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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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.

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 […]

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 […]

New report suggests Child Tax Credit reduced usage of high-cost financial services

Press Release: April 14, 2021 St. Louis (April 14, 2022)— In a new report published with the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings Institution, researchers at the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis and Appalachian State University found that families who were eligible for the child tax credit (CTC) experienced improved nutrition, decreased […]