Public Policy Commons^™

Abriendo Puertas: Exploring The Challenges To Homeownership And Housing Stability For Latinos In Massachusetts, Lorna Rivera, Phillip Granberry, Bianca Ortiz-Wythe, Michelle Borges

Gastón Institute Publications

This report speaks to the current state of housing for Latinos in the Commonwealth; and it’s not great. Areas where Latinos still face inequities are compounded in a way that directly impacts access to housing and thus, ability to build generational wealth, or at the very least housing stability. We have solutions to these issues, like rent control, transfer fees, zoning changes, and even tax credits. What we lack is enough political power to have our voices make a larger impact, as Latinos own their homes at 32.7% , this issue is directly correlated to our low homeownership rates, often …

Widening The Aperture: A Case Study Of Widening The Definition Of Evidence For Strategy, Jennifer James, Sandra Hilliard

The Foundation Review

The need to “widen the aperture” to consider different types and sources of evidence is paramount to sharpening grantmaking strategies that are in service of those we seek to serve. This article describes an underlying process of identifying and applying equity considerations in the evidence considered for strategy development in the context of a large, national foundation.

The aim was to develop a “common evidence base” — the core of which was a database library — and what was understood from the evidence was synthesized to bring together what was currently known, the edges of the foundation’s understanding, and emerging …

A Year Of Learning: Educating The Philanthropic Community About Racialized And Stigmatized Nonprofits, Shariq Siddiqui, Rafeel Wasif, Abdul Samad

The Foundation Review

Islamophobia and a lack of legitimacy heavily impact Muslim-led nonprofits and limit their relationships with philanthropy in the United States, resulting in an anemic, continually underfunded sector. This article explores that disconnect within a discussion of the Year of Learning, a unique series of virtual workshops that brought together foundations and nonprofits serving the Muslim American community.

Among the barriers to more effective relationships that emerged from the workshops were the presence of Islamophobia within society at large and philanthropy in particular, a hesitance among U.S. foundations to fund faith-based work, and a lack of capacity among Muslim-led nonprofits. Also …

Place-Based Philanthropy With An Adaptive Lens: Actively Balancing Community-Driven And Foundation-Driven Orientations, Douglas Easterling, Tanya Beer, Kristen Burwell Naney, Mina Silberberg, Laura Gerald, Adam Linker

The Foundation Review

With place-based philanthropy, a foundation provides extensive, long-term support for a comprehensive mix of programs within specific communities, with the expectation that this will produce benefits at a communitywide level. One of the key questions in designing a place-based initiative is how much the foundation will control local decision-making.

In some initiatives, the foundation dictates the issues that community groups must address and/or the nature of the planning process that will be used to develop solutions. This sometimes produces ineffective or irrelevant solutions. In contrast, other initiatives allow local groups considerable discretion in naming the issues and choosing the solutions, …

In Conversation: Two Community Foundations In Dialogue About Their Equitable Evaluation Framework™ Practice, Madeline Brandt, Kelly Casey, Jean-Marie Callan, Joel Hicks-Rivera, Kim Leonard, Madeline Nguyen, Elena Tamanas Ragusa, Cierra Stancil, Kimberlee Salmond, Becky Seel, Kate Szczerbacki

The Foundation Review

This conversation between staff at the Oregon Community Foundation and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving shares how we are infusing the Equitable Evaluation Framework™ into our practice as we aim to be less extractive, shift power, and honor all ways of knowing and being as valid. In sharing this conversation, we want to pull the curtain back and offer a behind-the-scenes view into the conversations, realities, and challenges involved in doing this kind of work.

We sat down together for 90 minutes on a Wednesday afternoon, and the following is a rough transcript of our time together. The intention …

Learning, Unlearning, And Sprinkling In: Our Journey With Equitable Evaluation, Jane Mosley, Leigh W. Quarles, Jason L. Williams

The Foundation Review

The Health Forward Foundation recently completed a two-year journey with the Equitable Evaluation Initiative as a practicing partner. This partnership provided us with the support to push for change that better aligned with our new focus, prioritizing racial equity and economic advancement.

The partnership also allowed us to explore a number of questions fundamental to our work in learning and evaluation: what we really know about the impact philanthropy is making in our communities; how we can explain that to board members, and how we honor the personal experiences of the people we serve.

In this article we discuss our …

A Team's Journey Toward More Equitable Philanthropic Research And Evaluation Practices, Kimberly A. Spring, Maria Fernanda Mata, Jeffrey Poirier, Allison Holmes, Amir François

The Foundation Review

This article describes the journey of the Research and Evaluation team at the Annie E. Casey Foundation to develop an approach that would allow us to rethink and deepen how we, as funders of research and evaluation, center equity in our practice.

In particular, we explain how, through this process, we began to focus on what it means to orient research and evaluation toward participant owners and came to examine the assumptions, expectations, habits, and values that we held. These experiences have presented us with opportunities to learn and be open to new ways of engaging in our work.

We …

A Journey Into Equitable Practice: Doing More, Doing Differently, And Doing Better, Bree Bode, Sarah Panken, Annie Murphy, Marci Scott

The Foundation Review

The mission of the Michigan Fitness Foundation is to encourage and facilitate active lifestyles and healthy food choices through education, environmental awareness, community participation, and policy leadership. The article shares how a three-year engagement with the Equitable Evaluation Initiative led the foundation to see its grantmaking, programming, and evaluation practices anew through an equity lens.

Through naming and noticing the ways in which traditional grantmaking has contributed to the inequities that philanthropy seeks to address, the foundation was able to change its own way of working — specifically by going beyond the standard written grant proposal to actually sit with …

Measuring Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In The Child Welfare Workforce, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

QIC-Tips

Some child welfare professionals have stated that there is a critical need for systemic changes to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion, but where do child welfare agencies begin? Although change is never easy, the starting place on the journey to have a diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI) workforce is relatively simple. It starts with you—a child welfare supervisor, manager, or administrator. Start by considering what you think you know. Is your knowledge based on perception or data? What experiences shape your perceptions? What tools do you have to measure your workforce? Administrative data sets and surveys that gather both qualitative …

The Shrinking Geography Of Housing Opportunity In Mountain West Metros, 2022, Hira Ahmed, Joshua Padilla, Saha Salahi, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet examines data from the National Equity Atlas on the changing geography of opportunity across Mountain West metros. The original report includes data on the largest 100 metros in the United States. This fact sheet reports on the overall percentages of affordable zip codes in nine major metropolitan areas in the Mountain West and changes in affordable zip codes for Black, Latinx, and white households in Mountain West metros from 2013 to 2019. Data for nine Mountain West metros are included: Tucson, AZ; Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver-Aurora, CO; Albuquerque, NM; Las Vegas-Paradise, NV; Ogden-Clearfield, UT; Provo-Orem, …

Justice That Heals: Transforming Discipline In Schools Through Restorative Practices, Sophia Diomande

CMC Senior Theses

Discipline is not simply a tool but a weapon — one that American educators have wielded for generations to regulate children and enforce habits of self-control and accountability. In a world where institutionalized forms of discrimination continue to plague judicial and educational systems alike, vis-à-vis the school-to-prison pipeline, the question must be asked: When does discipline stray beyond its intended purpose and into the realm of punishment? This thesis discusses the historical and contemporary implications of punitive discipline and its effects on students, particularly students of color and disabled students. Retributive policies such as suspensions, expulsions, physical restraint, and seclusions …

The Yin And Yang Of Equity-Centered Philanthropy, Douglas Easterling, Laura Mcduffee, Sabina Gesell

The Foundation Review

Foundations face two competing imperatives when they commit to advancing equity. On the one hand, they are counseled to support and follow the lead of community-based groups that are on the front lines of social change. On the other hand, they are also being challenged to use their power and influence to act boldly to change inequitable structures, policies, and institutions. These two orientations, yin and yang, can take a foundation in different directions and thus cause confusion and internal conflict.

The challenge for a foundation is to balance and integrate the two orientations into a comprehensive and effective approach …

Edi-D In Canadian Universities, Madison Milanczak

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDI-D) is a term that institutions adopt to serve the livelihoods of equity-deserving individuals better. It is commonly used in post-secondary institutions as a holistic descriptor of the values institutions attempt to uplift through programming and other initiatives.

Equity, Diversity, inclusion, and decolonization programming have recently increased in Canadian universities. Although there has been an increase in initiatives, funding, and public attention, the quality of programming is under review. Focusing on the U15 research universities, this project analyzes the current EDI-D programming in Canadian universities. Insinuating critical reflection on EDI-D programming, the distribution of resources, …

Crafting An Innovation Ecosystem That Works For Working People, Amanda Ballantyne, Patrick Woodall, Katie Corrigan, Edward Wytkind

New England Journal of Public Policy

The rapid pace and expanding scope of technological change is reshaping work and the workplace. These innovations can benefit workers by improving safety, reducing physical or repetitive burdens, or creating new types of jobs. But automation and new technologies can also eliminate workers, deskill occupations, reduce autonomy and job satisfaction, and erode economic stability for working families that contribute to the rising economic and racial inequality. These technologies do not fall from the sky; they are incubated in an innovation ecosystem shaped by public policy and public-research funding that is driven largely by an oligopoly of Big Tech companies and …

How A Community Foundation’S Disaster Framework Guided Rapid Pandemic Response, Steven W. Mumford, Isabel Barrios, Kellie Chavez Greene

The Foundation Review

Disasters create opportunities for philanthropy to rebuild equitably by prioritizing the most vulnerable community members in disaster response and addressing existing disparities and structural inequities in the recovery phase. As intermediaries between donors and local communities, community foundations are well-positioned to lead transformational disaster response.

Through its experience with Hurricane Katrina and subsequent disasters in the region, the Greater New Orleans Foundation developed a flexible disaster framework that emphasizes four broad principles — resilience, sustainability, civic participation, and equity — and specific practices in each area to guide rapid and long-term disaster response and preparedness. This article describes how the …

Our Streets: Increasing Equity In Active Transportation Planning Through Community Outreach, Jordan Hoy

Master's Projects and Capstones

ABSTRACT Significant research has demonstrated that active transportation infrastructure is essential for the growth and livability of San Francisco: it increases access to economic opportunities, promotes overall improved public health, encourages mobility without contributing to roadway congestion, prevents traffic injuries and fatalities, and supports the sustainability goals of the city. Despite the fact that communities of color will benefit the most from active transportation infrastructure development, historical disenfranchisement in tandem with a lack of diverse representation within public participation contributes to an inequitable distribution of walking and biking investments throughout the city of San Francisco. While research shows that Black …

Vaccine Hesitancy Within Nevada Counties, June 2021, Kelliann Beavers, Madison Frazee-Bench, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet highlights estimated rates of vaccine hesitancy, vaccination rates, the index of social vulnerability, and the level of concern for 17 Nevada counties as of June, 2021. The data are reported in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) estimates.

Lost Causal: Debunking Myths About Causal Analysis In Philanthropy, Jewlya Lynn, Sarah Stachowiak, Julia Coffman

The Foundation Review

What if philanthropic evaluations told us that changes in the world had occurred, as well as how and why they occurred, including in what ways foundation funding and grantees contributed to those changes? What if evaluations made change pathways more visible, tested hypotheses and assumptions, and generated new insights based on what happened in the “black box” of systems change strategies? This type of learning comes from causal analysis — inquiry that explores cause-andeffect relationships.

Yet currently in philanthropy, particularly for strategies and initiatives that feature high complexity, few evaluations use robust techniques for understanding causality. Instead, philanthropic evaluation tends …

Learning Amid Disruption: Bouncing Forward Into A Changed World, Rachel Reichenbach, Jewlya Lynn, Jen Heeg

The Foundation Review

The philanthropic sector has come to recognize the importance of bringing a systems lens to its work, seeking to influence upstream drivers of complex problems, and being adaptive in its approaches instead of implementing static, multiyear plans. Yet, integrating these concepts into practice continues to pose a challenge.

Humanity United — a foundation dedicated to cultivating the conditions for enduring freedom and peace — had been grappling with this charge when the disruption caused by COVID-19 led it into a crisis response mode in 2020, similar to many other philanthropic institutions. That disruption also challenged our old ways of being, …

Evaluating Urban Parks Accessibility And Equity: A Case Study Of Hartford, Ct And New Haven, Ct, Natalie Roach, Mara Tu

Honors Scholar Theses

Public parks provide cities with environmental benefits, positive health effects, recreational opportunities, community building, educational spaces, and public amenities. However, certain populations have been systematically denied their fair share of these benefits because of unjust practices in the creation and maintenance of urban parks. With a lens of environmental justice, the goal of this research was to assess park quality and accessibility of two Connecticut cities, Hartford and New Haven, by gathering publicly available information as well as using GIS tools.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has an existing ParkScore rating system that evaluates the quality of a city’s …

The Rescue Of American International Group Module F: The Aig Credit Facility Trust, Alec Buchholtz, Aidan Lawson

Journal of Financial Crises

In September 2008, American International Group, Inc. (AIG) experienced a liquidity crisis. To avoid the insurance giant’s bankruptcy, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) extended an $85 billion emergency secured credit facility to AIG. In connection with the credit facility, AIG issued 100,000 shares of preferred stock, with voting rights equal to and convertible into 79.9% of the outstanding shares of AIG common stock, to an independent trust (the Trust) set up by the FRBNY. Three trustees held the stock for the sole benefit of the US Treasury, exercised the rights, powers, authorities, discretions, and duties of the …

Exploring Needs For Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Practices In Arts And Culture Nonprofits In Denver, Colorado, Christina Mcclelland

The Foundation Review

To foster a more welcoming, inclusive, and effective arts and culture community in the metropolitan Denver area, the Bonfils- Stanton Foundation seeks to promote promising practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) among nonprofit arts organizations. The foundation partnered with a researcher to explore how local organizations are implementing such practices and to learn how it could best support these efforts.

This article summarizes the findings of a qualitative survey of leaders from 10 Denver arts and culture nonprofits and discusses them within the context of a review of literature on diversity efforts among other arts organizations in North America. …

Translating A Global Emission-Reduction Framework For Subnational Climate Action: A Case Study From The State Of Georgia, Marilyn A. Brown, Blair Beasley, Fikret Atalay, Kim Cobb, Puneet Dwivedi, Jeffrey Hubbs, David M. Iwaniec, Sudhagar Mani, Daniel Matisoff, Jacqueline Mohan, Jeffrey Mullen, Michael Oxman, Daniel Rochberg, Michael Rodgers, Marshall Shepherd, Richard Simmons, Laura Taylor, L. Beril Toktay

Sustainable Futures Lab Publications

Subnational entities are recognizing the need to systematically examine options for reducing their carbon footprints. However, few robust and comprehensive analyses are available that lay out how US states and regions can most effectively contribute. This paper describes an approach developed for Georgia—a state in the southeastern United States called “Drawdown Georgia”, our research involves (1) understanding Georgia’s baseline carbon footprint and trends, (2) identifying the universe of Georgia-specific carbon-reduction solutions that could be impactful by 2030, (3) estimating the greenhouse gas reduction potential of these high-impact 2030 solutions for Georgia, and (4) estimating associated costs and benefits while also …

Effects Of Latino Inequity In The Illinois State Government: An Analysis Through The Polarities Of Democracy, Rebecca Sanchez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractHispanics in Illinois make up 17.5 % of the population yet are disproportionately represented in state government, composing only 6.5 % of the workforce. Unequal representation deprives ethnic and underserved groups of participating in program and policy decisions that provide communities opportunities. Hispanic leaders have expressed their concerns and dissatisfaction to state legislators and actively requested equity in the state’s workforce. However, there were no studies that examined the perceptions of Hispanic community leaders in Illinois regarding solutions to address this disparity. To address this gap, a qualitative study using Benet’s polarities of democracy as the theoretical framework was conducted. …

Expanding The Boundaries Of Food Policy: The Turn To Equity In New York City, Nevin Cohen, Rositsa Ilieva

Publications and Research

Policymakers acknowledge that the food system is multidimensional and that social determinants affect diet-related health outcomes, yet cities have emphasized programs and policies narrowly connected to food access and nutritional health. Over the past fifteen years, the boundaries of food governance have expanded to include a wider range of issues and domains not previously considered within the purview of food policy, like labor, housing, and education policies. This paper illustrates the processes by which this shift occurs by presenting the case of New York City, which has broadened its food governance to a larger set of issues, requiring cross-sectoral initiatives …

Measuring The Effectiveness Of Equitable Economic Development Strategies, Amy Minzner

The Foundation Review

There is anecdotal evidence that equitable economic development activities can foster inclusive growth and unlock the full potential of local economies by dismantling barriers and expanding opportunities for low-income people and communities of color. These strategies are being used with increasing frequency, and advocates and funders are pressing for their use throughout the country. Because of this, there is a need to better understand the link between equitable economic development activities and their ability to foster equitable opportunities and resulting impacts.

Establishing this link will require a new measurement strategy because traditional measures of economic development effectiveness focus on communitywide …

Moving The Needle Or Spinning Our Wheels? A Framework For Long-Lasting, Equitable Change In Education, Heather Mccambly, Eleanor R. Anderson

The Foundation Review

In the quest for equitable and lasting reform in postsecondary education, philanthropy’s great strength is its flexibility to make use of multiple strategies. However, as most grantmakers know firsthand, not all strategy combinations lead to lasting systemic change.

This article offers an actionable approach for designing and analyzing philanthropically funded movements in order to remake an area of educational policy or practice. It begins with a review of philanthropic literature that identifies the primary change strategies used by funders in the education sector. It then introduces a tool, rooted in organizational research, to understand and predict the circumstances under which …

Justice Department's New Position On Patents, Standard Setting, And Injunctions, Herbert J. Hovenkamp

All Faculty Scholarship

A deep split in American innovation policy has arisen between new economy and old economy innovation. In a recent policy statement, the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department takes a position that tilts more toward the old economy. Its December, 2019, policy statement on remedies for Standard Essential Patents issued jointly with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the National Institute of Standards and Technology reflects this movement.

The policy statement as a whole contains two noteworthy problems: one is a glaring omission, and the other is a mischaracterization of the scope of antitrust liability. Both positions are strongly …

Panel Discussion: The Right To Education: With Liberty, Justice, And Education For All?

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Leveraging Effective Consulting To Advance Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Philanthropy, Stephanie Clohesy, Jara Dean-Coffey, Lisa Mcgill

The Foundation Review

In 2018, the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers launched an initiative to sharpen the impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work in grantmaking by increasing the capacity of consultants and grantmakers engaged in these efforts. Network researchers used a systematic protocol to interview consultant members about their most effective partnerships with grantmakers. Case studies drawn from those interviews yielded valuable lessons for advancing DEI in philanthropy.

In sharing some of these lessons, this article advises consultants to be prepared to help grantmakers define or refine the meaning of DEI and understand where equity fits into their values and …