The Michigan Policy Network is a student-led public education and research program to report and organize news and information about the political process surrounding Michigan state policy issues. It is run out of the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University, with participation by students from the College of Social Science, the College of Communication, and James Madison College. The program empowers students to create and manage extensive websites, each dedicated to a major policy domain. The sites feature background research and current updates on legislation along with regular blog entries to make the information accessible to a broad audience.

We seek to accomplish several interrelated objectives: (1) Provide a public resource to organize and update information on the political process that influences how state policy issues are resolved; (2) Utilize the skill sets of undergraduates to produce compelling online content and connect them to political practitioners; and (3) Create an extensive record of the actors, events, and controversies that shape Michigan policy debates for use in student-faculty collaborative research.

The Director of the Michigan Policy Network is Matt Grossmann, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University. His primary research concerns interest group representation and influence in the U.S. He also investigates the determinants of major policy change and teaches courses on political parties, interest groups, and campaigns.

For more information, please email Matt Grossmann at matt  at  mattg.org.

Hear a radio interview with Brian Fadie, Energy & Environment Fellow & Correspondent.

Hear an interview with Matt Grossmann and Walt Sorg on the Michigan Policy Network.

View the university press release on the Michigan Policy Network.

View a video on the Michigan Policy Network from MSU media relations.