- A Utah nonprofit offers up to $10,000 for innovative policy ideas.
- The Policy Project's competition seeks solutions for children and families, public education and other public issues.
- Finalists present ideas at the Policy Pitch Summit on June 12.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah nonprofit is offering rewards of up to $10,000 for innovative policy ideas that could improve quality of life, education and health in the Beehive State.
The Policy Project on Monday launched a pitch competition, encouraging Utahns "to submit a bold, actionable policy idea" to address a problem facing children and families. Three top finalists will win a cash prize and have a chance to present their ideas to lawmakers and experts at the first-ever Policy Pitch Summit on June 12.
"At the Policy Project, our process of identifying issues and solutions starts with listening — to community members, practitioners, researchers and people with lived experience of the problems we're trying to solve," Emily Bell McCormick, the organization's president, said in a statement. "The Policy Pitch Competition is a formalization of that process. If you've ever thought 'there's a better way to do this,' we want to hear from you."
The competition is open to everyone, but submissions should focus on a real problem and include practical, evidence-based proposals not already in place. The Policy Project is primarily seeking pitches for state-level policy, according to Marin Christensen, the nonprofit's policy development manager.
Christensen said the contest is open to both policy professionals and community members. While research and evidence are required for both application tracks, each track has a unique scoring criterion, which she said is meant to make the contest more accessible.
"It's very important to hear from these local experts," she told KSL in an interview Monday. "Even if they're just a community expert, they're an expert in experiencing whatever is happening, and this is just a good way for us to get those ideas from the community."
Any ideas should address at least one of the following areas that are a focus for the Policy Project: supporting children and families, building the middle class, strengthening public education, helping people meet basic needs, fixing inefficient and inequitable systems, promoting health, and preventing abuse, violence and exploitation.
The Policy Project has been involved with state lawmakers in recent years to push legislation providing period products in schools, expanding child sexual abuse prevention education and increasing access to free school meals. This year, the organization helped pass bills dealing with access to child care.
Christensen said the ideas submitted for the contest will help the Policy Project identify proposals to implement in future years. And the summit will give a chance for some of the best ideas to be vetted and talked through with experts.
"You can come up with a policy idea all day long that might be working somewhere else, but that somewhere else isn't Utah, and we are different here," she said. "Having a bipartisan conversation, having someone that's an expert on the ground or maybe someone in government really talk about the feasibility of the implementation ... I think, will be so fascinating and interesting."
Applications for the competition open on Monday and close on May 8. Applications and more information are available on the Policy Project's website. For those interested, Christensen said an applicant manual can also serve as a guide for crafting applications and help walk people through what information is required.
