Community foundations (CF) exist to serve the communities in which they are based. Community indi... more Community foundations (CF) exist to serve the communities in which they are based. Community indicators exist to measure community changes, outcomes, conditions and progress towards goals. In this chapter, we explore how community indicators can be helpful in carrying out the core mission of community foundations. Recent literature has highlighted natural synergies between community indicators and community foundations, drawing particular attention to shared interest, vision and outcomes (Ridzi & Prior, International Journal of Community Well Being, 2020). As a result, both the community indicators and community foundation movements and scholarly research in these areas are able to greatly benefit expanding the field of practice and scholarship through alignment. Place-based philanthropy improves as a field of practice not only with a strategic outcome focus but also when guided by community indicators. In this chapter, we assert that a new regimen of best practices incorporating both the field of community indicators and the field of community foundations is needed. We conclude with a call for a better understanding of the extent to which community foundations across the U.S. and even globally can and should utilize community indicators to carry out the well-being.
Social Welfare Responses in a Neoliberal Era, 2018
Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable... more Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.
Abstract: This paper examines the experiences of welfare clients on Temporary Assistance for Need... more Abstract: This paper examines the experiences of welfare clients on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Indian immigrant information technology (IT) workers on the H-1B visa to analyze how publicprivate collaborations in the spirit and practice of ...
The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) encouraged stat... more The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) encouraged states to reduce welfare caseloads. Caseload reduction can be accomplished by promoting exit for work, marriage, or other private means of support and by diverting new applicants. Most research on caseload decline has focused on welfare-to-work outcomes; less is known about processes of diversion. This study employs administrative records and ethnographic data to examine diversion in West County, New York, from 1999 to 2003. Findings demonstrate a high level of diversion and suggest that application is an ongoing and at times remedial process rather than an event. Diversion occurs at all points of the expanded TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) intake process and is associated with onetime lump sum payments as well as the hassle factor engendered by new eligibility requirements. The encumbered lives of applicants and TANF staff discretion are also implicated as factors contributing to diversion. We conclude with an analysis of the implications of TANF diversion for access to benefits.
For many of us who study social welfare policy, the role of tax credits (most notably the Earned ... more For many of us who study social welfare policy, the role of tax credits (most notably the Earned Income Tax Credit EITC) in helping the working poor can seem to have snuck up on us. We are not alone; this is the experience of the majority of the American public. Without the ...
New forms of governance are introduced unevenly, sometimes strategically and sometimes opportunis... more New forms of governance are introduced unevenly, sometimes strategically and sometimes opportunistically, in ways that may reveal local managerial creativity and an attuning with discourses of the 'new public management'(NPM). As a discourse and mindset of ...
While research suggests that staff resistance to change and intentional subversion have hampered ... more While research suggests that staff resistance to change and intentional subversion have hampered prior welfare reform efforts, this does not appear to be the case for the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). This paper draws on data from a study of East County, New York to explicate the mechanisms that have enabled the unprecedented transformation in local implementation practice in this case. Interviews, participant observation, and textual analysis of legislative and program documents identify new program creation, staff buy-in, and the environment created by stern performance measures as instrumental in bringing about the PRWORA's successful implementation of policy changes. Revealing workplace dynamics that mutually reinforce and compel attention to institutional interests, these findings suggest that further research is needed to examine how these implementation dynamics impact staff responsiveness to clients and clients' experi...
The Palgrave Handbook of Institutional Ethnography, 2020
Institutional Ethnography has long sought the improvement of society for the benefit of individua... more Institutional Ethnography has long sought the improvement of society for the benefit of individuals whose interests are poorly served by the complex web of government, market, and ingrained patterns of behavior (i.e., institutions). In this case, I begin with the point of departure of refugee women sharing their concerns about lead poisoning in their homes in front of the Syracuse Common Council. From their experience I map out, or trace, the institutional relations that create and reinforce these unsafe conditions. I then explore how this IE mapping of texts, policies and processes, as done by Prodinger and Turner, Pence and others can be used to elucidate both areas for policy advocacy and philanthropic intervention that can make a difference in the everyday lives of these women. In doing so, this paper contributes to an underdeveloped area of research that Nichols has identified as: using IE to move beyond identifying problems to actually crafting actions to resolve the issues.
This paper applies the lens of recent literature on neoinstitutionalism and institutional entrepr... more This paper applies the lens of recent literature on neoinstitutionalism and institutional entrepreneurship to understand the stages of growth in a community Literacy Coalition. It explores the interactional, technical and cultural phases of institution building identified in other case studies as they emerge in this community study. Finally, it emphasizes the work of local institutional entrepreneurs and acknowledges the involvement of macro-level institutional entrepreneurs that coordinate the approach of communities such as this one and help to bring about the isomorphic qualities seen in coalitions across the nation.
Community indicators projects often involve efforts to “move the needle” with respect to local ch... more Community indicators projects often involve efforts to “move the needle” with respect to local challenges related to community well-being. However, in charting their progress, many of these efforts are based on estimates that are untimely and characterized by large ranges of error (particularly when focusing on small geographic areas like neighborhoods). This can cause frustration and make it difficult for community groups to see meaningful change as a result of their efforts. In 2015, Syracuse, New York, was identified as having the worst concentrated poverty among Black and Latino residents, and among the worst for White residents, in the country. To address this challenge, a poverty index was constructed using locally collected data. In this chapter we recount how the index came to be and the infrastructure needed for its success. Key advantages of the index include that it is: (1) Meaningful, constructed with indicators of community conditions that residents can see in their eve...
Community indicators have long sought to measure and inspire community level change. On a much sm... more Community indicators have long sought to measure and inspire community level change. On a much smaller scale, program evaluation and performance management seek to measure and inspire change among program participants. While communities across the United States may have robust community indicators and performance management cultures these two efforts are often disconnected, leaving a large amount of guesswork between identifying major community needs and coordinating the many nonprofit and other community partners needed to bring about positive change. In this paper, we utilize the metaphor of GPS map zoom levels to articulate the key types of data needed to build a comprehensive data ecosystem that integrates community indicators with program level performance monitoring. We then use the case study of Syracuse, New York to elucidate how a nested logic model approach can be used to coordinate efforts that approximate the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s (Erickson 2017) vision...
Common wisdom holds that communities can accomplish more when people find ways to work together. ... more Common wisdom holds that communities can accomplish more when people find ways to work together. However, such nuanced sensibilities can be difficult to measure. This is true in the field of community indicators as well as its allied fields of social movements, collective impact, catalytic philanthropy and community coalitions. Due to the elusiveness of evaluation techniques some in the social movements field have argued for a definition of success based on the collective goods criterion (CGC). In this chapter we explore the case of Syracuse, New York on the occasion of its achievement of seven years of positive change in its key community indicator of the four year graduation rate. Though it would be difficult to claim that Syracuse’s community indicators project, CNY.vitals, caused this change, we explore how a CGC approach can be used to examine how the measurement mentality that accompanied the community indicators project is associated with collective benefits that have accrued...
Community foundations (CF) exist to serve the communities in which they are based. Community indi... more Community foundations (CF) exist to serve the communities in which they are based. Community indicators exist to measure community changes, outcomes, conditions and progress towards goals. In this chapter, we explore how community indicators can be helpful in carrying out the core mission of community foundations. Recent literature has highlighted natural synergies between community indicators and community foundations, drawing particular attention to shared interest, vision and outcomes (Ridzi & Prior, International Journal of Community Well Being, 2020). As a result, both the community indicators and community foundation movements and scholarly research in these areas are able to greatly benefit expanding the field of practice and scholarship through alignment. Place-based philanthropy improves as a field of practice not only with a strategic outcome focus but also when guided by community indicators. In this chapter, we assert that a new regimen of best practices incorporating both the field of community indicators and the field of community foundations is needed. We conclude with a call for a better understanding of the extent to which community foundations across the U.S. and even globally can and should utilize community indicators to carry out the well-being.
Social Welfare Responses in a Neoliberal Era, 2018
Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable... more Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.
Abstract: This paper examines the experiences of welfare clients on Temporary Assistance for Need... more Abstract: This paper examines the experiences of welfare clients on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Indian immigrant information technology (IT) workers on the H-1B visa to analyze how publicprivate collaborations in the spirit and practice of ...
The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) encouraged stat... more The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) encouraged states to reduce welfare caseloads. Caseload reduction can be accomplished by promoting exit for work, marriage, or other private means of support and by diverting new applicants. Most research on caseload decline has focused on welfare-to-work outcomes; less is known about processes of diversion. This study employs administrative records and ethnographic data to examine diversion in West County, New York, from 1999 to 2003. Findings demonstrate a high level of diversion and suggest that application is an ongoing and at times remedial process rather than an event. Diversion occurs at all points of the expanded TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) intake process and is associated with onetime lump sum payments as well as the hassle factor engendered by new eligibility requirements. The encumbered lives of applicants and TANF staff discretion are also implicated as factors contributing to diversion. We conclude with an analysis of the implications of TANF diversion for access to benefits.
For many of us who study social welfare policy, the role of tax credits (most notably the Earned ... more For many of us who study social welfare policy, the role of tax credits (most notably the Earned Income Tax Credit EITC) in helping the working poor can seem to have snuck up on us. We are not alone; this is the experience of the majority of the American public. Without the ...
New forms of governance are introduced unevenly, sometimes strategically and sometimes opportunis... more New forms of governance are introduced unevenly, sometimes strategically and sometimes opportunistically, in ways that may reveal local managerial creativity and an attuning with discourses of the 'new public management'(NPM). As a discourse and mindset of ...
While research suggests that staff resistance to change and intentional subversion have hampered ... more While research suggests that staff resistance to change and intentional subversion have hampered prior welfare reform efforts, this does not appear to be the case for the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). This paper draws on data from a study of East County, New York to explicate the mechanisms that have enabled the unprecedented transformation in local implementation practice in this case. Interviews, participant observation, and textual analysis of legislative and program documents identify new program creation, staff buy-in, and the environment created by stern performance measures as instrumental in bringing about the PRWORA's successful implementation of policy changes. Revealing workplace dynamics that mutually reinforce and compel attention to institutional interests, these findings suggest that further research is needed to examine how these implementation dynamics impact staff responsiveness to clients and clients' experi...
The Palgrave Handbook of Institutional Ethnography, 2020
Institutional Ethnography has long sought the improvement of society for the benefit of individua... more Institutional Ethnography has long sought the improvement of society for the benefit of individuals whose interests are poorly served by the complex web of government, market, and ingrained patterns of behavior (i.e., institutions). In this case, I begin with the point of departure of refugee women sharing their concerns about lead poisoning in their homes in front of the Syracuse Common Council. From their experience I map out, or trace, the institutional relations that create and reinforce these unsafe conditions. I then explore how this IE mapping of texts, policies and processes, as done by Prodinger and Turner, Pence and others can be used to elucidate both areas for policy advocacy and philanthropic intervention that can make a difference in the everyday lives of these women. In doing so, this paper contributes to an underdeveloped area of research that Nichols has identified as: using IE to move beyond identifying problems to actually crafting actions to resolve the issues.
This paper applies the lens of recent literature on neoinstitutionalism and institutional entrepr... more This paper applies the lens of recent literature on neoinstitutionalism and institutional entrepreneurship to understand the stages of growth in a community Literacy Coalition. It explores the interactional, technical and cultural phases of institution building identified in other case studies as they emerge in this community study. Finally, it emphasizes the work of local institutional entrepreneurs and acknowledges the involvement of macro-level institutional entrepreneurs that coordinate the approach of communities such as this one and help to bring about the isomorphic qualities seen in coalitions across the nation.
Community indicators projects often involve efforts to “move the needle” with respect to local ch... more Community indicators projects often involve efforts to “move the needle” with respect to local challenges related to community well-being. However, in charting their progress, many of these efforts are based on estimates that are untimely and characterized by large ranges of error (particularly when focusing on small geographic areas like neighborhoods). This can cause frustration and make it difficult for community groups to see meaningful change as a result of their efforts. In 2015, Syracuse, New York, was identified as having the worst concentrated poverty among Black and Latino residents, and among the worst for White residents, in the country. To address this challenge, a poverty index was constructed using locally collected data. In this chapter we recount how the index came to be and the infrastructure needed for its success. Key advantages of the index include that it is: (1) Meaningful, constructed with indicators of community conditions that residents can see in their eve...
Community indicators have long sought to measure and inspire community level change. On a much sm... more Community indicators have long sought to measure and inspire community level change. On a much smaller scale, program evaluation and performance management seek to measure and inspire change among program participants. While communities across the United States may have robust community indicators and performance management cultures these two efforts are often disconnected, leaving a large amount of guesswork between identifying major community needs and coordinating the many nonprofit and other community partners needed to bring about positive change. In this paper, we utilize the metaphor of GPS map zoom levels to articulate the key types of data needed to build a comprehensive data ecosystem that integrates community indicators with program level performance monitoring. We then use the case study of Syracuse, New York to elucidate how a nested logic model approach can be used to coordinate efforts that approximate the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s (Erickson 2017) vision...
Common wisdom holds that communities can accomplish more when people find ways to work together. ... more Common wisdom holds that communities can accomplish more when people find ways to work together. However, such nuanced sensibilities can be difficult to measure. This is true in the field of community indicators as well as its allied fields of social movements, collective impact, catalytic philanthropy and community coalitions. Due to the elusiveness of evaluation techniques some in the social movements field have argued for a definition of success based on the collective goods criterion (CGC). In this chapter we explore the case of Syracuse, New York on the occasion of its achievement of seven years of positive change in its key community indicator of the four year graduation rate. Though it would be difficult to claim that Syracuse’s community indicators project, CNY.vitals, caused this change, we explore how a CGC approach can be used to examine how the measurement mentality that accompanied the community indicators project is associated with collective benefits that have accrued...
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