April 2023

Matthew May, Ben Larsen, Gabe Osterhout, Cheong Kim, Kyle Peterson

The Idaho Commission for Libraries (ICfL) has partnered with Idaho Policy Institute to create the Digital Access for All Idahoans Plan (DAAI), including conducting two statewide surveys, one of Idaho’s general population and one of Idaho’s Spanish-speaking households. 

In April, the DAAI team traveled all across Idaho to conduct focus groups with Idahoans about challenges to accessing the internet. Focus Groups were conducted in Salmon, Coeur d’Alene, Sandpoint, Orofino, Grangeville, and Hailey. Focus groups were also planned in Pocatello and Preston, but were canceled due to a major snowstorm! IPI gathered a tremendous amount of qualitative data from the focus groups and made many meaningful connections with Idahoans in every corner of the state.

Survivors of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Needs Assessment

Lantz McGinnis-Brown, Aisha Kayed, Jacqueline Lee, Laura King, Lane Gillespie

Idaho Legal Aid Services has partnered with the Idaho Policy Institute and Criminal Justice professors in the School of Public Service to conduct a needs assessment examining the legal and non-legal needs of sexual assault survivors in Idaho, with a particular focus on survivors in rural areas to learn more about how they can better serve them.  

The team is currently engaged in the collection of secondary data and plans to commence interviews this summer. These interviews will involve community-based victim service agencies, as well as victim witness coordinators from prosecutor and police offices throughout the state. The interviews will be conducted both in person and via Zoom.

Media Campaign Evaluations

Ben Larsen, Aisha Kayed, Gabe Osterhout, Matthew May, Vanessa Fry, Ellen Schafer

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has partnered with IPI to evaluate two health media campaigns that have circulated statewide. The first evaluation will consist of a survey to health clinics across Idaho to measure the reach and effectiveness of the Provider Stigma Reduction Campaign. The second evaluation is a survey of Idaho’s general population to measure the reach and effectiveness of the Fentanyl Awareness Campaign. The evaluations will measure the reach and effectiveness of each campaign, as well as general knowledge about the survey topics. 

This month, both surveys were revised and finalized based on feedback from IDHW. IRB forms were prepared and the fentanyl awareness survey was sent to be translated into Spanish. Each survey consists of three main groups of questions: demographic and screening questions, knowledge of the survey topic, and attitudes toward issues relating to the survey topic.

HUD Eviction Protection Grant Program

Ben Larsen, Lantz McGinnis-Brown, McAllister Hall, Vanessa Fry

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. 

This month, all programmatic data for Quarter 1 was processed and submitted to HUD. In total, 230 households across Idaho, Montana, and Utah received legal services through the program

IPI Interns Finish Project with Boise Elevated

In April, the Spring 2023 IPI interns finished their project with Boise Elevated about Local Option Tax. This project was an opportunity for interns to complete a project from start to finish with a community client. The interns designed the research plan and then executed it this semester. The final product, a report of their findings, was delivered to the client at the end of April. The report will be published on Scholarworks with the students as authors.

IPI Researchers Present Paper at MPSA Conference

IPI Research Scholar Matthew May presented the paper he co-authored with IPI Research Associates Gabe Osterhout and Lantz McGinnis-Brown, Voting Rights Act, Bilingual Ballots, and Election Turnout: Evidence from Florida, at the 2023 Midwest Political Science Association Conference in Chicago, IL. The paper was part of a panel on Voting Reforms and Representation.

IPI Staff attend workshop on data visualization in presentations

 IPI staff participated in the second of three workshops designed to teach the team how to build and deliver more effective presentations. This workshop taught how to use and present data as part of the overall story of a presentation. Key takeaways from the presentation include: learning to not include data in a presentation just because you have it, how to make a table into more memorable visuals, and how to talk about data to an audience with limited data knowledge.

All presentations are recorded and available to SPS faculty and staff. Please reach out to IPI  if you’re interested in learning more.

IPI Staff Participates in Graduate School Panel

In early April, SPS held a graduate school panel for all SPS students. The panelist answered questions from the students about different types of programs, how to prepare for graduate school as an undergraduate, and the application process.