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2023 Annual Report

Director's Note

Vanessa Fry Headshot
Vanessa Fry
Director, Idaho Policy Institute

Happy New Year! I’m pleased to be able to present you with Idaho Policy Institute’s (IPI) 2023 annual report. Now halfway through our eighth academic year, IPI continues to be a cornerstone of excellence within Boise State University’s research landscape. At the heart of IPI’s endeavors are a steadfast commitment to the School of Public Service’s directive to embody the role of public servants and a vision to be an independent, nonpartisan resource for decision-makers that propels our mission forward.

In adherence to our mission, IPI aspires to provide decision-makers with unbiased research, equipping them to navigate the complexities of contemporary challenges. Our primary goal is to assist state and local leaders in forging strong directions for Idaho and beyond the state. Rooted in the principles of collaboration, community responsiveness, educational impact, public engagement, and research integrity, we channel our efforts towards rigorous and defensible research, ensuring the outcomes of our work are insightful, relevant, and valuable.

As public servants, we recognize the profound responsibility entrusted to us, and our values guide our every action. Collaboration fuels innovation, community responsiveness ensures our work addresses real-world needs, educational impact underlines the transformative power of knowledge, public engagement forges connections with the community, and research integrity forms the bedrock of our credibility.

Dean's Note

The Idaho Policy Institute makes phenomenal impacts as a trusted resource for public, private, and nonprofit entities throughout Idaho and beyond. Consistent with the mission of the School of Public Service, the Idaho Policy Institute creates objective research that informs and guides leaders as they make decisions on a wide range of critical public issues. The School of Public Service is extremely proud of how the work of our colleagues in the Idaho Policy Institute strengthens our community outreach and shapes important conversations about today’s pressing challenges.

IPI By the Numbers

Projects

  • 20 sponsored projects
  • 26 sponsoring organizations
  • 15 unsponsored projects
  • 9 MPA Capstone projects
  • 2 Housing Opportunities for All VIP projects

Financials

  • $806,318 sponsored project support
  • $7,600 donations

Community Outreach

  • 43 presentations/ panel discussions
  • More than 25 press mentions
  • 10 surveys conducted

2023 Project List

Sponsored Projects

  • Communities of Excellence Charter School Program Grant Evaluation (sponsor, Bluum)
  • Community Health Needs Assessment – Eastern Oregon (sponsor, Saint Alphonsus)
  • Community Health Needs Assessment – South-Central Idaho  (sponsor, St. Luke’s)
  • Community Health Needs Assessment – Treasure Valley  (sponsor, United Way of the Treasure Valley)
  • COMPLEAT Grant Evaluation (sponsor, National Science Foundation)
  • Digital Access for All Idahoans (sponsor, Idaho Commission for the Libraries)
  • Effect of County Form of Government on Fiscal Sustainability (sponsor, School of Public Service Research Committee)
  • Evaluation of Metrics and Data Collection (sponsor, United Policyholders)
  • A Foundation for Research into Webcams as Tools in Informal STEM Learning (sponsor, National Science Foundation)
  • Housing Innovations Pilot Analysis (sponsor, City of Boise)
  • HUD Eviction Protection Grant Program (sponsor, Idaho Legal Aid Services)
  •  LearningMedia Assessment (sponsor, Idaho Public Television)
  • Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange (sponsor, US State Department)
  • Media Campaign Evaluations (sponsor, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare)
  • New Path Community Housing Evaluation (sponsor, City of Boise)
  • Resource Nexus for Sustainability Phase I (sponsor, Boise State Division of Research and Economic Development)
  • Senior Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) Evaluation (sponsor, Idaho Department of Insurance)
  • SAMHSA Treatment and Transitions Evaluation (sponsor, Idaho Health and Welfare)
  • Survivors of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Needs Assessment (sponsor, Idaho Legal Aid Services)

Project Spotlight: Community Health Needs Assessment

CHNA Cover page

Team: Vanessa Fry, McAllister Hall, Lantz McGinnis Brown, Aisha Kayed, Taylor Neher

Community Partners: St. Luke’s Health System, Saint Alphonsus Health System, United Way of the Treasure Valley

Every three years public hospitals must conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment or CHNA. Historically, hospitals in Idaho have conducted their own assessments. For the 2023 CHNAs, St. Luke’s Health System, Saint Alphonsus Health System, United Way of the Treasure Valley, and other partners worked collaboratively with IPI on a comprehensive CHNA process that included the Greater Treasure Valley Region (Ada, Elmore, Boise, Valley, Gem, Adams, Canyon, Washington, Payette, and Owyhee Counties), the Magic Valley (Jerome and Twin Falls Counties) and Blaine County in Idaho and Baker and Malheur Counties in Oregon.

This unprecedented partnership aligned several independent regional assessments to identify the health needs of more than half of Idaho residents. This collaborative approach utilized a social determinants of health (SDoH), also known as social influencers, framework to determine the top priorities of the regions examined. Key priorities identified in the regions include: access to safe, affordable housing, access to affordable health care (including vision and dental, access to affordable mental health services, transportation, and high cost of living, among others

Project Spotlight: Digital Access for All Idahoans

DAAI Logo

Team: Matthew May, Benjamin Larsen, Cheong Kim, Lantz McGinnis-Brown, Gabe Osterhout, Kyle Peterson, Kellen McGurkin


Community Partner: Idaho Commission for Libraries

The U.S. Digital Equity Act of 2021 provided all states with funding to develop and implement digital inclusion plans that specifically address the digital access needs of eight covered populations in their states: low-income households, those age 60 or older, the incarcerated, veterans, individuals with a disability, those with a language barrier, members of a racial or ethnic minority group, and those who primarily reside in rural areas. In 2023, IPI was contracted by the Idaho Commission for Libraries to conduct research and draft the State of Idaho’s digital equity plan, entitled Digital Access for All Idahoans.

Coeur d'Alene Public Library
Coeur d’Alene Public Library

As part of this 10-month process, IPI researchers engaged in three distinct research streams to identify specific challenges or barriers to digital access across Idaho: 1) 17 regional focus groups conducted in-person all across Idaho; 2) two scientifically valid statewide surveys, one to a geographically and demographically representative sample of 1,000 Idaho adults and another to a representative sample of 400 Idaho adults in Spanish-speaking households; and 3) 15 stakeholder interviews targeting any remaining organizations or covered populations that were not sufficiently represented in prior data collection efforts.

Following analysis of this data as well as secondary data provided by the Idaho Commission for Libraries, the IPI research team prepared a draft digital access plan. The plan underwent a required 30-day public comment period to ensure that it best represented the needs of Idaho’s various communities. In October 2023, the plan was finalized into a 223-page report identifying both 3-year and 5-year goals and outlining an implementation strategy to inform the State of Idaho’s digital access efforts over the next five years.

You can read the full plan at: Digital Access for All Idahoans

Project Spotlight: Evictions in the Mountain West

Idaho Legal Aid Services logo

Team: Ben Larsen, McAllister Hall, Lantz McGinnis-Brown, Emma Redman


Community Partners: Idaho Legal Aid Services, Intermountain Fair Housing Council, Utah Legal Services, Montana Legal Services Association, Jesse Tree, Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy

Through various sponsored and unsponsored projects, IPI continues to be the leading source of data and research on evictions in the Mountain West. IPI has monitored eviction data, services, and policies throughout the Mountain West states of Idaho, Montana, and Utah. IPI does data management for the HUD Eviction Protection Grant Program in partnership with Idaho Legal Aid Services and other partners across Idaho, Montana, and Utah. The program provides low-income households with free eviction legal services and representation. In the two years of the program, 1,800 households have received eviction services. 

IPI is also working with the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy on an Idaho Eviction Prevention Resources Needs Assessment to determine the costs and implementation considerations for establishing statewide eviction prevention services in Idaho. In 2023, IPI began the project by creating an eviction prevention services asset inventory, which lists many organizations that provide services to households at risk of eviction. IPI collaborated with several partners to collect data on the costs of providing eviction prevention services. In 2024, IPI will continue to develop a method of modeling the costs of eviction prevention services. 

In 2023, Idaho eviction data revealed that the annual number of evictions may be on the rise, continuing an upward trend since the dramatic drop of eviction filings in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, 2,167 (about 1.2%) of Idaho’s renting households had at least one eviction filing and 1,082 (about 0.6%) were formally evicted. Eviction court filings rose 10.7% from 2021 to 2022. However, the number of households with formal evictions decreased by 2.3%. In 2022, Idaho residents still had access to emergency rental assistance funds provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though eviction moratoria were not in place in 2022, filings and formal evictions remain below pre-pandemic levels. This could be a result of the successful distribution of rental assistance funds or increased mediation in high-population counties such as Ada and Canyon.

IPI Staff

IPI Team October 2023
  • Director

    Associate Research Faculty

    Vanessa Fry, PhD

    Vanessa Fry, PhD

  • Research Scholars

    Cheong Kim, PhD
    Benjamin Larsen, Ph.D
    Matthew May, PhD

    Cheong Kim, PhD
    Benjamin Larsen, Ph.D
    Matthew May, PhD

  • Research Associates

    McAllister Hall, MA
    Lantz McGinnis-Brown, MPA
    Gabe Osterhout, MA
    Emily Pape, MPP

    McAllister Hall, MA
    Lantz McGinnis-Brown, MPA
    Gabe Osterhout, MA
    Emily Pape, MPP

  • Research Assistant

    Aisha Kayed

    Aisha Kayed

  • Management Assistant

    Valerie Hayes

    Valerie Hayes

  • Research Administrator

    Britney Whiting-Looze

    Britney Whiting-Looze

  • Graduate Assistants

    Kenneth Huston
    Dalton Fox
    Elijah Kuisachor
    Kyle Peterson

    Kenneth Huston
    Dalton Fox
    Elijah Kuisachor
    Kyle Peterson

  • Work-study

    Melanie Hernandez

    Melanie Hernandez

  • Interns

    Shavonne Bostaph
    Eliza Chaffin
    Patty Chelini
    Zane Cooper
    Kellen McGurkin
    Taylor Oxley
    Emma Redman
    KaraLeigh Troyer
    Brie Veltri
    Nolan Watson

    Shavonne Bostaph
    Eliza Chaffin
    Patty Chelini
    Zane Cooper
    Kellen McGurkin
    Taylor Oxley
    Emma Redman
    KaraLeigh Troyer
    Brie Veltri
    Nolan Watson

The Year in Photos

Ben Larsen Presents at Hunger Relief summit
Ben Larsen Presents at Hunger Relief Summit
May and Fry at the Statehouse
May and Fry at the Statehouse
Spring 23 MPA Capstone Class
Spring 2023 MPA Capstone Class
Vanessa Fry visits Cape Town, South Africa for the Mandela Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange
Vanessa Fry visits Cape Town, South Africa for the Mandela Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange
Fall 2023 Capstone Class
Fall 2023 Capstone Class
Matthew May on Idaho Matters
Matthew May on Idaho Matters
Fry and Larsen at Spring 2023 commencement
Fry and Larsen at Spring 2023 commencement
Osterhout and Peterson play chess while waiting to conduct Idaho libraries focus group
Osterhout and Peterson play chess while waiting to conduct Idaho libraries focus group
Larsen participates in panel during annual Day of Dialogue.
Larsen participates in panel during annual Day of Dialogue.
IPI participates in Boise State University's first Grand Challenges Initiative
IPI participates in Boise State University’s first Grand Challenges Initiative — Resource Nexus for Sustainability
Fry and colleagues at 2023 AUBER conference
Fry and colleagues at 2023 AUBER conference
Former IPI Director Greg Hill visits
Former IPI Director Greg Hill visits
Emily Pape participates in panel on careers in public service.
Emily Pape participates in panel on careers in public service.
Vanessa Fry and Gabe Osterhout in Pensacola, FL for AUBER fall conference
Vanessa Fry and Gabe Osterhout in Pensacola, FL for AUBER fall conference
Vanessa attended the Leadership and Happiness Laboratory
Vanessa Fry attended the Leadership and Happiness Laboratory