Public Policy Commons^™

The Influence Of Engineers On Public Policy, Sarah Bouazzaoui

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Engineers play a vital role in society and contribute positively to economic growth in various areas, including energy, transportation, telecommunications, and others. In the United States of America, these areas are monitored by public policies that are set by policy actors—mainly lawyers, public administrators and social scientists—at legislative and regulatory levels. In these domains, engineers have a reduced voice with key decision makers on critical engineering issues, and their input is very limited. Their lack of involvement results in costly unintended consequences, affecting both the interest of the profession and the interest of the nation.

Research has shown that increased …

Technology, Institutions And Their Interactions: How Do These Explain E-Participation Degree And Levels? A Cross-Country Analysis, Pragati Rawat

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation aims at explaining the difference in the degree of e-participation across countries using institution and technology variables. It further looks at how the factors differ in their influence across the three levels of e-information, e-consultation, and e-decision making. Institutional and technology variables are identified using the literature review of offline and online public participation (or e-participation). Using the policy feedback theory and Giddens’ structuration theory a conceptual model depicting the complex relationship between institutional and technology variables is developed. The dimensions of digital divide, namely ICT affordability and skills, are found to be the most important explanatory variables. …

International Energy Geopolitics, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Overview of international energy geopolitical trends. Emphasizes the importance of the Persian Gulf, South China Sea, East China Sea, Russia, and the Arctic to U.S. and international economic and strategic developments. Stresses the continuing importance of fossil fuels in domestic and international energy consumption, the variety of energy sources being used by various global regions, the potential for military conflict over access to natural resources, and how emerging energy leaders will determine global energy, environmental, and international security developments.

Book Review: Fundamentals Of International Aviation, Alan Bender

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Not applicable.

The Dynamic Returns Of Descriptive Representation: A Study Of Race, Politics And Policy In Urban Governments, Stephanie Taylor Hawke

Dissertations and Theses

In 2015, 78% of Detroit's city council was African American--the highest percentage in the country. For decades, there had been an assumption in the academic and activist fields that a legislative body with such a high percentage of minority presence would produce incredible policy gains for that group (i.e. African American Detroiters). Instead, the council passed no Black racial policy. In a city where there were ostensibly no barriers for passing racial policy -- there were no subsequent policy gains. Though running contrary to existing scholarship, Detroit is not an anomaly; it is an indicator of the larger trend.

Using …

Building Climate Empire: Power, Authority, And Knowledge Within Pacific Islands Climate Change Diplomacy And Governance Networks, Ashlie Denée Denton

Dissertations and Theses

Transnational networks are growing in prevalence and importance as states, nongovernmental, and intergovernmental organizations seek to meet climate change goals; yet, the organizations in these networks struggle between the global, technical and local, contextual sources of power, authority, and knowledge used to influence decision-making and governance. This dissertation analyzes these contestations in Pacific Islands climate change diplomacy and governance efforts by asking: i) What do power relations look like among the Pacific Islands' networked organizations? ii) To what authority do organizations appeal to access sources of power? iii) What sources of knowledge are produced and reproduced by these organizations? and …

Cpaf Updates Vol. 19 Special Issue 2018, College Of Public Affairs And Development, University Of The Philippines Los Baños

CPAf Updates

In this Issue:

• Padayon Class of 2018

The Torch (June 2018), Crtp

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

Civic and Community Engagement | Civil Rights and Discrimination | Education | Gender and Sexuality | Inequality and Stratification | Politics and Social Change | Public Policy | Race and Ethnicity

Recommended Citation

Baldwin, Brandon and Civil Rights Team Project, "Torch (August 2013)" (2013). Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter. 58. http://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/torch/58

Resilient Infrastructure Planning Exercise Summary Of Findings, Portland State Univeristy. Institute For Sustainable Solutions

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

According to NOAA (2018), the U.S. spent a record $306 billion on weather and climate disasters in 2017, up nearly $100 billion from the previous record in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina. From unprecedented rainfall and flooding from Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, to ravaging wildfires and devastating mudslides near Santa Barbara, California, cities across the U.S. are grappling with how to better prepare for and recover from catastrophic natural disasters. These events bring into focus the need to prepare for similarly unprecedented events in Portland.

The Resilient Infrastructure Planning Exercise (RIPE) began in early 2017 as an effort to better …

Gender & Diversity Annual Report 2017, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

In 2017, GICHD has affirmed its commitment to fostering gender equality and ensuring that gender and diversity aspects are properly taken into account in mine action. The Centre entered its second year as a member of the International Gender Champions (IGC), and has adopted its second annual Gender and Diversity Action Plan, building on good practices and lessons learned from the previous year to ensure long-term sustainability.

Key areas of focus were the organisation of and participation in gender balanced and diverse panels, training sessions and workshops; ensuring GICHD staff is equipped with gender and diversity competencies; and mainstreaming gender …

Accessory Dwelling Units In Portland, Oregon, Matthew Gebhardt, Beth Gilden, Yael Kidron

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

The Institute for Sustainable Solutions is spearheading an initiative to make it easier and more affordable for Portland homeowners to construct a second house on their property—increasing housing options in a city with some of the fastest rising rents and lowest vacancy rates in the nation.

Called “accessory dwelling units” or ADUs, these small backyard homes can be used by family members or rented out to others in the community. They provide more affordable housing options while reducing pollutants that cause climate change.

In 2018, Matthew Gebhardt, assistant professor of Urban Studies and Planning, and Yael Kidron, Ph.D. candidate in …

Management Of Residual Explosive Remnants Of War In Cambodia Report, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

In post-conflict countries, there will always be some risk from residual ERW threats when construction is undertaken, as witnessed by ongoing efforts to manage risk from UXO in Europe. Investing in Infrastructure (3i)6 is a development project funded by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and managed by Palladium International, to provide support for the development of small-scale infrastructure in Cambodia. It is a private-public partnership that seeks to incentivise the Cambodian private sector in the provision of such infrastructure, through the provision of “output-based grants, currently for the provision of electricity and drinking water networks.

3i took …

Legislation Committee Charge, Legislation Committee Summit For Civil Rights

Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Teri Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

U.S. Agency For International Development (Usaid) Risk Appetite Statement, United States Agency For International Development

Global CWD Repository

The purpose of this Risk Appetite Statement (hereinafter “Statement”) is to provide U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) staff with broad-based guidance on the amount and type of risk the Agency is willing to accept – based on an evaluation of opportunities and threats at a corporate level, and in key risk categories – to achieve the Agency’s mission and objectives.

This Statement is a critical component in USAID’s overall effort to achieve effective Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), and the leadership of the Agency will review and update it annually as the ERM program matures and our needs evolve.

Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Less Is More: How Grantmakers Are Using Simple Financial Metrics, Hilda H. Polanco, Luther K. Snow

The Foundation Review

This article explores how the Financial Health Analysis Tool can bridge the gap between the capacity of grantmakers to conduct financial analysis and the need to incorporate financial considerations into both grantmaking and ongoing engagement with grantees.

The tool presents four years of key financial indicators in graphs and charts that create a kind of dashboard of a nonprofit's financial health over time. This small set of simple metrics highlights patterns and trends that can help grantmakers and nonprofits see how the financial management of an organization is advancing its mission and strategy.

Using a series of interviews with a …

Resilient Funders: How Funders Are Adapting To The Closing Space For Civil Society, Chris Allan, A. Scott Dupree

The Foundation Review

The closing space of civil society around the world over the last decades has created profound challenges for funders. Many analyses of how to respond to this reality focus on advocacy and promoting enabling policy environments. Few consider key practices of resilient funders that enable them to continue to operate under shifting political circumstances.

Increased adaptive capacity along three dimensions – varied procedures, multiple strategies, and an adaptive environment – promotes the flexibility to weather the shocks and stresses of tightening restrictions and increasing violence. Within those dimensions, funders are finding that three characteristics of resilience are especially critical: flexibility; …

Executive Summary

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Cricket Island Foundation: A Case Study Of A Small Foundation’S Impact Assessment, Anna Pond, Seema Shah, Elizabeth Sak

The Foundation Review

In 2015, the Cricket Island Foundation conducted a multimethod assessment of its grantmaking portfolio to examine its impact and inform future decision-making and strategy. The foundation, which supports youth-led social change using a cohort-based model, focuses on emerging and medium-sized organizations and provides capacity-building supports to help organizations achieve greater organizational sustainability.

The assessment focused on two of the foundation's three cohorts and found positive trends in five key areas of desired impact: organizational capacity, youth leadership, nonprofit executive leadership, grantee collaboration and learning, and funder policy and practice. The assessment also identified areas for improvement to strengthen future impact, …

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Unpacking The Role Of Data In Philanthropy: Prospects For An Integrated Framework, R. Patrick Bixler, Marisa Zappone, Lin Rui Li, Samer Atshan

The Foundation Review

This article reports qualitative research that explores the role of data in philanthropy and proposes an integrated framework. Interviews with charitable foundations in central Texas, including members of a regional evaluation and learning collaborative, reveal an orientation toward data that is becoming increasingly institutionalized.

The research suggests that data are generated and used in a multiplicity of ways, including identifying populations and geographies in need of investment, informing funding decisions for service delivery as well as policy research and advocacy; evaluation and learning; and measuring community impact.

This article discusses these thematic findings, notes specific practices, and presents six principles …

Developmental Evaluation Of A Collective Impact Initiative: Insights For Foundations, Glenn Landers, Kelci Price, Karen Minyard

The Foundation Review

The 2011 publication of John Kania and Mark Kramer’s influential paper, "Collective Impact," caught the attention of organizations across sectors, including nonprofit organizations and philanthropies. The Colorado Health Foundation was one of the organizations that saw the potential of collective impact to help tackle the state's complex, systems-level health issues.

This article describes a collective impact initiative and the role that developmental evaluation – and a realist framework – played in aiding both the initiative’s steering committee and the Colorado Health Foundation in making decisions about the initiative's accomplishments and future.

The article highlights the developmental evaluation approach, how that …

Partner-Centered Evaluation Capacity Building: Findings From A Corporate Social Impact Initiative, Lisa Frantzen, Julie Solomon, Laura Hollod

The Foundation Review

Funders can play a proactive role in helping to fill the gap between funders’ expectations and nonprofits’ ability to evaluate grant results. Using a partner-centered design, Johnson & Johnson piloted an evaluation capacity-building initiative that supported eight grantees in strengthening their ability to measure and use findings concerning health-related outcomes, by focusing on key evaluation challenges identified by the grantees.

Grantees’ approaches to capacity building naturally grouped around the areas of evaluation- framework development, data-systems strengthening, and staff training. Through individualized projects, grantees increased their ability to both do and use evaluation.

This article describes the design, implementation, and results …

Learning From The Opportunities And Challenges Of A Philanthropy-Private Sector Partnership, Victoria C. Scott, Andrea Lamont, Abraham Wandersman, Leslie Snapper, Mona Shah, Erik Eaker

The Foundation Review

Cross-sector partnerships are essential for addressing such complex social issues as improving population health. Among such partnerships, a philanthropy-private sector partnership is rare in practice; they may seem incompatible due to differences in their missions and cultures. However, these collaborations can yield positive returns for philanthropy organizations and businesses, as well as the broader community.

This article draws upon an evaluation of a partnership between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Humana Inc. to highlight key insights for forming and implementing a formal partnership between a philanthropy organization and an investor-owned business.

Establishing and maintaining a philanthropy-private sector partnership is …

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Rethinking The Fiscal Relationship Between Public Lands And Public Land Counties: County Payments 4.0, Mark Haggerty

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

In 1908, Congress authorized payments to local governments, including counties and school districts, to compensate for the non-taxable status of the newly established forest reserves within their boundaries. The original program shared revenue generated from commercial activities on public lands, e.g. timber harvesting, not anticipating the major changes in the volume and types of activities on National Forest lands, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, that have played out over the past century. Two subsequent reforms – the appropriated Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) in 1976 and ‘transition’ payments made between 1990 and 2018, including payments associated with the Northwest …

Social-Ecological Change, Resilience, And Adaptive Capacity In The Mckenzie River Valley, Oregon, Timothy B. Inman, Hannah Gosnell, Denise H. Lach, Kailey Kornhauser

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

This study explores perceptions of long-term residents regarding links between governance, landscape, and community change in the McKenzie River Valley (MRV) in western Oregon and provides a general assessment of factors affecting resilience and adaptive capacity. Residents interviewed indicated that dramatic changes driven by market competition, timber industry changes, increased regulation, and rural restructuring have occurred in both the landscape and community. The changes that have transpired have redefined the relationship between the community and the landscape, moving away from local dependence on timber harvests to an economy focused on tourism and other ecosystem services. In doing so the community …

Protecting San Francisco Residents From The Wolves Of Wall Street: A Case Study, Jessica Lindquist

Master's Projects and Capstones

This research conducts the first deep data analysis of the public complaints filed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Consumer Complaint database by San Francisco residents. The case study highlights how consumer financial harms are a citywide problem: San Franciscans living at every income level and in every part of the city are struggling to resolve their financial issues with the wolves of Wall Street, the financial services industry. The recommendations center on what the city, particularly the San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment, can do at a local level now that the Trump administration is focused on deregulating the …

India's Economic Growth: Role Of Political Performance And Gender Wage Gap, Rajeev Indira Nagaraju

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation will explore how gender wage gap and political capacity represented by relative political extraction affect change in economic growth rate of a country. The main argument of the study is that gender wage gap is affecting the labor market by discouraging productive female labor force from entering the labor market. This in turn affects the efficiency and productivity of the labor market reflected in negative economic growth or economic growth potential being compromised. Here the case of Indian economy is examined. The important policy implication of this study is that it could account for the wage differential between …