Projects
The Center for Creative Community Development
Professor Stephen Sheppard is leading a joint effort between Williams College and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MOCA) in the creation of a Center for Creative Community Development which will focus on the study and evaluation of the community development impacts from arts, cultural and related non-profit organizations.
The Center is collecting detailed information on the community development dynamics of a nationwide sample of arts and cultural institutions. It will also provide training and workshops for students, community development workers, artists, local government officials and cultural leaders, on how to understand and measure the socioeconomic impacts of arts-based initiatives and how to manage and improve the relation between the cultural institutions and their host communities so as to produce the maximum community development impacts. The Center will serve as a national resource for artists, scholars, and policy-makers to exchange ideas and experiences, and to collect and disseminate reliable data.
Professor Sheppard welcomes students interested in working on any aspect of the Center’s mission.
Breaking the Mold
Learn about how workers at a molded products factory in Pittsfield, MA overcome potential unemployment when the factory closes by initiating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Watch the movie to see how workers participate in all phases of plant production to bring new meaning to the work and worker community. Contact Paula Consolini for more opportunities on how to get involved with this project.
Berkshire Economic Development Corporation
The following fieldwork opportunies are available with this Pittsfield-based organization:
- Housing Task Force Project Work — Evaluate the effect of the second homeowner market on the Berkshire housing market and regional economy.
- Workforce Taskforce Project Work — Work with a team in the development and execution of the the Employment Outlook publication. This is seen as critical project and will provide a true employment evaluation and marketing piece for the Berkshires.
- Site Selector Project — BEDC has consistently updated its data on the site-selector with the most current data but new information indicates they should really have information on trends. This work would involve putting together some excel spreadsheets on a variety of economic development information requirement including but not limited to: population, educational attainments, labor force characteristics, industry specific numbers, annual wages, salaries, housing characteristics.
- Investment Analysis Project — The BEDC is in need of someone to conduct some research on business investment in Berkshire County in the past 5 years.
The BEDC is happy to discuss student individual interests and to match them with appropriate projects.
The Media Giraffe Project
Study innovation in new and mainstream media; help launch the New England News Council.
Are you trying to figure out where you're going to fit in the media landscape of the future? Want to help start a high-profile new institution serving New England news organizations and the public?
One or two exceptional Williams College students with a strong interest in a media or journalism career are sought by the nationwide The Media Giraffe Project to help find and spotlight individuals making innovative “above-the-crowd” use of media to foster participatory democracy and community and to work on the formation of the New England News Council as part of a $75,000 Knight Foundation initiative. The projects may involve web-based research, reporting, writing in collaboration with an experienced editor, and some contact with New England news professionals.
The Media Giraffe Project is a three-year initiative of the journalism program at UMass Amherst with an office in Williamstown as well as Amherst. More than 300 people attended our June 28 - July 1 conference: “Democracy & Independence: Sharing News & Information in a Connected World.”
This fall, we are working under a Knight Foundation grant to form the New England News Council. We’re looking at cutting-edge efforts on the web and tradition media. To learn more, read this full description of the project’s mission.
The director/editor of the Media Giraffe Project is Bill Densmore. The principal investigator is Prof. Norman Sims of the journalism program at UMass. Research can be done anywhere the intern has appropriate access to the Internet, a printer, and a phone. To inquire or apply, contact:
- Bill Densmore, Director/Editor
- Media Giraffe Project
- 75 Water Street
- Williamstown, MA 01267
- 413-458-8001
- e-mail the Media Giraffe Project