The Brown Initiative for Policy (BIP) began in the Winter of 2018 as merely a concern amongst friends about a reality seen in the local community. Why weren't Rhode Island teachers required to be CPR-certified but students were to graduate high school, and why couldn't a policy be passed to change things? Suddenly, extensive research on the issue had been converted into a piece of legislation introduced into the RI Senate. It also inspired the realization that other students at Brown may be just as passionate about contributing to the advancement of sensible policy solutions.

Today, BIP specializes in housing, education, health, food, and digital policy issue areas, actively managing six research projects. Our approach emphasizes student collaboration with relevant, local stakeholders in Providence and broader Rhode Island to conduct on-the-ground research, creating valuable opportunities for policy and community-action proposals. We actively seek new opportunities to leverage student-driven research and ideas into real-world contexts. With over 80 members, BIP has quickly become Brown’s leading policy and research student organization.

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