignments related to international development or humanitarian assistance, usually involving in-country meetings and data-gathering over SIPA’s winter and/or spring breaks. Working in teams with a faculty supervisor, students take a multidisciplinary approach to their work and learn extensively from each other as well as from the hands-on tasks of the workshop itself.

Another key strength of the D&G Workshop is that it allows students to explore the intersection of development concerns with corporate social responsibility, humanitarian affairs, conflict resolution, education, public health, gender, environmental policy, entrepreneurship and private sector development, and technology. Recent Workshop clients have included IOM, UNCDF, UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women and WFP; AIIB, IDB, and the World Bank; several national and local governments; development advisors such as DAI and TechnoServe; NGOs such as International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, Save the Children, and Transparency International; companies such as Natura Cosmetics; impact investors such as Enabling Qapital; and social enterprises such as One Acre Fund. Teams produce actionable final reports and make final presentations to their clients at the end of the Workshop, and several clients return each year to work with another team.

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2026-2027 Timeline

Workshop application is available until Monday, October 26 (12 pm/Noon)!

For more information, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page for students.

2026-2027 D&G Workshop Projects

Proposed projects will be finalized on October 12, 2026
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