Institute Intelligence, November 2024: Research Symposium recap, building public sector data, and more
By Carla Sinclair, Senior Communications Associate
Greetings! We’re so excited to share that Institute Intelligence is now coming to you monthly, instead of once a quarter. With so much happening across our projects, it only seemed right to keep you better up-to-date on the work we're doing across the country to make our public institutions, state and local governments, and community organizations work more effectively, efficiently, and in the interest of all communities. From groundbreaking research to practical models for equity and governance, we’re here to keep you informed.
Want to get up-to-the-minute updates on our projects, events, funding opportunities, insights, and more? Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Bluesky, and X.
Optimizing Government and Institutions
Building Better Public Sector Data
As a good governance think-and-do tank, we’re driven to strengthen public institutions and community organizations in the interest of all they serve. This can be achieved, in part, by improving the data they collect and increasing their capacity to use it. Data are critical for helping decision-makers diagnose problems, assess whether solutions are working and why, provide an objective standard against which to measure progress, and promote transparency and accountability.
To that end, we’ve documented our Data and Analytic Capacity-Building (DACB) Model, which we’ve used in our work with governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other partners to help them effectively collect, maintain, and use data, especially in the face of time and resource constraints. To learn more about this flexible model, explore our brief.
Are you a survivor of gender-based violence who has had contact with the criminal legal system?
We want to hear from you!
We started The Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Project to understand the challenges GBV survivors who have had contact with the criminal legal system face when accessing services from New York City government agencies and service providers. The project will gather insights through interviews with survivors and service providers and use these insights to propose recommendations to improve practices.
We are currently seeking survivors to interview about their experiences. Get all the details here—and reach out to us at gbvproject2025@gmail.com if you or someone you work with is willing and eligible to participate.
Meet the Fifth Cohort of the Kriegel Fellowship for Public Service Leaders
Last month, 21 chiefs of staff and legislative office leaders began their journeys as Kriegel Fellows. Over the course of five months, the 2024 cohort will meet bi-weekly to establish community with their peers, sharpen their policy and management skills, and engage in professional development opportunities tailored to the unique experiences of chiefs of staff.
Join us in congratulating this group and their commitment to public service!
On our Blog: This cohort of Kriegel Fellows is made up of chiefs of staff and legislative office directors from New York State Assembly, Senate, and Borough President offices from across the five boroughs and the Hudson Valley. Meet them on our blog.
Analyzing data and hearing from businesses to learn about equity, challenges, and opportunities in City contracting.
We’ve partnered with the the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) to conduct a Disparity Study examining equity in procurement and contracting by City agencies.
To conduct the study, CUNY ISLG is reaching to business owners to learn more about their businesses, barriers they have faced in doing business or attempting to do business with the City, how processes can be improved to further the City’s goals for fairness and equity.
All businesses can make their voices heard by responding to our brief Business Experience Survey, available in English, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, and Russian; soon to be available in Bengali, Arabic, and Korean.. This is your chance to tell the City what is and isn’t working in its contracting process, and what would help your business succeed.
The survey is open to all business owners and decision-makers and is expected to take roughly 10 minutes of your time. In exchange for completing the survey, you will be entered into a raffle to win one of 15 $200 gift cards.
Learn more about the project here.
Advancing Justice
Bringing Researchers Together to Scope the Future of Data-Driven Jail Population Reform
This October, we brought Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) researchers, site practitioners, nonprofit leaders, and other research partners from around the nation together in St. Louis, Missouri, for the inaugural SJC Research Symposium.
The Symposium marked and took stock of nearly a decade of identifying and implementing data-driven strategies to safely reduce jail populations and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities. See here for a full list of the events, including recordings of select sessions.
“Networking with researchers, academics, and other sites highlighted the relevance and importance of our work. I left the symposium feeling confident and inspired to do more and not give up.
While decisionmakers do not always support research and are dismissive of studies that challenge the “status quo,” the symposium reminded me why I started doing this work over 25 years ago. The SJC and ISLG opened doors that were previously closed.”
- Damir Kukec, Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission
On Our Blog: The discussions covered a range of topics, from an Oregon judge’s perspective of COVID-19’s impact to how the Marshall Project’s president thinks organizations should be using data to combat misinformation. Senior Research Associate Diana Spahia provides a recap.
Excerpt from “New York’s College-in-Prison Prospects…and Challenges”
In the News: “New York's College-in-Prison Prospects… and Challenges” by former ISLG Senior Research Associate Pavithra Nagarajan and SUNY OHEP’s Senior Rachel Sander in RealClear Education
From 2017-2022, CUNY and SUNY partnered to create the College-in-Prison Reentry Initiative in New York State, funded by the Manhattan DA’s Office. The Initiative brought programming to almost a thousand students in 17 facilities across the state. This op-ed, penned by former Senior Research Associate Pavithra Nagarajan and SUNY Office of Higher Education in Prison (OHEP)’s Rachel Sander, lays out what we learned in this first-of-its-kind partnership about the importance of communication, reducing administrative barriers, and support so students in prison can transition to success after release—including one student’s 20-year journey to bringing his credits to fruition.
Promoting Opportunity
Unlocking the Full Potential of our Community-Based Restorative Justice Grantees
The Community-Based Restorative Justice Program is a landmark, $16.5M investment in restorative justice (RJ) practices and programming in New York City. This past July, CUNY ISLG and the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) selected 16 community-based and grassroots organizations spanning across the city to design and implement RJ-focused programming, trainings, and fellowships to further less punitive, more healing-focused approaches to conflict resolution.
Last week, these 16 grantees met at CUNY ISLG’s offices to discuss ideas, challenges, and potential solutions to overcome roadblocks in making their ideas into reality. Led by ISLG Senior Policy Associate Miriam Goodman and Policy Associate Mia Greco, grantees identified challenges in data collection, risk management, funding, and more, which ISLG staff will use to inform tailored training and technical assistance (TTA) offerings in the coming months. Following that exercise, Javon Treherne from Bronx grantee Kingsbridge Heights Community Center led a restorative justice activity on the current landscape of RJ, overcoming hurdles, and the vision for the future.
Go to our LinkedIn for more info and photos, and check out the press release from the summer for more information on each grantee.
In the News: “Opinion: Diversifying New York City’s Mental Health Workforce” by ISLG Senior Fellow Eric Brettschneider and ISLG Project Advisor and NYU Associate Dean Linda Lausell Bryant in CityLimits.
Building off the momentum from our report I Want to be the Help I Never Received, project leaders discuss the crisis our mental health workforce is facing—in that BIPOC staff are severely and systematically underrepresented in the psychology, therapy, social work, and other “helping professions.” This has deep repercussions on the state of mental health across NYC: it effects the level and depth of care our communities receive, and consequently the safety and health of us all.
Excerpt from “Opinion: Diversifying New York City’s Mental Health Workforce”
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