News

The HUP Collaborative Research Assistantship has finished its fourth year, continuing to drive tangible change based on student research and collaboration with the county. 

Graduate student Chimnay Arora’s research and story dive into the process of not only identifying structural disparities and resident challenges, but creating research-based solutions to address them. 

Arora worked with county staff to explore how residents utilize the county’s digital products, segmenting audiences not by demographics, but by needs, behaviors, and access barriers. His findings, ranging from website accessibility issues to disparities in technology access became entry points for change. By working closely with the county and collaborating with community leaders, Arora is hoping to create actionable solutions to make important programs like SNAP and Health Care Assistance more accessible.

On April 2, a team from UMN Pediatrics received HUP's $50,000 Collaborative Grant for their proposal on "Libraries as Community Spaces to Promote Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing: Evaluating Hennepin County Library’s Drop-In Spaces." 

Graduate student Sonia Harris led a year-long evaluation of Hennepin County’s Streets to Housing program, centering the voices of people with lived experience of homelessness. Her work highlights the power of community-engaged research to inform change, build trust, and humanize systems.

How do conservation easements impact land value, taxes, and access to green space? Learn how a University of Minnesota student partnered with Hennepin County to explore how these legal tools can protect natural land while supporting equity and municipal sustainability goals.