For their capstone project, a team of Master of Public Affairs (MPA) graduate students worked with Iowa Valley RC&D staff to determine the feasibility and structure of a workplace program to offer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vouchers to employees at the University of Iowa, aiming to increase local food purchasing and improve employee health while also expanding market access for local farmers.

Student teams in two Tippie College of Business courses, Marketing and Sustainability and Business Consulting developed marketing strategies to build broad community awareness of Innovate 120, a new innovation hub located in Maquoketa and serving the broad eastern Iowa region.  

Courses from two University of Iowa departments - the Department of Theatre Arts and The School of Planning & Public Affairs - merged to explore the role of arts & culture in community and economic development, with a focus on economic inclusion and Black advancement in Iowa City.  

Juniors in the Tippie College of Business Marketing Institute developed a marketing strategy to help the Waterloo Public Library increase outreach to the business community in Waterloo. 

Students in the Department of Health and Human Physiology's Sports and Recreation Management Program recommended strategies to enhance the partnership between the Clinton LumberKings minor league baseball organization and the Downtown Clinton Alliance. 

Clinic law students, who are second or third year students at the University of Iowa College of Law participating in the Community Empowerment Law Project (CELP) explored models for community-driven investment vehicles in two Iowa communities- Webster City and Manning.

Students from the Tippie College of Business Marketing Institute developed marketing strategies for the Southeast Iowa Development Center, a new high-tech facility in Keokuk designed to serve as a business incubator for emerging companies. 

Graduate students in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, working in collaboration with the Webster City Community Vitality director and the local business community, completed a strategic plan to revitalize the downtown commercial district through small business growth, building improvements, residential development, and strategies to attract residents and visitors to the area.

Through a graduate assistantship from the Tippie College of Business, an MBA student worked alongside IISC staff to develop recommendations for retail inventory management policies and procedures for the DeWitt Referral Center, a non-profit organization that serves a resource for local families experiencing hardship or crisis. 

As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the University of Iowa’s School of Urban & Regional Planning provided an update to the program structure and plans for The Petal Project, one of Prosperity Eastern Iowa’s (PEI) flagship economic development programs.

A senior marketing student researched food waste prevention among local businesses in Iowa City and created a communication campaign for promoting local composting and recycling efforts.

Food waste reduction is an important component of sustainability that many local Iowa City businesses are already achieving through composting and recycling strategies. Public support of such practices and the businesses who engage them can contribute to both the local economy and sustainability success.

In collaboration with Arts Share, graduate students in the School of Art & Art History worked with local businesses in the Czech Village/New Bohemia Main Street District to design window displays for the holiday season.