Visualizing Data: The performance of nonprofits in a new tableau
Melissa Gibson, senior consultant at PSC crunches the numbers to beautiful effect. When it comes to high-quality information analysis, the numbers can become overwhelming. But Public Sector Consultants has always prided itself in being ahead of the curve in policy and research, so why should the firm’s approach to data technology be any different? […]
In The Gears: Finding the right research to turn the gears
Informing public discourse with research is the focus of this installment of In the Gears, a series that highlights the tools PSC uses to turn the gears of public policy innovation. Other areas of focus include program implementation, evaluation, and defining problems and solutions through facilitation, strategic counsel, and strategic planning. In the sea […]
Is Michigan finally getting serious about fixing our crumbling roads?
For anyone driving into Michigan from a bordering state or from Canada, the situation becomes immediately clear: Michigan’s roads are crumbling beneath their tires. While that’s nothing new, officials say the situation has gone from bad to worse to critical. According to a Nov. 20 press release from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), only 14 percent of […]
Global Detroit: Leveraging the talent of Michigan’s immigrants
Elda and Rafael Castellanos own El Comal, a restaurant in southwest Detroit featuring Salvadorean, Guatemalan and Mexican fare. Global Detroit helped connect the Castellanos to partner organization ProsperUS Detroit, a microlending organization that provides access to capital for small businesses that otherwise might not have access through traditional sources. With President Obama’s new policy on […]
Where do Michiganders stand on immigration?
Public Sector Consultants’ quarterly public opinion poll asked several questions on the topic of immigration. The poll, which ran September 11–13, is the second installment of an effort by PSC to gauge public opinion on behalf of its clients. “We were finding among our colleagues and also with our clients that there was a […]
Place-based education motivates students by connecting learning to community
Black heaps of illegally dumped tires pockmark the landscape around Hope of Detroit Academy. They are unsightly, attract pests, and make the community less safe. But teachers and students at the K-8 charter school are turning these symbols of blight and disinvestment into an opportunity for students to make a difference in the community while […]
A grayer Michigan: How the aging of the Mitten State will impact public policy
Demographer Kurt Metzger As we enter into this midterm election season, policymakers and the public are grappling with issues that will chart Michigan’s course for years to come. But just what will that future Michigan look like? Who will be living here, and how will policy developed today serve those future residents? While no […]
Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative receives $150,000 EPA grant to support environmental stewardship
From Left to Right: Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, Susan Hedman, EPA Region 5 Administrator and Great Lakes National Program Manager, and Mary Whitmore, Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative coordinator As teachers planted native plants along the banks of Kreiser Pond in Grand Rapids, a retention pond that runs into the Grand River and Lake […]
Social impact bonds: A new financing tool for public-private partnerships
PSC’s Jeff Guilfoyle writes about what’s possible with social impact bonds (SIBs). Mr. Guilfoyle specializes in school finance, tax policy, intergovernmental fiscal relations, and issues pertaining to Michigan’s economy and the state budget. Social Impact Bonds 101 ‘Government’ and ‘innovation’ aren’t terms that usually go together. So it might come as a bit […]
Q&A: Place-based education expert Dr. Doris Terry Williams
On November 6, hundreds of educators and community leaders will converge in Grand Rapids, Michigan to kick off the 2014 Great Lakes Place-based Education Conference. This fourth annual conference will bring educators from across the state together to share best practices for making school curricula relevant to students’ communities. Dr. Doris Terry Williams is the […]