CIPA-NOLA Frequently Asked Questions
Background and Need for CIPA-NOLAInformation for St. Bernard Parish Organizations
Information for Participating CIPA Fellows
Information on Funding
Background and Need for CIPA-NOLA
What is CIPA-NOLA?
The CIPA-New Orleans Professional Partnership contains five
components that will enable CIPA fellows to provide needed assistance to the
rebuilding efforts in St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans after Hurricane
Katrina while developing graduate-level public administration and policy
skills. The components of the
partnership include the New Orleans Discussion Group series in the fall, a
classroom-based consulting project opportunity, an annual Spring Break service
trip to St. Bernard Parish, a summer internship opportunity, and for fellows
demonstrating extraordinary commitment, writing a thesis/professional report on
a New Orleans-related issue. Each component provides an opportunity for
fellows to develop various skills and build relationships while helping
nonprofits meet the tremendous needs of the area.
Why did you
form the CIPA-New Orleans Professional Partnership?
In the spring of 2008, six CIPA fellows participated in a
Spring Break service trip to St. Bernard Parish to help with reconstruction
efforts. Fellows completed a week of
construction labor, met St. Bernard residents, and experienced its
one-of-a-kind culture. All six fellows
were deeply touched by the trip, and three of us enthusiastically agreed to
expand upon Cornell's relationship with the community, inspiring the creation
of CIPA-NOLA.
Hurricane
Katrina happened in 2005. Is there still
a need in New Orleans?
Three years after Katrina and Rita ripped through the Gulf
Coast, the reconstruction process in New Orleans and its surrounding parishes
has demonstrated a persistent gap between services needed by citizens and
services provided by all levels of government. In many areas, nonprofits
and churches are providing many of the services for citizens. This partnership provides an opportunity for
the CIPA academic community at Cornell University to use its unique resources
and capabilities to help nonprofits meet this demand. CIPA fellows will
analyze current practices, diagnose inadequacies, and propose solutions to the
area's problems.
There were
many areas in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast that were affected by
Katrina. Why are you focusing on St.
Bernard Parish?
Hurricane Katrina annihilated communities all along the Gulf
Coast, killing 238 Mississippians, 14 Floridians, and 2 Alabamans. However, much of Katrina’s popular narrative
focuses on New Orleans. According to the
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, the storm claimed 1,577 lives in
Louisiana. The stories from New Orleans
paint a vivid picture of Katrina’s havoc.
The St. Bernard Parish community was devastated. Located east of downtown New Orleans, St.
Bernard Parish was home to over 67,000 lower- and middle-income residents
before the storm. Despite the median
income being only about $36,000, the parish had developed a reputation as a
thriving community. Three-quarters of
all residents were homeowners, and the unemployment rate was only 4% (in
2004). Katrina changed everything. The western border of the parish hugs the
Lower Ninth Ward, which was devastated by the breach of the Industrial
Canal. Over 15-20 feet of water burst
into the Lower Ninth, and the water rushed into the parish. A majority of the homes were ruined; as of
June 2008, less than half of the population had returned.
Many nonprofit organizations have developed operations in
St. Bernard Parish to focus on reconstruction. Two of these organizations, Live St. Bernard and The St. Bernard
Project, hosted Cornell’s original outreach effort to the parish. CIPA-NOLA will take advantage of the
available resources and goodwill in the area.
What
organizations will CIPA-NOLA work with in St. Bernard Parish?
Our original partners include the organizations we worked
with last spring, Live St. Bernard and The St. Bernard Project. Live St. Bernard’s mission is to attract and
house skilled construction laborers to St. Bernard Parish. It aims to
provide volunteer housing that initiates interaction between volunteers and
parish residents, creating the cultural exchange that encourages volunteers to
make a long-term commitment to rebuilding the area. The Live St. Bernard
volunteer house is a three-bedroom home on the east end of the Lower Ninth Ward
that was donated by the former homeowner in 2007. The Live St. Bernard
founders used donations and volunteer labor to gut, de-mold, and rebuild the
house, and the Cornell group was the house's first official volunteer tenant.
The St. Bernard Project, a partner of Live St. Bernard, is a
nonprofit, grassroots organization that removes barriers for St. Bernard
families who wish to move back into their homes. The organization began
rebuilding homes in the parish in August 2006 and since has rebuilt over 35
homes and worked on nearly 80 more. The St. Bernard Project uses
donations for building supplies and volunteer labor to rebuild homes for
citizens of limited means. The Project also provides a tool co-op, a
small community center, and activity groups for residents.
CIPA-NOLA is working to extend partnerships to other
organizations in the parish as well.
Information for St. Bernard Parish
Organizations
What is the
Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA)?
CIPA is a two-year public affairs program at Cornell
University, leading to the Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.)
degree. CIPA fellows have the
flexibility to design an individualized course of study using faculty resources
from across the university. This extraordinary breadth of opportunity,
complemented by the wealth and diversity of public policy expertise that exists
on the Cornell campus, serves as a catalyst for innovative thought and
study.
Who are CIPA
fellows?
CIPA fellows are graduate students at the Cornell Institute for
Public Affairs. They come from diverse
professional and cultural backgrounds. Fellows have worked for national, state and local governments,
non-governmental organizations, non-profits and private industry. In addition to the general public
administration studies, each fellow develops his/her skills in a specific
concentration, including environmental policy, finance and fiscal policy,
government, politics, and policy studies, human rights and social justice,
international development studies, public and nonprofit management, science and
technology policy, and social policy.
What skills
can CIPA fellows provide to organizations?
A CIPA fellow can assist through the Public Service Exchange
consultancy in the spring semester or through a summer internship. Through the consultancy CIPA fellows have the
capacity to address a range of tasks, including but not limited to best
practice research, budget analyses, comparative analyses, nonprofit management,
organizational development, policy analyses, program planning and evaluation,
strategic planning, and organizational development. The summer internship can be further refined
to meet organizational needs.
How will St. Bernard Parish benefit from CIPA-NOLA?
Participating students will offer a defined and sustained commitment
to meet goals defined in partnership with local organizations. CIPA-NOLA
will, to the greatest extent possible, put the academic resources of Cornell
University to use in the rebuilding effort in St. Bernard Parish.
Information for Participating CIPA Fellows
What commitment will be expected of students?
Fellows will not be expected to commit to all components of
CIPA-NOLA, though some components will be linked. It is expected that students
will follow through on the commitments they do make. New Orleans has seen its share of broken
promises, and our follow-through is essential to the success of CIPA-NOLA.
How many
CIPA fellows are eligible to participate in CIPA-NOLA?
There will likely be a 12-person cap on the Spring Break trip due to
housing restrictions at Live St. Bernard. Participation in the New Orleans Discussion Group will be
unlimited. The limit of fellows
participating in the spring Public Service Exchange consulting course will be
determined in spring when partnerships are more clearly defined, but CIPA-NOLA
leaders do not anticipate a problem. The
internship will likely be limited to the amount of organizations who are able
to accommodate a CIPA fellow for a full summer, as well as the amount of
supplemental funding CIPA will be able to provide for pro bono internship work.
What is the role of service in public affairs/administration/policy education?
We believe that service is a critical component of public affairs education,
and the varied interests of many CIPA students confirm such a commitment.
Effective public policy and public administration work is enhanced by
direct-service learning and experience.
Please
explain the budget breakdown.
We anticipate significant demand from CIPA fellows for the Spring
Break trip, and that is why it consumes the majority of our estimated budget
($7,000). Divided by 12 people (the
trip’s anticipated capacity), this works out to about $580 per person, which
covers flight expenses, travel to and from a New York airport, accommodations
at Live St. Bernard, food, and a rental car for transportation.
The internship component calls for approximately $2,500 per person,
enough to pay for one fellow to live in New Orleans for a summer while working
pro bono for a St. Bernard Parish nonprofit.
Finally, the Public Service Exchange consultancy earmarks $400 to
fly a member of a St. Bernard nonprofit to Ithaca, NY to speak to fellows
interested in their work in New Orleans.
How is
CIPA-NOLA financing its operations?
CIPA-NOLA is currently applying for several grants, from both
government and private sources. CIPA-NOLA leaders are also exploring the possibility of receiving
funding from Cornell University, either through the Student Activities Office
or through the Public Service Center.
Any funding shortfalls will be supplemented by fellows’ fundraising
efforts in the local community and with organizations who are inclined to
invest in CIPA-NOLA.
For the 2008 Spring Break trip, the CIPA administration generously
funded the trip in full. However, due to
budget reconfigurations, this will not occur in 2009.
Because the
Spring Break trip is so expensive, can’t that be cut to save money? It seems like the real work is done in the
consultancy and with the internship.
The Spring Break trip serves as an energizer for the participants in
CIPA-NOLA. We are adamant that fellows
remotely working to help rebuild New Orleans must experience and work in the
area themselves. The energy in St.
Bernard Parish is infectious; providing hands-on service will move the next
class of CIPA-NOLA leaders to take up the reigns of CIPA-NOLA and ensure its
continued success.
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