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1. Mainstreaming Evidence Use through Locally Led Development: Recommendations for USAID

Author:
Janeen Madan Keller, Amanda Glassman, Julia Kaufman, and Ruth Levine
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
ince the 2006 release of the CGD report When Will We Ever Learn? Improving Lives Through Impact Evaluation, there have been nearly two decades of progress in generating and using evidence for public policy decisions and development programs. There has been a steady increase in the number of impact evaluations—a rigorous approach that establishes the attributable net impact of a project or program. Their ability to assess attribution makes impact evaluations uniquely well suited for decision making. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on an unfinished agenda and underscored the need for high-quality, timely, and context-specific evidence. Across sectors, decision makers in governments, aid agencies, multilateral organizations, and NGOs have not yet fully harnessed the value of evidence for better public policies. Numerous challenges limit evidence use. On the demand side, impact evaluations may lack relevance to policy decisions and fail to respond to decision makers’ priorities, timelines, and questions. On the supply side, decision makers often lack institutional incentives and funding to generate and act on relevant evidence. Current funding models compound these challenges by contributing to misaligned incentives between policymaker needs and academic researchers. In response to these challenges, CGD launched the Working Group on New Evidence Tools for Policy Impact to develop a renewed agenda for the next generation of investments in impact evaluation and related evidence systems to enhance their value for real-world decision making. The group brought together policymakers and experts to review the progress and obstacles to the use and utility of evidence for global development. Its final report highlights how far the field has come in addressing critiques about the scale, generalizability, and policy utility of impact evaluation, and offers recommendations to the development community on “what and how to fund to deliver on the promise of impact evaluation and bolster the broader evidence ecosystem.” The working group proposes five ways to improve impact evaluation funding and practice: (1) design evaluations that start from the policy question and decision space; (2) harness technology for timely, lower-cost evidence; (3) advance locally grounded evidence-to-policy partnerships; (4) enact new incentives and structures to strengthen evidence use; and (5) invest in evidence leaders and communities. This brief details how USAID can mainstream evidence use across the agency. It is based on working group discussions, numerous consultations with experts including current and former USAID staff, and background research over the course of the project.
Topic:
Development, Local, USAID, and Foreign Assistance
Political Geography:
North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

2. Examining the Impact of Community Sponsorship on Early Refugee Labor Market Outcomes in the United States

Author:
Emily Crane Linn
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:
Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:
As the number of refugees in need of resettlement continues to climb worldwide, advocates and policy makers are searching for ways to leverage new support from private individuals, faith groups, and community organizations to complement and extend the capacity of traditional government resettlement programs. The United States is one of many countries considering the possibility of a “private sponsorship” model, which would allow private individuals and community groups to resettle refugees independent of traditional government resettlement agencies. While this particular resettlement model has not been implemented in the United States in more than four decades, the country has a long history of community involvement in refugee resettlement. Many resettlement agencies operate vibrant community sponsorship (or co-sponsorship) programs, in which community groups partner with resettlement agencies in delivering services and material support to refugees. However, due to a lack of publicly available data, the impact of this co-sponsorship model has been woefully understudied.
Topic:
Refugees, Labor Policies, Local, and Community
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

3. Jihadi Radicalization: Between the Local and the Global

Author:
Olivier Roy
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Any counter-terrorist policy should be shaped according to the nature of the threat. For an alliance like NATO, it is particularly import- ant to distinguish the fundamental characteristics of global movements from local terrorist entities. Whilst global jihadi propaganda and Islamist ideology still represent a significant danger, in many instances, it is the local dynamics that prevail. Complex NATO operations – designed to prevent, stabilize or rebuild – must be framed and designed accordingly.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, Globalization, Regional Cooperation, Terrorism, Military Strategy, Radicalization, Local, and Jihad
Political Geography:
Europe, North Atlantic, and North America

4. Coronavirus Relief Fund: Review of Federal Fiscal Assistance and of Innovative County Response Strategies

Author:
Richard Callahan, Lisa Gordon, and Christopher Morrill
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
The United States began to experience impact from the global COVID-19 outbreak in late January 2020. States, counties, and localities were almost immediately affected, and faced unprecedented challenges in providing services to meet the urgent needs of their communities. Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020 in late March, providing over $2 trillion to help cover the needs of affected individuals, families, and businesses. The Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) – part of the CARES Act – provided direct assistance to state, local, and tribal governments, and designated $150 billion for counties with populations of more than 500,000. The National Association of Counties (NACo) asked the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to evaluate how well the CRF funding supported counties in addressing the pandemic and to review the effectiveness of the CRF federal aid package and its implementation. Additionally, they asked the Academy to identify and document innovative strategies employed by six specific counties using CRF funds and to highlight their approaches to address social equity. With the guidance of an Expert Advisory Group (EAG) of Academy Fellows, the Academy’s report presents findings and recommendations that can improve both current and future federal-to-local programs such as the CRF. It also highlights how these innovative counties responded to the challenges their residents faced as a result of COVID-19—examples that could be used by other counties in similar circumstances. I deeply appreciate our EAG members who contributed valuable insights and expertise throughout the project and the Academy Study Team that delivered focused research and analysis. The constructive engagement of NACo employees, as well as current and former federal officials and our broader community of Academy Fellows who have special expertise in intergovernmental relations and operations, was equally vital. They provided important knowledge and context that informed this report. We also owe special thanks to the administrators and leaders of the six counties – Cook County, Illinois; Franklin County, Ohio; Hennepin County, Minnesota; Lee County, Florida; New Castle County, Delaware; and Pierce County, Washington – who took time out of their demanding schedules while addressing the ongoing effects of the pandemic to provide information to us about their challenges and initiatives. This report provides information to federal policy makers on how they can better address the lasting effects of the pandemic and enhance relationships between the multiple levels of government in the United States. I trust that this report also will be useful to NACo as it continues to represent and support its constituents and that the county examples herein will be especially helpful to others facing similar challenges.
Topic:
Governance, Local, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Funding
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

5. Migration Management and Changes in Mobility Patterns in the North and Central American Region

Author:
Lauren Faret, Maria Eugenia Anguiano Tellez, and Luz Helena Rodriguez-Tapia
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:
Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:
Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, changes have occurred in the regional dynamics of international migration and in the ways governments manage human mobility. This article argues that the migratory system connecting the three northern countries of Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras) with Mexico and the United States has not been accompanied by regional management of migratory flows. Instead, a succession of government plans and projects reveals a perspective marked by the effects of the “externalization” of US borders, leading to more complex migration routes and increased vulnerability of migrants. The article discusses how externalized control policies influence migratory spaces, routes, and timelines, and leave many stranded in transit countries before they eventually arrive at their intended destinations. Reconsidering the process of mobility in light of migration management policies would appropriately enlarge the traditional economic, social, cultural, and environmental factors that affect migration strategies.
Topic:
Migration, Mobility, Local, and Freedom of Movement
Political Geography:
Central America and North America

6. Tracking Vaccination by Religion at the County Level

Author:
PRRI Staff
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
PRRI: Public Religion Research Institute
Abstract:
Previous research conducted throughout 2021 by PRRI and IFYC has shown that religious affiliation is correlated with vaccine acceptance, hesitancy, and refusal. This report explores the relationship between religious identity and vaccination rates at the local level. It combines county-level religion estimates from PRRI’s 2020 Census of American Religion with county-level COVID-19 vaccination data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state sources to examine those patterns at the county level.1 The report focuses on only the largest religious groups in the country—those comprising more than 10% of the population—in order to reliably analyze the relationship between vaccination and religious populations across counties in all regions of the country. That includes white evangelical Protestants, white mainline (non-evangelical) Protestants, white Catholics, and the religiously unaffiliated.2 In addition to their geographic dispersion, these religious affiliation groups represent some of the most likely—and the least likely—religious groups to get vaccinated. In June of this year, a PRRI–IFYC survey found that white evangelical Protestants were the least likely group to be vaccine acceptant: Only 56% said they had gotten vaccinated against the coronavirus or would get the vaccine as soon as possible. Other white Christian groups were much more vaccine acceptant, including 74% of white mainline Protestants and 79% of white Catholics. Additionally, 75% of religiously unaffiliated Americans say they have gotten vaccinated or will get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Topic:
Religion, Local, Public Health, Vaccine, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

7. The Household Financial Losses Triggered by an Immigration Arrest, and How State and Local Government Can Most Effectively Protect Their Constituents

Author:
Geoffrey Alan Boyce and Sarah Lanius
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:
Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:
Through a survey of 125 long-term resident households in Pima County, Arizona, this study finds that an immigration arrest costs each household an average of more than $24,000. These costs accumulate through the value of assets seized and not recovered, out-of-pocket costs for hiring an attorney, immigration bond, and other expenses involved in supporting an immediate family member as they navigate the immigration court system. But they also include lost income due to disruptions to employment resulting from the arrest, and a physical inability to work while in detention, appearing in court, and immediately following deportation. In this article, we discuss how, when measured at the scale of the household, these financial costs fail to discriminate according to immigration or citizenship status, and accumulate to affect issues of poverty, education, housing security, health and development, and generational wealth inequality — all matters of sustained interest to state and local government. In the second half of the article, we draw on our research findings to evaluate various policies that states, counties, and municipalities can implement to mitigate these financial burdens while promoting the overall well-being of their constituents.
Topic:
Migration, Immigration, Governance, Local, and Police
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

8. Tracing the Local Impacts of Exports on Poverty and Inequality: The Case of Mexico

Author:
Hernan Winkler
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:
Evidence about the effect of exports on welfare at the local level is scarce. Using a unique dataset of international trade and poverty maps for almost 2,000 Mexican municipalities between 2004 and 2014, the study presented in this paper provides new evidence on the impact of a significant rise in exports on poverty and inequality at the local level. The analysis implements an instrumental variable approach that combines the initial structure of exports across municipalities with global trends in exports from developing to developed countries by sector. The results show that a 10 percent increase in the ratio of exports to workers reduces income inequality measured by the Gini coefficient by 0.17 points (using a 0 to 100 scale), but no significant effects on poverty reduction or average household incomes are identified. The lack of impacts on average incomes is driven by a rise in the supply of labor at the local level because municipalities with higher export growth experienced an increase in labor force participation and attracted more net migration, particularly of unskilled workers. Therefore, while total labor incomes grew in response to an increase in exports, average labor incomes per worker did not change. Declining remittances also blunted the effect of growing exports on household incomes.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Migration, Poverty, Inequality, and Local
Political Geography:
North America and Mexico

9. A Procurement Path to Equity

Author:
Center for Urban Innovation
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
Local governments are big buyers. Here in the U.S., our state and city governments collectively spend 1.6 trillion dollars per year. But for too long, how and with whom our local governments spend their money has reinforced economic inequities in our country. Minority-owned small businesses have been historically locked out of opportunities to contract with governments, and the current crisis has disproportionately impacted these very enterprises.
Topic:
Governance, Inequality, Business, Local, Equality, and Equity
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

10. Adversity and Resiliency for Chicago's First: The State of Racial Justice for American Indian Chicagoans

Author:
William Scarborough, Faith R. Kares, Ivan Arenas, and Amanda E. Lewis
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP), University of Illinois at Chicago
Abstract:
Although Native American Chicagoans play a central role in the social fabric of the city, relatively little attention has been directed to documenting the experiences of racial discrimination and inequities for Native American Chicagoans. In this report, we examine the state of racial justice for Native Americans in Chicago. Our report is organized across five substantive areas, Population, Housing, (Mis)Representations of American Indians in Popular Culture, Education, Economics, and Justice, each focusing on a different aspect of racial equity. In each section, we draw on available data to describe the current conditions and experiences of Native American Chicagoans, including areas where they are thriving and areas where they are negatively affected by the legacy of racial exclusion as well as ongoing discrimination.
Topic:
Civil Society, Race, Minorities, Inequality, Discrimination, Local, and Community
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America