ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú

 

A list of projects proposed by State Department officers is shared with ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú twice per year, typically in October and March. Interested faculty then “bid” on the listed projects they would like to lead a student team in researching during the following academic semester. Faculty do not propose their own projects. They are, however, welcome to suggest novel ways their expertise can be applied to the various projects proposed by State Department officers. Project bids are firmly limited to 200 words total. Diplomacy Lab staff will assist interested faculty in drafting their bids. Bids that exceed the word limit will not be submitted to State Department officers for consideration. Bids should include all relevant information about faculty qualifications, the class the project will be implemented in, and faculty plans to complete the project, insofar as possible. The State Department officers will receive no other information than the faculty bid.

Please contact Dr. Arceneaux should you have any questions about the bid process.

Typically, faculty will be notified within three to four weeks if their bid has been accepted by the State Department officers.

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The State Department is responsible for responding to a wide array of international issues and challenges, including climate change, democracy and human rights, global health, energy security, gender equality, economic policy, trafficking in persons, food security, and conflict and stabilization. Diplomacy Lab projects come from offices across the Department and at posts around the globe.

See current and prior projects tackled by ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú faculty and students 

Each Diplomacy Lab team is supervised by a faculty member with expertise in a field related to the project. The faculty member also serves as the Project Point of Contact (PoC) for State Department officials who have proposed and are overseeing the project.

Students engage directly with officials throughout the semester in a series of calls or videoconferences. Although each project’s trajectory is different, typically the first conference takes place at the beginning of the semester, so that students can meet Department officials, who provide students with additional context and direction not included in the initial project request. The second conference takes place later in the semester, to give students the chance to ask questions and officials a chance to give mid-course guidance on the students’ work. During the final conference, students present their results to their Department colleagues and other relevant officials. State Department officials will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the students’ work.

Faculty are encouraged to incorporate Diplomacy Lab within their curricula as best suits their teaching needs and academic goals.

Potential models include but are not limited to:

Course-Per-Topic Model: A faculty member might build a course around a chosen Diplomacy Lab topic. Students could be asked to work collectively or in teams. The course instructor would then coordinate and consolidate student work product, the final form of which should be discussed with the relevant State Department officials before the semester begins. Possible models for student work product involve: a compilation of the best portions of various projects; a class-wide revision of a chosen project; or splitting the topic into distinct pieces (i.e. country or thematic focuses) and consolidating the results into one final submission. This model has the benefit of closely approximating the operation of an office at the State Department, where most activities and documents are deeply collective efforts.

Multi-Topic Course Model: A faculty member could offer one or more courses in which student teams address different Diplomacy Lab topics. If multiple teams intend to address the same topic, similar methods as described above should be used to consolidate the teams’ efforts prior to submission to Department officials.

Independent Study Model: A faculty member could offer supervised independent study opportunities to small groups of students for one or more of its chosen projects. Capstone Model: Diplomacy Lab projects can also be incorporated into existing capstone or practicum programs.