United States Department of Labor
WIRED Evaluation – Generations II and III
PPA is partnering with the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, to evaluate the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED), a major new initiative of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. ETA’s WIRED strategy is a market-driven approach that provides financial incentives for regional collaboration among stakeholders representing the public workforce system, economic development, K-16 education, state and local government officials, and philanthropic organizations. The goal of WIRED is to increase coordination among these regional players in order to expand employment and advancement opportunities for American workers and to create high-skill, high-wage jobs.
From 2007 through 2011, the PPA/Upjohn team will conduct an evaluation of ETA’s overall WIRED strategy, using stakeholder interviews, employer surveys, administrative records, and an array of economic indicators to assess effectiveness. Site visits will be made to 26 of the 39 regions that have received WIRED funds. The research questions center on the areas of strategic approach and implementation, innovation and capacity changes, economic and labor market affects, and cross-generational comparisons. The findings of the evaluation will help strengthen regional efforts to compete more effectively in the twenty-first century global economy.
City of East Lansing
University Cost Impacts
Working with the City of East Lansing and Michigan State University, PPA is examining the negative impacts of the university presence in the East Lansing community. This involves determining additional costs to the City of East Lansing as expressed in areas such as additional police, fire, and court costs. It also includes examination of increased workload volume for departments such as the City Clerk.
City of East Lansing
University Benefits
Working with the City of East Lansing and Michigan State University, PPA is examining the positive benefits of the University presence in the East Lansing community. The benefit examination will include the benefits from the university payroll to East Lansing residents, including student employees, as well as expenditures by students, faculty, employers, and visitors. PPA will examine the general level of services provided in East Lansing relative to selected other cities in Michigan of similar size and also compare the relative growth of key variables such as population and property values.
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth and The Arc Michigan, MDE-OSE/EIS
Forecasting the Future Supply and Demand in Michigan for Interpreters for the Deaf
The implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) guidelines for disabled public school students as well as dramatic technological changes regarding the availability and employment of interpreters for the deaf drove a request for PPA to prepare an analysis of the current and future demand for interpreters in Michigan. This analysis was designed to help inform new policy guidelines and legislation required for compliance with NCLB guidelines concerning interpreter certification and the education of future interpreters. In addition to demographic analysis of Michigan’s deaf population and the potential future demand for interpreters, this analysis included a survey of current interpreters for the deaf; a number of interviews with key informants in the deaf community, education, and the commercial interpreting industry; and site visits to the Michigan School for the Deaf and three Michigan institutions that educate future interpreters in Michigan. Results of this project indicated that despite little or no growth of Michigan’s profoundly deaf population, the demand for professional interpreters for the deaf will increase, and the certification standards for interpreters will need to change in order to meet both NCLB guidelines and dynamic changes in the demand for interpreters among Michigan’s deaf population.
Early Learning Michigan
Michigan Early Learning Initiative Stakeholder Research
In 2005, a wide variety of early childhood education associations and experts in Michigan, working under the umbrella of “Early Learning Michigan,” came together to help the state build a more effective early childhood education system. As part of this project, which was funded by the Joyce Foundation, Public Policy Associates, Incorporated (PPA) was retained to conduct research to identify key audiences for early childhood education messages, effective messages to deliver, credible messengers to deliver the message, and legislators’ knowledge and opinions on early childhood education policy. To obtain insight into the first three topics, PPA conducted a series of six focus groups, including two with grandparents, two with Republican women, and two with highly educated voters in the cities of Grand Rapids, Troy, and Saginaw, Michigan. To address the final topic, PPA conducted face-to-face interviews with six Michigan legislators. Early Learning Michigan will use the results of this research to hone the most effective message possible and ensure that it is delivered by appropriate people to strategically targeted audiences.
ZimmerFish
MET Focus Groups
PPA was hired by Zimmerfish Creative to conduct a study to determine the reasons why individuals choose or do not choose to purchase a MET contract. Zimmerfish and the MET leadership wanted to learn more about why individuals chose particular approaches to save for their children’s college education in an attempt to better inform both the MET leadership to guide the strategic direction of the MET and the ongoing MET advertising campaign as both seek ways to increase the conversion rate of requests and the overall number of MET contracts purchased. Thus, the research project sought more information about why some individuals who contact MET to request information about the program choose to buy contracts, some choose to invest in competing savings plans, and some choose not to invest at all. To achieve this goal, PPA conducted a series of focus groups to better understand why parents make certain choices when saving for their children’s education. In contrast to previous research that gathered valuable quantitative data about the MET, this study provides a more in-depth analysis of how and why parents make decisions regarding saving for the children’s college education. PPA conducted six focus groups—three in Livonia and three in East Lansing, comprised of 9–10 people for each group who had inquired about the MET within the last four years. For each of the locations, participants were divided into three groups: those who chose to purchase a MET contract (MET purchasers), those that chose to invest in MESP or another 529 program (MESP purchasers), and those who chose not to save through MET, MESP, or another 529 program (Inquiries). Participants selected had a household income of greater than $45,000 per year, reflecting the target audience for the MET advertising campaign.
ZimmerFish
Pre- and Post-Campaign Study
Zimmerfish, a Lansing-based advertising firm, commissioned PPA to run pre- and post-analyses of awareness of the Michigan Education Trust (MET), a program run by the State of Michigan designed to allow parents and others to invest in the higher education of their children. Beginning in November 2004, Zimmerfish will be running an expansive advertising campaign to promote MET, making use of a wide variety of media. In order to gauge the effectiveness of the campaign, PPA will be surveying potential MET customers in targeted areas of the state, both before the inception of the campaign and after its completion in June 2005.
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth
School District Data Study
Learning Point Associates contracted PPA to conduct field research about school district use of technology to collect data for the purpose of curriculum and instructional decision making. PPA recruited school districts from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio to participate in the study. Eight districts were selected for two-day site visits, which included interviews with all levels of district staff, collection of hardcopy documentation materials, and taking digital photos on site. Five additional districts were selected for telephone interviews with district and building-level leadership. The project culminated in district-specific reports from each site visit and set of telephone interviews, an interview data spreadsheet including all stakeholder information and interview notes, and finally various artifacts collected on site including documentation, digital photos, and digital audio files of the interviews for LPA to use toward compiling its report to the U.S. Department of Education.
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth
Health Career Worforce Development in Michigan
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth engaged PPA to compile and consolidate critical information about 30 selected health care careers in Michigan as the basis for implementing a major initiative with local public-private consortia to expand the health care workforce in Michigan. Major tasks included establishing a statewide advisory board of key stakeholders from health care providers, health professions, education, labor, and government; forecasting the supply and demand for each occupation both statewide and regionally to the year 2015; profiling each occupational category, including licensure/certification requirements and best practices for increasing new entrants to the health workforce, career expansion and improvements for incumbent workers, and best practices for transitioning displaced workers to new careers in health care. PPA was entirely responsible for all aspects of this project, including regularly scheduled reports to the client and monthly meetings with the advisory board. This project was conducted for and with the cooperation of the executive offices of both the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth and the Michigan Department of Community Health. The results of this project were presented to the relevant public-private consortia and the executive staffs of both departments and were incorporated into final reports that have been posted on the Internet for public access (www.michigan.gov/dleg). This project took five months, involved a project team of five (senior consultant, project manager, two research associates, and an editor).
Hope Network West Michigan
Interim Evaluation of Faith-Based Workforce Development Initiative
Hope Network retained PPA to conduct an interim evaluation of a demonstration grant project that received funding through the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives within the U.S. Department of Labor. The demonstration was designed to:
- Identify faith-based organizations (FBOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) serving persons with disabilities who want to help local community members address career issues and to access available publicly supported employment and training services.
- Michigan Works! programs and online resources.
- Provide computer equipment and Internet access.
- Provide ongoing training and technical assistance in how to use the systems.
- Assist subgrantee agencies in making better connections with local Michigan Works! agencies and identifying clients in need of a referral.
The interim evaluation gathered early lessons regarding implementation. These lessons provided Hope Network with vital information regarding its initial efforts in building collaborative partnerships with state, regional, and local partnering organizations. The evaluation also focused on the effectiveness of the training modules. The findings will help Hope Network understand what aspects of the program strategy worked well, what did not work as well as was hoped, and where improvements could be made to increase the overall effectiveness of the approach.
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