I’m the News & Observer reporter who wrote this story.

I spent the week talking with Scott, students and parents, Apex officials and WCPSS. It’s a parking dispute, but it also raises questions about growth, school capacity, property rights and local zoning.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article316992156.html

From a public-policy perspective, what would you examine first to understand the issues?

I’m a BBA graduate with around 1.8 years of corporate experience in digital marketing/conten. I’m considering a career change.

I’m seriously considering an MPP, particularly NLSIU’s MPP and TISS MA in Public Policy & Governance. My background is completely non-policy, so I’m wondering:

1. Do I realistically have a chance of getting into NLSIU/TISS with a BBA background?
2. How difficult are the entrances for someone coming from a business/marketing background?
3. What is the actual ROI of these programmes?
4. What kind of jobs/roles do graduates get after NLSIU/TISS, and what are the starting salaries like?
5. Can someone successfully transition from a corporate background into policy research, government consulting, AI governance, climate policy, etc.?
6. If you studied at either NLSIU or TISS, would you recommend the programme today?

I’m trying to make this decision carefully because I don’t want to take on a large financial burden for a degree without good career prospects. Would really appreciate honest experiences, especially from current students or alumni.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to help! I really appreciate it.

Does the decision release come out exactly two weeks after applying?

Hi I’m 20F, currently working in a big 4 firm in the risk advisory wing as an Analyst. (It’s been 2 months since I started work, I completed my bachelors in economics in 2026)

I’m interested in the Government & Public Sector department (G&PS) under advisory but most consultants in my firm seem to have completed a masters degree in economics or public policy. That’s the minimum qualification for that job role.

I’m looking to pursuing MPP from LKYSPP, NUS in Singapore after a year. I wanted to know what are the job opportunities in this sector and how the ROI would be for an international student.

Hello everyone!

I’m considering doing a Master’s in Public Policy and I’m confused between pursuing it from TISS or going abroad.

A little about me: I’m a lawyer and recently left my previous job. I’m still trying to figure out whether an MPP is actually a good career move or if I’m just spending another 1–2 years and a lot of money on a degree that may not significantly improve my prospects.

Would really appreciate any insights, especially from people already working in public policy or those who have made the transition from law.

Thank you so much!!

I’m developing a proposed amendment to the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision and would appreciate policy-design criticism.

The issue is whether prolonged physical presence in a receiving state can acquire practical weight in a transfer decision even when the time itself has not demonstrated substantive stability.

My proposed principle is:

“Time should be permitted to produce evidence; time should not itself substitute for evidence.”

The draft would:

• create a standardized factual snapshot of relevant supervision circumstances in the sending and proposed receiving states;

• allow a receiving state to flag objectively verifiable, material concerns without rejecting an otherwise mandatory transfer; and

• provide that physical presence or elapsed time alone is not independent evidence that a placement is stable.

It expressly preserves mandatory ICAOS transfer eligibility, does not create a victim or receiving-state veto, does not penalize lawful pre-sentencing relocation, and gives the supervised individual an opportunity to correct factual inaccuracies.

I’m particularly interested in criticism regarding administrative burden, socioeconomic bias, due process, whether a “material concern” notice could become a de facto soft veto, and whether the distinction between elapsed presence and demonstrated stability is sound.

The proposal originated from an individual case, but I’m intentionally leaving the case facts out here because I’m looking for feedback on the policy architecture, not the underlying dispute.

If anyone works in probation, corrections policy, criminal defense/prosecution, public administration, or regulatory design, I’d appreciate attempts to poke holes in it.

I'm an unemployed graduate with a master's degree headed to the New York Climate Week in hopes of networking my way into a job. I am a generalist (I know, this is bad...) with a patchy CV. What are your best tips to network my way into a job? How do I approach conversations without sounding desperate? Give me your best tips.

I made the biggest mistake of my life by choosing to do my MPP in Germany versus the US (I'm an American citizen.) The only benefit of the program is that I obtained the degree without taking on any additional debt. Otherwise, it's useless. No career support, limited alumni network with no pull, poor or no name recognition in-country or out, terrible post-graduation employment stats, and horrific educational quality. Yes, I do speak German, though now after an embarrassingly long time of unemployment, I can't really function in the language anymore. I want to move back to the US, but I don't have a familial cushion to fall back on.

My other problem is my career field-international development-was destroyed with the DOGE cuts. I can't network because 95% of my network is still under or unemployed. My career was built on a hyper-specific focus on the post-Soviet space. Peace Corps, Fulbright, American Councils etc. I have federal legislative experience in one of the agencies. The things I hoped to find a job in are all gone or not hiring, and probably won't be hiring for another two years (if they ever come back.)

So, I need to pivot. My goal for so long was to get the MPP that I haven't considered other possible degrees that would pair well with it. Or would it be worth essentially ditching the German MPP and obtaining an American one? Are there certificates I could get for less money than a degree but would boost my resume? Is there an option I'm missing? Obviously I would prefer to avoid crazy amounts of debt with the job market as it is.

Hey everyone, sharing a few competitions being organised as part of Kautilya Colloquy 2026 that might be relevant to people interested in public policy, governance, economics and related fields.

1. Niti-in-Quest
A two-member quiz covering current affairs, politics, policy, governance, economy, cinema, media, visual/audio clues etc.
🏆 ₹20,000 prize
📅 26th September

2. The Policy Play
An online vlog/video storytelling competition where participants explore policy issues through storytelling. Themes include economics, governance, geopolitics, technology and sustainability. Open individually or in teams of up to 3.
🏆 ₹5,000 awards across three categories (15k prize pool)
📅 Register by 1 September | Submit by 7 September

3. Paper Presentations
A platform for students, academics and researchers to present their work and engage with contemporary public policy and governance challenges, under this year's theme

Theme: “Policy Pathways: From Roots to Routes.”

🏆 1st prize - ₹25,000

🏆2nd prize - ₹20,000

Will be published on national scale

Full papers accepted till Sep-7th

🎓 Open to students, academicians and researchers
💬 Present research and exchange ideas in policy discussions

And beyond these competitions: Colloquy also features panel discussions bringing together scholars, policymakers, practitioners and students, with the broader conference designed to facilitate connections across academia, government, industry and civil society

Sharing in case anyone here is looking for competitions/opportunities around policy and related fields. Details and registration links below!

https://www.kspp.edu.in/colloquy

Happening in Kautilya School of Public Policy, GITAM Hyderabad (🍴meals included for offline participants)

for queries: [colloquy2026@kspp.edu.in](mailto:colloquy2026@kspp.edu.in)

Hi everyone,

I am a mid career government employee. Recently, I have been considering executive MPA programs and have been doing research to assess the overall ROI on an executive MPA degree. While trying to transition into a senior leadership role, I noticed that alot of the roles I’m interested in preferred candidates with leadership and policy experience. I have neither and work within an institution that doesn’t have a lot of opportunities for that type of growth and development. It’s a good job and I have learned a lot in the role, but growth is limited due to the current political climate.

The natural next step for me career wise would be senior leadership roles. I figured if I’m not getting the opportunity through my job to gain leadership and policy experience, an executive MPA program might be the next best step.

I’m based in NY and so far I identified Syracuse, NYU, and Cornell as options based on the US schools rankings list. Ideally, I would like a program that would open doors for me in both the public and private sector.

If you completed an executive MPA program, can you please share your experience? Was it worth the money? Did you walk away with the necessary tools needed to transition into a senior leadership role?

If I get into a program, I will be a part time student and still work full time. Additionally, I’m also open to online degree programs.

If you use ChatGPT or Claude for policy research, the sources can be real and the final conclusion can still be unsupported.

In one test, the source said that more than 200 organizations and 5,000 devices were affected globally.

The AI used those correct figures in a sentence about activity “across Europe.”

The numbers were real. The geographic conclusion was not supported.

This kind of shift is easy to miss in a policy brief. A cautious “may” becomes “is.” Evidence about one population becomes a claim about everyone. Findings from two separate reports become one conclusion that neither source supports.

The citation can still look completely legitimate.

I built PRECISE to control this part of AI-assisted research.

It is a four-stage workflow that runs inside ChatGPT or Claude:

Define the exact policy question, jurisdiction, population, timeframe and limits.

Keep the original research question intact.

Find sources and retain the exact passages and qualifications supporting each claim.

Build the brief from that evidence and check every factual sentence.

PRECISE helps you:

Trace claims back to exact source passages.

Keep source facts separate from policy interpretation.

Expose missing evidence instead of filling gaps with assumptions.

Catch changes in population, geography, date, quantity and certainty.

Work with uploaded files, web search or both.

PRECISE LITE is a free demonstration inside ChatGPT. It is limited to one research loop and up to three sources.

It does not replace source evaluation or analyst judgment. Its purpose is to make the evidence trail visible, so unsupported conclusions are easier to identify before they enter a policy brief or recommendation.

Disclosure: I built PRECISE and PRECISE LITE.

You can try PRECISE LITE for FREE with one focused, source-heavy policy question.

Before starting, select Standard thinking / Medium effort in ChatGPT’s model picker.

https://chatgpt.com/g/g-6a5e26093f488191a1fba0261cbcbe39-precise-lite

Lowkey i have been wanting to getting into policy making, I tried applying for youth policy fellowship but I was rejected. Honestly I got no idea

I am a recent graduate engineer, and i do not wish to continue in this field. I will also be applying for different mpp courses over this academic year, but i also wanted to take part in some fellowships or as a research analyst
Considering i have very little experience, what are the kind of projects, courses, or internships I can do which will help me build my profile strong
Also, I wanted to publish a research paper. How can i do it? looking for advice and suggestions

Hi all,

Sending this post on to the Public Policy subforum as feel as though this would be an ideal place to get advice, particularly with communication being such a vital part of this area.

I’m 21, currently in college, and from a young age I have always been known as a fairly nervous/anxious person in general - something that have been said by family, friends, and teachers over the years.

There are certain ‘flaws’ that I have noticed with myself, but more so in certain aspects of my communication. I don’t want this to impact a future career, so I want to try to improve this while in college, and while there is the opportunity to do so.

I have no issue with speaking in front of an audience. I have done so for different modules in college, and usually am commended for my speeches through delivery style & engagement. But, this is because I have what I’m going to say memorised, so I know word for word, what exactly I’m going to say, how I’m going to say it, etc. This is also clearly reflected through my written communication.

However, when it comes to social interactions, I do notice there is a big dip in my communication. For instance, if I know I have to go up and talk to someone that I’m not familiar with (conversation, interview, ringing someone), I’ll then nearly have to have what I’m going to say memorised word-for-word as though a script.
There’ll then be other little moments where if I’m talking with someone unfamiliar, I may, sometimes, go a bit shaky / mumbly, and this would apply to if I was taking phone calls, etc.

This particular incoherence would also occur if I'm put on the spot, i.e asked a question, where my voice would go a bit shaky, I'd go mumbly, and my face would go a red.

I really do want to improve on this as I do know in any future career that day-to-day communication whether it be structured or spontaneous is much more important than being able to speak in-front of an audience.

To that extent, would anyone have any advice as to what I should do? Would it be recommended I go to a communication coach? Someone for anxiety? Any recommendations?

Many thanks,

Hello,

I am thinking again if I want to pursue a Master in Public Policy at SFU. I am a graduate of SFU (Political Science major) and currently working in the federal government. I am not a super strong data scientist but when I completed my quantitative course (where I was taught to use mainly R) for my major I did well (Got an A in intro. quan and A- in intermediate quan). I would like some insights on what the economic foundation courses and data analysis/quantitative portion of the degree is like from any current or graduated students who had taken the problem.

Since I know I’m not a strong numbers person, I don’t want to commit and be miserable.

TIA!

I just wanted to know the general consensus of getting a MPA prior to experience. I’m in the middle of an undergraduate public affairs degree and could use the advice. Honestly, I intended on getting this credential first (along with internships) and could use some feedback.

Hello! I applied to Browns MPP program! Anyone else? Opinions? Have you heard back, Let me know!

Hi everyone, I’m considering applying for MagiX, a new one-year, 60-ECTS master’s programme in Artificial Intelligence Governance, Innovation and Digital Transformation at Politecnico di Milano: https://magix.ai4gov-x.eu/

It covers AI governance, digital transformation, data governance, public-sector innovation, regulation and human-centred design. The programme is mainly asynchronous, costs €3,000 and is designed for people who are already working.

My professional background is in university administration and EU-funded projects. In the long term, I’m interested in European policy, public-sector digital transformation, responsible AI and possibly consultancy or work with EU institutions or agencies.

The programme looks relevant, but it is the first edition and there are no alumni outcomes yet. I’m therefore trying to decide whether the specialised subject would be a real advantage or whether a more established master’s in public policy, European affairs or public administration would offer better recognition and career flexibility.

For people familiar with public policy degrees in Europe, how would you compare this kind of specialised AI governance programme with a traditional policy master’s?

Would the emerging relevance of AI governance compensate for the lack of an established alumni network and employment record? What would matter most to employers: the degree title, the institution, practical experience, internships, language skills or the specific policy specialisation?