Honing strategy and measuring success in order to maximize the impact of social services for low income communities.
Honing strategy and measuring success in order to maximize the impact of social services for low income communities.
San Francisco-Marin Food Bank Home-Delivered Grocery Program | Analysis of Impact and Opportunities
Conducted a literature review, analysis of program data, focus groups and participant interviews in order to understand the impact of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s home-delivered grocery program for participants, and its role in the existing service landscape. Explored policy and operational opportunities for maintaining a sustainable program in the fact of significant shifts in the funding landscape. Final report available here.
CalFresh Expansion to SSI Recipients | Learnings and Opportunities (2022)
Analyzed data provided by the California Department of Social Services, along with findings from interviews with key stakeholders a client focus group, to identify the successes and challenges of the initial roll-out of CalFresh benefits to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients in California. Developed:
An interactive dashboard to support state and local actors implement effective additional outreach strategies;
A comprehensive report that includes recommendations for addressing remaining service gaps, and provides a roadmap to reach full, equitable enrollment; and
A 2-pager to support advocates to share findings with policymakers.
California Association of Food Banks (CAFB) Member Survey (2020, 2022)
Designed, fielded, and analyzed a the 2020 statewide survey of member food banks to (a) paint a clearer, more nuanced picture of the network's tremendous work before and during the COVID-19 crisis, and (b) identify challenges and opportunities for the coming years. Worked with the CAFB communications team to translate findings into external talking points and useful visuals that the association and its members could use with funders and policymakers. Redesigned in 2022 to reflect new network priorities.
Code for America Internal Knowledge Base Development (2019 - 2022)
Synthesized 10+ years of Code for America's insights gleaned from field work and research on improving safety net program and criminal record clearance automation systems into a robust internal "Knowledge Base." The goal of the project was to ground staff in existing institutional knowledge, ensure new projects build on past ones, and boost the organization's ability to research and promote changes that will help people the most. The Knowledge Base provides a variety of searchable summaries of insights, including those related to the underlying barriers to benefits delivery, effective strategies to address them, and the most important next questions to address in research. Products also included "Deep Dives" - synthesized learnings on key topics areas, an Airtable repository of research materials, and an organizational approach for maintaining the Knowledge Base for effective ongoing use.
California Older Adults Meals Gap Analysis & Dashboard (2021)
Analyzed population-level survey data and service delivery data from a wide range of food assistance programs for low income older adults to develop a gap analysis that estimated the scale of unmet need for food assistance among older adults before and during COVID-19. Facilitated a series of cross-sector, statewide stakeholder discussions to identify recommendations for closing those gaps. Report and interactive dashboards available here.
COVID Community Based Organization (CBO) Food Delivery Operations (2020)
Led the COVID Community Based Organization (CBO) Food Delivery Local Operations Work Group, which was tasked by the California Department of Social Services and California Department of Aging to identify ways local CBOs could coordinate and get food assistance to older adults sheltering in place during early months of the COVID-19 crisis. Convened California stakeholders across multiple sectors - nonprofits, county administrators, statewide associations, state agencies. Specifically:
Developed county-level of estimates of demand for services;
Engaged corporate stakeholders that could support innovative cross-sector approaches to home delivery.
Identified promising practices and consolidated them into an easy-to-share resource as they emerged in real time;
Synthesized and shared feedback on various FEMA program implementation challenges with appropriate CalOES contacts; and
Consolidated critical operational and policy "lessons learned" based on extensive interviews with key stakeholders to inform future efforts.