Sample Projects
POCKETS OF PEACE
Pockets of Peace is a mixed-method study that conceptualizes urban neighborhoods themselves as potentially resilient. The project focuses on resilient communities rather than youth who are resilient despite their communities. The intention is to systematically document how these underprivileged neighborhoods with low rates of violence differ from other underprivileged neighborhoods, so we produce evidence and theories that can be more easily translated into actionable policies and programs. To determine the community-level social processes occurring in neighborhoods experiencing high levels of concentrated disadvantage yet, low levels of juvenile violence, we are drawing heavily upon the experts: the residents themselves.
Research Team (Past and Present): Elizabeth Adams, Amy Irby-Shasanmi, Hadya Sow, Kyle Benbow, Nicholette Fortune, Mark Daiuto, Thomasina Watts, DeAmon Harges, Derek Kemp, Issac Stokes, Betsy Prentice
TRANSFORMING FIRST RESPONSE
Transforming First Response is a part of the Policing Project at the New York University School of Law's “Reimagining Public Safety” research project. In partnership with the Policing Project research team, our research team is designing and implementing mixed-methods research in several project sites. Our focus is three fold (1) understanding community perspectives on current and possible models for emergency services in their jurisdiction, (2) understanding how public health frameworks such as social determinants of health are relevant to understanding public safety needs, and (3) identifying already existing community assets that could be scaled-up or centralized in future efforts. The resultant products will help guide NYU and their stakeholders to understand community needs and capacity and design systems to meet those needs and support that capacity adequately and equitably.
Research Team: David Parra; Jessica Ortiz; (Michael) Scott Moore; Jamie Albert; Evaluation Center at University of Colorado, Denver; Center for Community Dialogue and Training in Tucson, AZ; Tanoma Consulting in Chicago, IL
COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS TO REIMAGINE PUBLIC SAFETY
The purpose of this project is to produce research toolkits openly available to scholars, municipalities, and community members attempting to enact systems change in their cities. These toolkits will help cities center impacted communities (as opposed to merely engaging impacted communities) in their re-design process. Ensuring that communities have access to usable research tools increases the probability that they will have a meaningful voice in the reform process, which is critical to developing effective and equitable public safety systems. The toolkits will provide examples based on community conversations around the country that focused on homelessness, public safety, and teen pregnancy.
U.S. RACIAL JUSTICE PORTFOLIO REVIEW
In 2020, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation launched a five-year Justice and Equity Fund to explore ways to leverage Foundational activities to contribute to equity and justice in the United States. By 2023, the Foundation had distributed nearly half of the fund, prompting a retrospective review to reflect on grantmaking efforts and shape future strategies. ARE produced a report providing a comprehensive overview of funded activities, grantees, and approaches to advancing racial justice. The report, accompanying infographics, and “bright spot” case studies are intended to serve as a foundational resource for understanding past work, identifying trends, and guiding the next phase of impactful grantmaking.
