Commercial Fleet Programs

Client
New York City Department of Finance
Faculty
Charles Brecher, Maria Doulis
Team
Carmen Montes de Oca, Christina Drake, Minghui Fu, Chi­San Lo, Junjie Tang

The New York City Department of Finance (DOF) is the primary revenue collection agency for City government. DOF currently offers four programs designed to facilitate summons closure for owners of commer­cial fleets. The programs range from sim­ple notification programs to substantial discounts in return for the commercial entity waiving its rights to contest a sum­mons. The DOF engaged the Capstone team to conduct a comprehensive evalua­tion of its programs and determine whether they are still appropriate solutions to the present­day challenges and needs of com­mercial ticketing in NYC. The team con­ducted interviews with different stakeholders, researched best practices in other munici­palities, and conducted quantitative data analysis to produce a report for the DOF. The report contains feasible policy and procedural recommendations that will help DOF improve and re­envision these programs with respect to the agency's pol­icy objectives.

Local Economic Development Planning in Takeo, Cambodia

Client
United Nations Capital Development Fund – Local Economic Development, Cambodia
Faculty
Paul Smoke
Team
Arianna Butturovic, Yuk Chan, Maria Kolaitis, Alberto Orozco Ochoa

United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) supports development through microfinance, infrastructure investment, capacity building, and technical advisory skills. Recently, UNCDF and the Royal Government of Cambodia released a national “Local Development Outlook” report that evaluated local development trends (economic, social, demographic, and environmental) countrywide and offered recommendations for policy reform. The Capstone team was asked to build on this effort at the provincial level. The team first conducted a literature review and analysis on local economic development practices and then conduct­ed field research interviewing representa­tives of government, the private sector, and NGOs in Takeo province. The main task was to identify services and indus­tries with the greatest potential to pro­mote economic diversification in the province. As part of this work, the team developed a tool to evaluate services and industries by ranking various criteria according to the type of impact desired. The research will aid UNCDF and the local community in selecting value chains for further investigation and support produc­tion of a provincial development outlook.

Process Evaluation of the Investment Fund for Local Economic Development in Nicaragua

Client
United Nations Capital Development Fund – Investment Fund, Nicaragua
Faculty
Paul Smoke
Team
Walid El Asmar, Huma Haque, Eleazar Ortiz, Virginia Zuco

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is a special purpose fund for small­scale investment aimed at reduc­ing poverty in the least developed coun­tries affiliated with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). In 2007, UNCDF collaborated with the Government of Nicaragua to initiate the Decentralization and Millennium Development Goals Localization Support Program (PADETOM). PADETOM's main component, the Investment Fund for Local Economic Development (FIDEL), aims to provide financial support to local governments for LED projects with an emphasis on food security, the capitalization of small farm­ers, and rural enterprises. UNCDF request­ed a Capstone team to assess FIDEL's impact on local and national institutions' planning policies, uncover cross­influ­ences between FIDEL and a pre­existing food security initiative, Hambre Cero, and provide a set of recommendations for the global strategy for Local Economic Development Promotion (LEDP). The Capstone team conducted a series of interviews in Nicaragua with a broad spec­trum of stakeholders including local UNCDF personnel, national and local gov­ernment officials, civil society representa­tives, and direct beneficiaries. The information collected was subsequently compiled and analyzed to produce a report on UNCDF's approach to building local partnerships and structuring responsibilities in projects.

Metropolitan Manila Slum Upgrading Background Memos: Housing Institutions, Policy, Financing, and Data Gathering

Client
The World Bank – Slum Upgrading, Philippines
Faculty
Paul Smoke
Team
Ariana K. MacPherson, Kimberly Powell, Melissa Reese

Under a public sector decentralization process in the Philippines, Metro Manila's seventeen independent Local Government Units (LGUs) have been mandated with the challenge of addressing the needs of the sizeable slum populations living within their jurisdictions. City officials and local government agencies alike found them­selves with increased financial, technical, and taxation responsibilities, but with insufficient authority to effectively execute their expected duties. While the National Urban Development & Housing Framework (NUDHF) provides an approach to shelter policy based on long­term poverty allevia­tion and economic growth objectives, the severe lack of housing continues to be a problem with few short­term solutions. The Capstone team assisted the World Bank in developing background material for its support of a Metro Manila­wide slum upgrading policy. Using a document review and field interviews, the Capstone team prepared a series of policy memos on institutions and stakeholders, national housing policies, financing schemes, data gathering strategies, and international case studies of slum upgrading.

The Impact of State­Level Administrative Procedures on SNAP Participation Rates Among Eligible Individuals

Client
(Research)
Faculty
Tod Mijanovich
Team
Katie Beal, Rebecca Halleran,Emma Hersh,CarrieWolfson

Nearly one in eight individuals is enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. However, only one in three eligible individuals actually receives benefits. Participation rates vary widely across states, ranging from 46 percent in Wyoming to 94 percent in Maine. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) allows state agencies flexibility in deciding the administrative procedures they use to enroll beneficiaries in the program. Examples of procedures include finger imaging and facetoface interview requirements. Prior research suggests that certain state level procedures may unduly burden individuals who have the greatest need for food assistance. The Capstone team used individuallevel data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and statelevel policies from 2001, 2004, and 2008 to analyze the impact of state administrative procedures on SNAP participation.

The Use of School­Wide Bonus Incentives on Educational Outcomes

Client
(Research)
Faculty
Tod Mijanovich
Team
Andrew Davis, Emily Harrison, Alnisha Maniaci, Francesc­Roger Marti, Brent Morita

In most public school systems, teacher pay is based solely on level of education and years of teaching experience. Unlike professionals in other fields where per­formance is a factor in determining com­pensation, teachers have little economic incentive to strive for results in their work. During the 2007­2008 academic year, the New York City Department of Education introduced a pilot program whereby teach­ers at high­needs schools would receive bonuses if their schools reached targeted educational outcomes, as measured by test scores and other factors. This pro­gram differs from other incentive pro­grams in that it rewards whole schools for raising overall student achievement, and not individual teachers for the progress that their particular students make. The Capstone team analyzed the impact of the program to determine what effect, if any, school­wide merit pay has on student per­formance and school quality.

Capstone Area

Best Practices and Economic Development Opportunities in Water Management

Client
Greater New Orleans, Inc.
Faculty
Kate Collignon, Kei Hayashi
Team
Nicole Aimone, Michael Lenore, Paul Salama, Mathew Sanders

Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) was charged by the State of Louisiana to coor­dinate the development of a new municipal water management system for the City of New Orleans and portions of its adjacent suburbs. In conjunction with this endeavor, the Capstone team prepared a reference document of case studies detailing best practices in worldwide water management systems, including physical components, financing mechanisms, and implementation strategies. In light of the area's postHurricane Katrina setting, the team emphasized storm water mitigation strategies in other lowlying and floodprone areas. Additionally, the team analyzed potential economic development opportunities and impacts that may present themselves with the implementation of the best management practices. GNO, Inc. will use these recommendations as it engages local political stakeholders, the general public, and consultants who will contribute to the creation of this new plan.

UNCDF LED Policy Manual

Client
United Nations Capital Development Fund – Local Economic Development Policy Manual
Faculty
Paul Smoke
Team
Darek Ciszek, Annie Denes, Samia Khan, Peter McNally, Mara Patashnik

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is currently creating pro­grams to support local governments in fostering and coordinating economic growth in least developed countries. UNCDF's Local Economic Development Program (LEDP) aims to build local govern­ment capacity to support and promote LED by investing in governance, business­enabling environments, and catalytic inter­ventions. In support of these efforts, the Capstone team created an LED Policy Manual that analyzes the type and scope of LED promotion in selected local authori­ties. The team conducted its analysis using case studies focused on the experi­ences of local governments in select municipalities of South Africa and Sweden. The lessons learned from the experiences promoting LED in advanced and middle­income contexts are intended to provide UNCDF with the tools to devel­op best practices for local governments in developing countries.

Assessment of Decentralization and Planning in Cambodia

Client
United Nations Capital Development Fund and The Asia Foundation
Faculty
Paul Smoke
Team
Chevonne Carnahan, Jennifer Ilekis, Louise Moretta, Shannon Small

After an extended period of internal con­flict in Cambodia, decentralization was introduced as part of a larger wave of pub­lic sector reform to promote democratic development and increase participatory governance. Decentralized planning and financing mechanisms were initially pilot­ed and then institutionalized at a lower level (commune), and similar reforms are now being introduced at higher sub­national levels (district and province). The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and The Asia Foundation engaged the Capstone team to assess the recent decentralization efforts in Cambodia. The Capstone team conducted a document review of the decentralization process as well as field interviews with researchers, local and international development part­ners, and government officials at the national and sub­national levels. As a final deliverable, the Capstone team produced an assessment of the sub­national planning process and guidelines, documentation and assessment of the pilot planning process undertaken in the Takeo province, and recommendations for a future subnational planning system for Cambodia.

Preparation of a Concept Plan for a Model Resettlement Site in Metro Manila

Client
The World Bank – Model Resettlement, Philippines
Faculty
Paul Smoke
Team
David Colner, Andres Mitnik, Javier Serra

The Capstone team assisted the World Bank in the conceptualization and devel­opment of a model slum­resettlement site that promotes the principles of affordabili­ty, livability, and economic and environ­mental sustainability for the urban poor. The model adopts approaches that opti­mize urban space, considers socio­eco­nomic and cultural concerns of potential relocated residents, and incorporates dis­aster resilience. The team used field research in the Philippines, academic liter­ature from other Southeast Asian coun­tries, and global cases to develop a set of recommendations. The Capstone team provided the World Bank with a final report focused on the promotion of medi­um­rise, socialized housing developments and an analysis of the parameters of suc­cess associated with them.

Revisiting Components of Renewable Portfolio Standards and Their Impact on State Renewable Energy Generation

Client
(Research)
Faculty
Tod Mijanovich
Team
Sean Capperis, Douglas Coulter, Jung Soo Hur, Michelle Wong, Hyuk Yang

Renewable energy is an increasingly important source of US electricity due to concerns about global climate change, energy security, and fossil fuel price volatility. This study focuses on the extent to which state regulatory policies impact state renewable energy generation. The Capstone team's research estimates the impact of Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) on a state's overall renewable ener­gy generation. Unlike previous research on the effects of RPS, this study attempts to operationalize a number of elements that comprise RPS, such as annual required share of renewable energy and the threat of penalty, in order to assess whether or not these variations have a significant effect on individual states' production of renewable energy.