Projects

PPI performs a range of social policy research and evaluation for government, non-profit and community-based organizations. Examples of PPI projects include:

Evaluation and Technical Assistance Services for the Making-Connections Denver Family and Economic Success Cohort
The national Making Connections (MC) initiative is an innovative effort of the Annie E. Casey Foundation to involve community stakeholders in improving economic, educational, and social opportunities for families and their children. Making Connections Denver (MC-D) is one of ten Making Connections local affiliate sites that provide place-based, comprehensive services for families. The Family and Economic Success (FES) cohort of MC-D focuses on strategies, such as supports and resources for job seekers in target neighborhoods, which help families achieve economic success. Through a contract with the Piton Foundation, PPI will provide strategic evaluation and technical assistance services to help MC-D develop an FES evaluation system that facilitates ongoing data collection and program improvement. PPI will provide evaluation capacity building services and will develop individual evaluation plans for each FES partner organization, as well as an overall FES evaluation plan across programs.

Impact Evaluation of the Compassion Capital Fund Demonstration Project
The Compassion Capital Fund Demonstration Project, funded by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, provides funding and other support to selected intermediary organizations that in turn offer a variety of capacity-building services to faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs). Capacity-building services typically include a combination of group training and networking opportunities, one-on-one technical assistance, and competitive sub-award grants to selected FBCOs. The impact evaluation will use an experimental evaluation design (i.e., random assignment) to assess the impact of receiving capacity-building services, including intensive technical assistance and/or financial assistance, on the organizational capacity of FBCO recipients. Program and Policy Insight, LLC, under subcontract to Abt Associates, will assist with random assignment preparation and implementation activities.

TANF Program Evaluation for the City and County of Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver seeks to determine whether contracted TANF services to assist participants in overcoming barriers meet identified needs and contribute towards meeting the TANF program work requirements. The TANF Program Evaluation of program effectiveness and cost efficiency includes implementation and outcome studies to assess program processes, define overall program goals, and measure related program outcomes. Additionally, the evaluation will develop a database template to help the client manage contractor data and outcomes to facilitate goal attainment. Program and Policy Insight, under subcontract to Public Knowledge, LLC, leads the development of the evaluation design and data collection tools, conducts implementation site visits and stakeholder interviews, and leads the assessment of implementation and outcome data.

Department Staffing and Process Improvement Study, Phase II, for the State of Oregon Department of Human Services
The Oregon Department of Human Service is striving to determine ways to increase efficiency in the delivery of services to its clients. A phased approach to studying DHS programs was designed by Public Knowledge, LLC with the Phase One study and report completed in July 2005. Phase II of the study focuses on several human service programs, including vocational rehabilitation, TANF, employment related day care, and long-term care. Like its predecessor, the study provides an analysis of staffing standards and assessment of best practices. The study examines the work activities and systems for these programs and identifies changes and process improvement that would improve effectiveness and efficiency. Similar to the first phase, the study will 1) assess the current DHS service organization, staffing, processes, and systems; 2) benchmark current staffing levels with comparable public and private agencies; 3) forecast the possible effects of changing staffing methodologies and standards; and 4) identify valuable and achievable service delivery process improvements. Under subcontract to Public Knowledge, LLC, PPI leads the benchmarking and best practice research for the study.

Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Professional and Administrative Management Support
Program and Policy Insight is part of a team led by Abt Associates that was awarded the ability to compete for task order contracts from the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA). The purpose of the contracts is to assist ETA in building and operating a high-performance national workforce development system. The nine potential tasks to be conducted under the contract vehicle include:

• Research and Evaluation Reports
• Statistical and Analytical Support
• Issue Papers
• Technical Assistance
• Short-Term Research and Evaluation Projects
• Quick Turnaround Surveys
• Logistical Support for Working Meetings
• Meeting Summaries
• Logistical Support for Conferences
• Reports of Conference Proceedings

Technical Working Group Facilitation and Research Quality Assurance for the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory
The Regional Educational Laboratories are educational research and development organizations supported by contracts with the U.S. Education Department, Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The mission of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) is to improve educational results for children, youth, and adults by providing research and development assistance in delivering equitable, high quality educational programs. NWREL conducts methodologically rigorous studies that examine the impact of proposed policies, programs, and practices on academic achievement and related goals for the region. Program and Policy Insight, under subcontract to NWREL, facilitates meeting logistics, content, and proceedings for the external technical working group established to provide expertise on the design and conduct of NWREL research activities. In addition, PPI provides on-going quality assurance for NWREL research and related products.