International Public Service Projects (IPSP)
The International Public Service Project is designed to provide a hands-on experience for students at
an agency that is located overseas or has a global mission to its work within the United States. The
IPSP provides students the opportunity to experience public service well outside their previous
acquaintance, stretching their boundaries of existing knowledge and skills. The projects also allow
students to participate in the daily activities of a public service agency, serving as an integral
member of the agency staff.
All students select their own international project that builds on the knowledge and skills they have
gained in their first two semesters at the Clinton School, along with learning acquired from their
prior academic and public service experiences. Students spend the spring semester researching and
developing a project plan before their projects begin. The project plan is approved by the faculty
and the partner organization before it is implemented over 10 weeks during the summer term.
Previous international projects include:
Melbourne, Australia
Researching evaluation processes to find a program evaluation approach for HIPPY Australia, which
works with families to prepare children for school and increase literacy rates.
Jilin City, China
Helping develop strategies for public health education at a small, private hospital in northeast
China that specializes in surgical procedures and seeks to ensure access for disadvantaged and
minority populations.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Working with TOMS Shoes, a company that gives a pair of shoes away to those in need for every pair
purchased, to create a distribution plan to provide shoes to children at risk of contracting a skin
infection caused by exposure to irritant soil.
Kigali, Rwanda
Completing an in-depth study including research and recommendations addressing how Rwanda can better
prepare its best and brightest scholars to become competitive on exam scores and earn educational
scholarships to American universities.
Johannesburg, South Africa
Examining the impact that international voluntary service learning programs have on the volunteers
involved as well as on the communities and organizations that host those volunteers.
Castries, St. Lucia
Creating a manual for outreach activities and designing a measurement and evaluation strategy for an
organization that works to promote human rights through creative media.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Helping locate urban refugees and identify their legal protection needs for the Tanzania office of
Asylum Access, which works across the world to provide legal information, representation, advice and
advocacy to refugees.
Ahmedadad, Gujarat, India
Developing a best practices model of aide delivery for an NGO that provides basic access to
sanitation, clean water, sustainable lighting and village safety for impoverished areas in India.
Nairobi, Kenya
Producing needs and best-practices assessments for an organization that seeks to eradicate youth
poverty in Kenya by closing the unemployment gap through youth entrepreneurship, leadership and philanthropy.
Punta Gorda, Belize
Completing a reproductive health study of disadvantaged populations of Belize, including research
and recommendations.