Translating ambiguity into workable information is a vexing problem for policy professionals. It is a skill that MPA student Olivia Piontek has honed at the Truman School and tested this summer at the Urban Institute in Washington D.C. As a Research Intern at the Income and Benefits Policy Center, Olivia interpreted policy transmittals from each state of the union to facilitate data analysis. Olivia assisted the Urban Institute with understanding statewide changes to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Olivia functioned as a liaison to the states. She collected updates on policy changes and hunted for relevant data hidden behind layers of dense writing. Ultimately, she had to create analogues to original policy writing that fit within the parameters of the Urban Institute’s working database. “It was translation. I had to communicate information into something that the Urban Institute could work with and understand,” Olivia commented on her experience. “The TSPA taught me how to quickly and incisively cut to the heart of policy. The interdisciplinary approach gave me the skillset to take a concept and illustrate in any way.”