Completed Projects

MNDOT Operations Division Recruitment and Retention Strategies

The WDRL conducted the applied research and consulting project under a contract between the UMN (through its Center for Transportation Studies) and the Minnesota Department of Transportation Operations Division between October 1, 2023, and October 1, 2024. This effort was led by Professors Ken Bartlett and Alexandre (Sasha) Ardichvili, with the participation of three graduate members of the Lab. The Lab assisted the MnDOT Operations Division in identifying critical issues in transportation and developing research, education, and outreach programs. The project involved, among other things, the development of workforce planning strategies, research, data analysis, scenario planning, and assessment of current and future state effectiveness on workforce strategies.

Policy Implementation Barriers in Tanzania (WDRL 2023 Student Challenge Competition Project) 

Ashley Watson, PhD

Ashley Watson, PhD has worked with the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) since 2021. In collaboration with Selemani Makwita, a 2022 MWF Fellow and Executive Director of Action for Democratic Governance (A4DG), Ashley focused on barriers to policy implementation of a recent ruling that allows young mothers and pregnant girls in Tanzania to return to school. On February 17th, they hosted a Stakeholder’s Workshop involving girls and young women, school leaders, and local level government officials to develop a collective advocacy agenda to address the re-entry policies targeting out-of-school young people.

Growing Tourism Leadership Webinar Series (WDRL 2023 Student Challenge Competition Project) 

Hyerim Cho

Hyerim Cho, a doctoral student in the HRD program and a graduate member of the WDRL, consulted with the UMN Tourism Center to help revamp the Growing Tourism Leadership Webinar Series. Her work involved conducting interviews with past and prospective program participants and trainers to determine the training needs of potential participants in the webinar series. In addition, Hyerim studied best practices of similar centers around the country. Based on her field research, she developed a strategy to enhance the program in terms of content and structure. The project was finalized in June 2023, and the Director of the Tourism Center, Dr. Xinyi Qian, expressed high level of satisfaction with the project results.

Three Research/Consulting Projects with Non-profit Organizations

Project with CompTia Identifies Best Practices for Tech Apprenticeship Programs

Ana Carolina Rodriguez, Graduate Member of the WDRL, and Lauren L. Jones, both PhD students in the HRD program, partnered with CompTIA to investigate best practices for technology-related apprenticeship programs. CompTIA is a non-profit organization that offers education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research to support the development of the IT ecosystem. Tech apprenticeship programs can address a crescent demand for tech professionals in the workplace and contribute to developing a more diverse workforce by tapping into underexplored populations. The project included interviews with key stakeholders and secondary data collection. The outcome was a report containing actionable strategies organizations have considered effective for the success of their apprenticeship initiatives.

Student Researchers Help Address Food Insecurity Challenges in Twin Cities

Taylor Cavallo Siering, PhD and Justine Mishek, PhD (students in the University of Minnesota HRD program at the time), worked with PRISM, a non-profit organization, inclusive of a food shelf, that supports the needs of individuals within the Twin Cities suburbs. Food shelves are a central resource for those experiencing barriers to meeting basic needs and due to the pandemic, more individuals are experiencing challenges related to food insecurity and poverty. However, as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency status ending, there are fewer benefits available and more individuals than ever are utilizing food shelves. In this project, the student researchers explored the connection between food insecurity, poverty and intersectionality, as food insecurity and poverty have a profound impact on those who hold marginalized identities, specifically related to gender, ability, age and race. The researchers also explored how PRISM is well positioned to focus on supporting these individuals and others who face challenges given their organizational emphasis on contextualizing food insecurity as an issue that involves other realities than just food.

Student Research Team Analyzes Transformational Change at Daily Work

Daily Work is a non-profit organization in the Twin Cities that assists over 200 job seekers annually in finding job placement. The primary demographic they work with is low-income immigrants residing in Ramsey County, which has the 4th highest poverty rate in Minnesota. The work done by Daily Work goes far beyond job placement, utilizing relationship building and a holistic approach intended to develop the whole person. Bethany Brausen and MJ Shim, PhD students in the HRD program at the time, were asked to lead a project assessing the transformational change process experienced by those involved in Daily Work. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the 4 main groups of people within Daily Work: job seekers, social work interns, volunteers and staff members. Findings from the project showed how relationship building and connection created transformational change areas for each category of people. Including but not limited to: increases in mental health and wellbeing, a broadened social/cultural understanding, higher integration into society and personal development.

UMN Tourism Center

Panpan Zhang, Graduate Student Investigator

The project aims to help the UMN Tourism Center to develop the At Your Service Customer Service Training program. Panpan Zhang, a graduate research member of the WDRLab, worked with UMN Tourism Center leaders and trainers of the program to reshape the training program goals and make the training content more culturally accessible to participants. Based on the findings of literature reviews on cross-cultural and customer service training, respectively, this project resulted in several recommendations to differentiate this customer service training program from others by incorporating the development of cross-cultural capabilities.  More information about the training program.

YMCA of the North- Beacons Program

Ana Carolina Rodriguez & Quinn Oteman, Graduate Student Investigators