No result found
2021-11-08
American Academy of Arts and Sciences;
How should one measure the value of a college degree? In recent years, policy-makers have focused their attention on earnings as the primary measure of the value of a degree, often using that metric to single out humanities degrees as less valuable than others. But there are other—less tangible—measures of value, such as satisfaction with one's work and life more generally, that might also be applied to these discussions.Without taking a position on which metrics are best, this report, based largely on original research commissioned by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences' Humanities Indicators, examines a variety of outcome measures, including graduates' satisfaction with their jobs, their finances, and their lives generally. The evidence shows that humanities graduates tend to earn less and have slightly higher levels of unemployment than business majors and graduates from some STEM fields. With respect to perceived well-being, however, humanities majors are similar to graduates from almost every other field. The data cannot explain the seeming disparity between the objective and subjective measures, but they provide a starting point for a more nuanced discussion about the relationship among fields of undergraduate study, employment, and quality of life. And for faculty, the report also points to a potential area of concern regarding the way they communicate to students about the skills developed in the course of an education in the field, as a substantial share of humanities graduates perceive little or no relationship between their job and their degree. The data were all gathered prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but past experience tracking this sort of data for the humanities—particularly through the Great Recession—gives us little reason to expect a significant shift in values over the medium term.
2021-04-29
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law;
Congress should make structural changes to our laws to help protect the civil rights of all people. If passed, the legislation recommended in this report would impact how law enforcement, corrections, and other public officials operate nationwide. By more specifically defining what actions violate civil rights, the law would put officials on clearer notice of what is forbidden.
2021-02-01
Gallup, Inc.;
Analyses of testing data from fall 2020 indicate the transition to remote learning has resulted in significant learning loss, particularly among low-income and minority students. Using data from the online learning platform Zearn, economists at the Harvard Opportunity Insights project found large losses in math learning for low-income students, whereas students from affluent backgrounds saw gains. This has exacerbated fears that the pandemic is widening the already large achievement gap between students from different income and racial/ethnic groups. The COVID-19 crisis has also had a worrisome impact on students' emotional health — particularly among full-time remote learners, for whom supportive networks of teachers and friends have been disrupted.Findings from the Distance and Disruption study correspond with those of a separate survey of 1,549 Massachusetts parents with school-aged children conducted in October and November 2020. That study found significant gaps by income and racial/ethnic group in access to in-person schooling, and parents of children in remote-learning situations — particularly hybrid in-person/remote arrangements — were more likely to feel their child was falling behind grade level.The Distance and Disruption study further adds to our understanding of the transfer to remote learning by exploring students' perspectives on specific differences in the quality of learning experiences between the in-school and at-home environments. Such differences are a critical link in explaining why remote-learning students are more likely to experience negative outcomes.
2021-01-01
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors;
The tool is designed for new or seasoned organizations, families and individuals engaged in philanthropy who are seeking a deeper understanding of how their organizations work and how to better leverage their resources and investments for impact.The tool can be particularly helpful for donors to:Conduct a philanthropic "gut check" or review of whether your identity, structure and approaches makes sense in the context of internal and external shifts.Ensure there is alignment across all levels of the organization on the core concepts, values and approaches.Better manage important organizational inflection points, such as leadership transitions or adopting new directions or approaches.
2021-02-01
A Better City;
Over the past several years, many valuable public realm projects have been implemented in Boston. In 2015, A Better City partnered with the Boston Transportation Department to develop the Public Realm Planning Study for Go Boston 2030. As co-chair of the Go Boston 2030 Plan, A Better City identified the untapped potential of Boston's transportation system to function as a network of vibrant public spaces that would support social, cultural, and economic activities. The process also highlighted a need for new short- and long-term public space strategies to reclaim underutilized transportation infrastructure in our neighborhoods.Building on this work, in December 2018, A Better City partnered with the City of Boston to publish Boston's first Tactical Public Realm Guidelines, designed to catalyze "tactical" interventions—such as plazas, parklets, outdoor cafes, and street murals—that can transform the public realm through lower-cost, rapid implementation. These modest interventions can convert our streets into spaces in which to convene, create, and experiment, fostering more vibrant communities and economies alike. As a testament to the importance of this work, the City of Boston hired a Public Realm Director in 2018 and integrated the Tactical Public Realm Guidelines into the City's Public Improvement Commission review process. A Better City has also worked with the City of Boston to develop sidewalk cafe guidelines and to convene a public realm interagency working group.A Better City has undertaken several public realm projects to date, including two outdoor seating projects in East Boston, a one week pop-up tactical plaza and permanent tactical plaza design in Roslindale Village, and a parklet design on Green Street in Jamaica Plain.The groundwork laid by these projects and the tactical guidelines, proved to be extremely beneficial in 2020 when the global pandemic created a tremendous need for flexible public space to help support local businesses, namely restaurants. For example, in many commercial districts across Boston, parklets were quickly installed to help support physically distanced outdoor dining.This publication includes case study summaries of the planning, design, and implementation process for three projects managed by A Better City—Birch Street Plaza, Green Street Plaza, and Outdoor Seating in East Boston— as well as a fourth case study describing the six pop-up plazas implemented by the City of Boston Director of Public Realm.
2021-01-01
Engage R+D;
The passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 brought with it countless opportunities, both to expand access to uninsured populations systematically excluded from the healthcare delivery system, as well as to strengthen and innovate beyond the existing system's status quo. The California Endowment became an early champion, providing over $350 million to support ACA implementation with a range of grantmaking strategies focused on outreach and enrollment, health workforce development, and systems change innovations. As part of its effort to understand the impacts of its ACA and prevention-related grantmaking, The Endowment contracted Engage R+D to develop a series of learning products between 2017-2020.In May of 2013, The Endowment's Board approved a $30 million program-related investment (PRI) commitment to expand community health centers in alignment with the foundation's Health Happens in Prevention and ACA campaigns. Program-related investments fall under the broader umbrella of impact investing and include loans, equity investments, or guarantees made by a foundation to advance its charitable mission. These investments seek to strengthen systems infrastructure in ways that benefit populations who are frequently excluded from or have limited access to a variety of critical resources, including quality health care, housing, and healthy food.This learning brief explores the ways in which The Endowment is leveraging this powerful strategy, provide case examples of two federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) receiving PRI financing, and identifies a set of key considerations for other philanthropic organizations interested in tapping into PRIs as a tool to advance health, racial, and economic equity.
2021-01-01
Engage R+D;
The passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 brought with it countless opportunities, both to expand access to uninsured populations systematically excluded from the healthcare delivery system, as well as to strengthen and innovate beyond the existing system's status quo. The California Endowment became an early champion, providing over $350 million to support ACA implementation with a range of grantmaking strategies focused on outreach and enrollment, health workforce development, and systems change innovations. As part of its effort to understand the impacts of its ACA and prevention-related grantmaking, The Endowment contracted Engage R+D to develop a series of learning products between 2017-2020. With a focus on The Endowment's ACA grants, this learning brief explores the intersection between power building, racial equity, and systems transformation. It is based on the synthesis of various evaluation efforts over the last decade and more recent interviews with key stakeholders. We share important lessons from this body of work that can help inform efforts to transform mindsets, policies, practices, and systems in the years to come.Recognizing that deeply entrenched inequities exist and, in some cases, have been exacerbated by the very policies meant to reduce them, population-level health improvements will require a more explicit focus on racial equity along with substantial financial investment, time, political will, and cross-sector collaboration.
2021-02-01
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF);
Though on the frontline of the COVID-19 response and more attuned to the shifting needs of vulnerable communities than any other sector, civil society has been an afterthought in the official response around the world: sidelined as a potential strategic partner and overlooked as being in desperate need of support to survive.This striking lack of recognition has exposed three fundamental needs that we as a global community have to meet in the future, and that will be explored in this report:The need to champion emergency solutions that are global in scale, nuanced by local, regional and national need and that leverage, rather than sideline, civil society organisations (CSOs)The need for collective advocacy of civil society and the invaluable role it plays in strengthening wider societyThe need to facilitate the giving that will support future civil society and enable us to emerge as a more united, responsive and compassionate world.
2021-02-01
Imagine Canada;
Nearly a year into the global COVID-19 pandemic, Canada's charitable sector has been at the forefront of providing supporting and vital services to people in need. In the early days of the pandemic, Imagine Canada sought to better understand how lockdowns, cancelled events, the need for immediate digital adaptations etc. were impacting the ability of organizations to fulfill their missions.This second Sector Monitor report, focused on the health and well-being of the country's charities, was commissioned to take the pulse of how organizations and leaders were faring. In particular, we sought to track the ripple effects of the global pandemic and its impact on the ability of organizations to continue to deliver services.With over 1,000 organizations reporting, we are confident that this snapshot accurately reflects the 'on the ground' reality that is being experienced. We have been able to better understand the changes in demand for services, the softening of revenue streams, the impact of federal government support measures and the impact to staff well-being.
2021-03-03
Candid;
It has been a year since the global outbreak of COVID-19, and the world is still recovering and operating in what we have come to accept as the "new normal." In 2020, we saw funders react swiftly, not only directing emergency funds to organizations on the ground but also committing to changes in their grantmaking practices and priorities to better help nonprofits face the myriad challenges brought on by the pandemic. In this report, Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy look at the global philanthropic response to COVID-19 in 2020.
2021-01-11
FSG;
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated and highlighted the inequities that perpetuate harmful outcomes for billions of people around the globe. A growing number of voices call for global leaders to seize this crisis as an opportunity to "rebuild better." However, this is easier said than done.How can leaders help markets achieve systemic transformations toward inclusion and equity?In this report, we provide guidance for philanthropic actors seeking to be more effective in supporting such changes in market systems, based on the Market System Innovation (MSI) approach first developed by FSG and the Rockefeller Foundation in 2017. Here, we share lessons from our work supporting partners across the globe in applying MSI in a range of real-world scenarios and offer practical suggestions for others involved in similar work.
2021-03-01
United Philanthropy Forum;
This report represents the latest in an effort by Philanthropy-Serving Organizations (PSOs) to advance philanthropic practice and impact by centering racial equity. Written by some members of United Philanthropy Forum's Racial Equity Committee together with Community Centered Evaluation & Research, the report is based on findings of the Forum's inaugural Racial Equity Capacity Assessment for PSOs. Nearly three-quarters of Forum members completed the assessment, which provides a baseline to examine PSOs' internal efforts and external programming in advancing racial equity. The Forum also completed the assessment, and is using the results to inform the Forum's internal racial equity work.
