To build connection and capacity for social sector leaders in equitable, collaborative data practice, Data for Social Impact (DSI), an initiative of the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, launched a Data Equity learning cohort in January 2024 in collaboration with Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) of the University of Pennsylvania. […]
Category: News Type
Participatory Research for Guaranteed Income: In Her Hands
By Katie Ragsdale, Katie Kristensen, Dr. Leah Hamilton, and Dr. Latrice Rollins The Social Policy Institute (SPI) seeks to shift to a participatory approach throughout its research and programming. Our working definition of a participatory approach draws on the theory and practice of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). While CBPR is not always feasible or appropriate […]
Fostering Inclusive Policy Research: Embracing a Participatory Approach
By Katie Ragsdale & Katie Kristensen At the Social Policy Institute (SPI), we are deeply committed to fostering inclusive and impactful policy research. We recognize that the traditional top-down approach to policymaking often neglects the voices and experiences of communities and stakeholders most impacted by the problem at hand. Over the past two years, we […]
Tackling Disparities in Child Education Amidst COVID-19 Recovery: Lessons from Israel
Yung Chun, Oren Heller, Jason Jabbari, Yaniv Shlomo, Ayala Hendin, Fanice Thomas and Michal Grinstein-Weiss The COVID-19 pandemic made significant and wide-ranging impacts on child education by disrupting learning process and exacerbating existing inequalities across continents. School closures intended to curb the virus’s spread, resulted in reduced instructional time and limited access to crucial resources […]
City of St. Louis, Offices of the Treasurer and Mayor Announce Launch of the STL Guaranteed Basic Income (STL GBI) Pilot, Outline Timeline and Eligibility (Links to an external site)
Washington University in St. Louis’ Social Policy Institute and the Brown School Evaluation Center are partnering with the City for data analysis and evaluation of the program.
Mastercard Impact Fund renews grant to Social Policy Institute
Latest $1.5M grant will extend ongoing work to foster inclusive economic growth in St. Louis The Mastercard Impact Fund, with support from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth —a founding partner of the Social Policy Institute (SPI) at Washington University in St. Louis — will continue its support for SPI with a second round of […]
Faculty receive equitable growth grants (Links to an external site)
Stephen Roll, associate director of research at SPI, received an equitable growth grant from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth
A Safe Place’: Rural HIV Patients and Providers Fight Stigma, Isolation Through Connection (Links to an external site)
Phil Marotta was quoted regarding his work on HIV in rural areas, and the impact stigma has on important health decisions.
Social Policy Institute to study impact of short-term credentials on advancing equity and meeting local labor market demands
Contact: Jason Jabbari, Associate Director of Community Partnerships, Social Policy Institutejabbari.jason@wustl.edu. ST. LOUIS, Missouri (August 28, 2023) – The Social Policy Institute (SPI) at Washington University in St. Louis has received a two-year, $475,000 grant from the Lumina Foundation. These funds will support a research project aiming to understand the impact of short-term credentials on […]
JPMorgan Chase awards $1.6 million grant to address employment vulnerability of low-wage frontline workers
JPMorgan Chase has awarded a $1.6 million grant to the Social Policy Institute (SPI) at Washington University in St. Louis in aid of its Workforce Economic Inclusion and Mobility (WEIM) Project to address the employment vulnerability of low-wage frontline and essential workers. Through this work, SPI will build a better understanding of the public policy […]
What to Do With Your Tax Refund? Save for Emergencies. (Links to an external site)
Stephen Roll, associate director of research, did an interview with the New York Times on how to best use your tax refund
Free Online Course Focuses on Cultivating Collaborative and Equitable Data Practices
Data for Social Impact, an initiative of the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, has launched a free online course for social sector professionals. While many courses develop technical data skills, this course—designed with, by, and for social sector leaders—supports organizations in cultivating equitable, collaborative data practices. Each module includes worksheets, resource […]
As Supreme Court Considers Student Loan Forgiveness, States May Expand Their Programs (Links to an external site)
More than one-third of St. Louis K-12 students change schools midyear, new report shows (Links to an external site)
St. Louis school mobility was investigated by St. Louis School Research-Practice Collaborative at Washington University, showing a high percentage of student’s changing schools
How does the housing market affect UK productivity? (Links to an external site)
Michal Grinstein-Weiss, director, is listed as an expert on the housing market, and the effects it can have on productivity.
Entrepreneurs face headwinds from investment sector (Links to an external site)
President Biden calls for restoring child tax credit (Links to an external site)
Following President Biden’s call to restore the Child Tax Credit, ABC27 cited SPI research demonstrating the positive effects of the policy.
Washington University Study Examines Role of Tighter School Security on Academic Performance (Links to an external site)
Jason Jabbari, associate director of community partnerships, spoke about findings from a report he co-authored on the correlation between school security and academic performance.
Bank of America awards Operation Food Search $25,000 grant to support its Fresh RX: Nourishing Healthy Starts program (Links to an external site)
$25,000 was awarded to Operation Food Search in order to broaden the Fresh RX program
Bank of America takes fresh approach to fight food insecurity (Links to an external site)
Bank of America has awarded a grant to Operation Food Search, to expand the Fresh RX program.
Artificial Intelligence for Social Impact: 5 Guideposts from Our CEO (Links to an external site)
Benefits Data Trust highlighted some key points their CEO, Trooper Sanders, made when he gave the Keynote Address at the DSSI Summit.
Data for Social Impact Summit [Five Key Takeaways]
In November 2022, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis hosted Data is for Everyone: A Data for Social Impact Summit. The summit’s goal was to build connection and capacity among social sector organizations to cultivate equitable, community-centered data practices. The event featured 21 local and national speakers across five panels. Each […]
Submission to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Rights of the Child and Social Protection (Links to an external site)
An SPI research report on the effects of the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit was cited in a submission by Human Rights Watch to the United Nations.
Habitat for Humanity International awards $350,000 to investigate impact of housing on wealth building
Yung Chun, research assistant professor of the Social Policy Institute and Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, received a $350,000 research award from Habitat for Humanity International to evaluate homeownership programs implemented by local Habitat affiliates and investigate the impact on wealth building for households with low incomes. Through this project, the Social […]
Jabbari to study social mobility, equity in programs (Links to an external site)
Jason Jabbari, associate director of community partnerships, has been awarded a two-year grant to study social mobility and equity in programs.
The Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education® (AFCPE®) Announced 2022 Award Recipients Impacting the Personal Finance Field (Links to an external site)
AFCPE announced their award winners for 2022, and SPI research won Outstanding Research Journal Article of the Year.
Social mobility as a priority will open doors for Israeli children – opinion (Links to an external site)
Social Policy Institute research was cited in this opinion piece on social mobility and its impact on children in Israel.
Changes in food insecurity levels during the COVID-19 economic crisis: Differences based on sociodemographic factors
By Oren Heller, research director, Israel; Yaniv Shlomo, Data Analyst, Israel; Hayley Kalb, communications assistant; Michal Grinstein-Weiss, founding director Food insecurity is a national problem with short and long-term consequences that harm the economy and society. This problem was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the labor market changed, affecting the disposable income of many […]
5 Ways Public Health Keeps Communities Healthy (Links to an external site)
Tyler Frank, doctoral research assistant, published this blog on GoodRX Health discussing how public health helps promote social justice, equity, and collective action, and how it keeps communities safe.
Improving perinatal outcomes for mother and child through Fresh Rx: Nourishing Health Starts
Dan Ferris, associate director of education and training for SPI, along with co-authors, recently published, “Does a food insecurity intervention improve perinatal outcomes for mother and child? A randomized control study protocol of the Fresh Rx: Nourishing Healthy Starts program,” in the Journal of Public Health Research.
Tighter school security leads to lower test scores, study finds (Links to an external site)
As schools around the country have ramped up security efforts in response to recent school shootings, a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis suggests that increased surveillance is having a detrimental impact on academic performance.
Lessons from a global team
I truly believe we can accomplish more by stepping outside of our own culture and seek to understand and learn from each other. This is what makes SPI’s global approach to its work so impactful. I look forward to hosting WashU colleagues in Israel next time.
Human-centered approach to benefits research for health care field
By Kourtney Gilbert, program coordinator, SPI As researchers, we work a lot with numbers on a page. These numbers often feel distant from the people they represent, or the policy and practices we hope to inform. For this reason, when the Social Policy Institute launched its Building on Benefits research project aimed at better understanding […]
Should we cancel student debt or make loan repayment affordable? Lessons from the U.S. and U.K. (Links to an external site)
Mastercard partners with WashU to promote inclusive growth (Links to an external site)
Improving the financial strength of black small business owners (Links to an external site)
How do health care costs impact household finances and access to care?
Prioritizing affordability of care will be the first step to ensuring that a healthy life is feasible for everyone regardless of finances.
Household Financial Security: What can we learn from research in the U.K.?
A Trans-Atlantic Policy Forum could bring together academic researchers,
policy makers, advocates, and corporate leaders in the U.S. and U.K. to develop
insights to fuel changes in public policies and corporate behavior to promote the
financial security of low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals and families.
40% of student borrowers lack a four-year degree (Links to an external site)
Jabbari awarded $512,000 grant from William T. Grant Foundation (Links to an external site)
The Record announced a recent William T. Grant award for an education-based research grant with a research-practitioner partnership conducted by Jason Jabbari, research assistant professor of SPI.
W.T. Grant Foundation awards $512k to study impact of Choice Neighborhood Initiative
Press release: June 8, 2022 Jason Jabbari, research assistant professor with the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, received a $512k grant from The William T. Grant Foundation to understand if and how the Choice Neighborhood Initiative (CNI) reduces racial inequalities in academic outcomes for children and youth. Alongside Jabbari, co-principal investigators […]
The problem with schools turning to surveillance after mass shootings (Links to an external site)
Vox shares research on the impact of surveillance on children’s educational outcomes by Jason Jabbari, research assistant professor of SPI, and Odis Johnson, faculty affiliate of SPI.
Nothing to show for it: Distress among non-degree earners with debt
Press release: May 11, 2022 According to a study by the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, the convergence of college non-completion and student debt among borrowers lead to higher rates of material hardship, healthcare hardship, and financial difficulties than those with a high school degree, those with a college degree, and […]
Ramadan Just Ended. Its High Economic Price Is Here to Stay (Links to an external site)
In an exclusive with The Marker, the Social Policy Institute investigated the economic impact of Ramadan in Israel.
Expansion of Child Tax Credit Helped Feed Children in West Virginia (Links to an external site)
West Virginia Public Broadcasting interviewed Leah Hamilton, associate professor at SPI, about the effects of the child tax credit on families, highlighting SPI’s finding that 52% of West Virginian parents reported spending the payment on food.
As the child tax credit draws to a close, yet another study highlights its positive impact (Links to an external site)
Marketplace references an SPI study on the expanded child tax credit which examined the ways in which CTC recipients used the payments.
Experts wrangle over impact of now-defunct expanded child tax credit (Links to an external site)
Deseret News highlights a recent SPI study on the expanded child tax credit, examining the ways in which parents used the payments.
As the expanded child tax credit draws to a close, yet another study highlights its positive impact (Links to an external site)
The Marketplace interviewed Elaine Maag, senior fellow of the Tax Policy Center and co-author of the Child Tax Credit report by SPI, on the impacts the credit had on the financial security of American families.
Brookings survey discusses tax credit (Links to an external site)
The Intelligencer highlighted the recent SPI study looking at how parents used the payments not only for basic needs, but also to invest in their children’s futures.
Child Tax Credit Payments Helped Parents Avoid Selling Plasma, Taking Payday Loans (Links to an external site)
HuffPost highlights findings from an SPI study on the CTC that show the payments enabled many parents to stop resorting to risky ways to make ends meet.