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The Los Angeles Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) project serves as a base for committed stakeholders to bring their diverse knowledge into city governance and find creative avenues to advance the 17 SDGs. It provides a concrete framework to guide the Task Forces’ policy-making —objectives are rooted in project collaboration, innovation, and community partnerships.

Read our full research principles.

The Young Initiative Task Force Model for City and Community Partnerships

Task Forces are student research groups conducting fixed-term, problem-driven, and policy-oriented research, guided by academic advisors and overseen by a client (e.g., local government). Research generally falls into six types:

  • Exploratory or mapping: Broad comparison of city policies, plans, and data availability vs. international agreements and datasets.

  • Stakeholder Engagement: Outreach to gauge interest/issues (public, private, non-profit); expert outreach (academics, policymakers).

  • Data Assessment & Collection: Review of data made available through the client to identify gaps in services and data transparency itself.

  • Landscape Analysis: Detailed but broad assessment of issue-specific policies, services, and access.

  • Best Practice Case Studies: Rich case study research on successful practices that can be transferred or translated into a local context.

  • Proposals & Recommendation: Direct request for recommendations or contributions on a specific issue/project/question.

Task Forces drive change and innovation on multidimensional issues at the municipal level. Their model represents a unique opportunity for students to exercise their critical thinking, data analysis, and communication skills and act as consultants in service with local city governments.

If you wish to share your vision for possible community partnership projects or give feedback on current initiatives, please contact younginitiative@oxy.edu. We appreciate your input.

Past Task Forces

 

Truth in Los Angeles banner
Truth in Los Angeles

Recommendations on how to initiate a truth and accountability process and confront patterns of racial injustice in Los Angeles 

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Measuring Gender Equity in Cities An Intersectional Set of Proposed Indicators
Measuring Gender Equity in Cities: An Intersectional Set of Proposed Indicators

Students worked with the Mayor's Office to propose a set of indicators to measure gender equity in cities.

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What are Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
What are Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)?

The City of Los Angeles (LA) Mayor’s Office of International Affairs assigned a team of seven students to map the past seven years’ worth of projects funded by the Community Development Block Grant Entitlement Program. Stephanie Oyolu ‘22 represented É«½ç°É and reported to the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office for International Affairs.

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Healthy Indoor Environment
Healthy Indoor Environment

The City of Los Angeles (LA) Mayor’s Office of International Affairs assigned a team of seven students to analyze types of indoor air quality and energy efficiency solutions that can be supported by city programs with strong ROI and effective reduction of pollutants and emissions. Julia Eubanks ’22, Oli Vorster ’22, and Nancy Zhou ’22 represented É«½ç°É and reported to the Los Angeles...

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Biodiversity in Los Angeles
Biodiversity in Los Angeles

The City of Los Angeles (LA) Mayor’s Office of International Affairs assigned a team of eight students to help enhance the LA City Biodiversity Index to determine current industry benchmarks, create key recommendations for the next report revision, and provide insights for further research. Jackson Caudle ’21, Hope Hendry ’21, McClaran Shirley ’22, Maggie Smart- McCabe ’20, and Snigdha Suvarna ’20...

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Understanding the Linkages Between Student Housing Insecurity and Educational Outcomes
Understanding the Linkages Between Student Housing Insecurity and Educational Outcomes

The City of Los Angeles (LA) Mayor’s Office of International Affairs assigned a team of six students to conduct a macroanalysis of the determinants of intergenerational poverty with a focus on the relationship between homeless students’ environment and their educational outcomes. Jack Fernandes ‘20, Micah Kirscher ‘20, Wafa Abedin ‘21, Caroline Diamond ‘22, and Kyler Parris ‘22 represented...

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Disaggregating LGBTQIA+ Data
Disaggregating LGBTQIA+ Data

The City of Los Angeles (LA) Mayor’s Office of International Affairs assigned a team of six students to draw on the best practices of other cities and new data sources to improve measures of impact, inclusion, and representation of LGBTQIA+ Angelenos in city services. John Hammer ‘21 and Alejo Maggini ‘22 represented É«½ç°É and reported to the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office for...

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