In response to the financial crisis of 2007-2008, the Obama administration signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to stimulate job creation and jumpstart the economy. Under the Recovery Act, Race to the Top (RTT) was the largest federal competitive grant program focused on education. It aimed to improve school standards, increase the effectiveness of teachers and staff, promote failing schools, and identify better methods for tracking student and teacher progress. The team conducted research to estimate the causal effects of RTT on reading and math scores by comparing students in states that were awarded the RTT grant and students in states that were not. The team detailed its findings in a final report that may be used to inform the design and implementation of current and future competitive grant programs amid the ongoing debate over school finance.

LIFE Camp is a gun violence intervention and prevention organization in Southeast Queens that emphasizes customized wraparound services to prevent violence in at-risk communities and address the specific needs of each community. The organization enlisted a team to help locate gaps in its services and strengthen its public outreach and messaging, with a focus on communicating what makes LIFE Camp effective and distinct. In order to further the organization’s goals of helping other organizations replicate its approach, the team conducted a landscape analysis to understand what differentiates LIFE Camp from similarly-motivated organizations. The team utilized a powerful digital storyboard for promotion and funding, developed a white paper describing LIFE Camp’s services and highlighting its impact, and created a video that provides an inside look at the people who execute LIFE Camps’ vision, showcasing how its staff drive LIFE Camp’s organizational success.

The Uganda Village Project (UVP) is a nonprofit organization that facilitates community health projects in rural Uganda by partnering with existing health infrastructure to provide education and preventative services for malaria, HIV/AIDS, water, sanitation, hygiene, and reproductive health. UVP engaged a team to analyze data from 2015 and 2020 program questionnaires, with a focus on UVP’s Malaria Program. The team also assessed outcome differences between intervention and control villages, interviewed stakeholders, analyzed UVP’s process documents, and conducted a literature review of other international malaria interventions. From this research, the team created a report that detailed the program’s outcomes and impacts, and outlined recommendations for program design, data collection, and the reallocation of program funds to meet UVP goals more effectively.

The Uganda Village Project (UVP) works with communities to promote public health and sustainable development in rural communities of the Iganga district in southeast Uganda, through their Healthy Villages Initiative, which aims to improve healthcare. UVP works directly with community-based organizations and local governments to draw on local knowledge and maximize community ownership of public health and development solutions. UVP engaged the Capstone team to review their existing survey data collection tool against current organizational objectives, secure Institutional Review Board approval for the updated survey tool used in 2020 data collection, and analyze data collected in 2009, 2015, and 2020 surveys. The team traveled to Uganda to observe training on survey tool use and conduct field interviews with UVP staff, survey enumerators, and community respondents regarding the efficiency and utility of the updated survey tool. The team used evaluation software to analyze the impact of UVP programming against data collected in control villages and synthesized its findings in an academic report.

Founded in 2012, Upper West Strategies (UWS) is a consulting firm focused on driving economic opportunity. In 2017, the New York City Economic Development Corporation selected UWS to manage the LifeSci NYC Internship Program, a paid summer internship program for undergraduate and graduate students interested in pursuing careers in the life sciences. UWS has implemented two rounds of the program to date. UWS engaged a Capstone team to answer the following question: as the life sciences industry grows, how can NYC increase the number and diversity of local university students who receive opportunities through the internship program? The team conducted a review of best practices among life sciences hubs nationwide, a gap analysis, and an analysis of intern traits predictive of internship placements. In its final report, the team summarized its literature review findings and synthesized several recommendations for improving the internship program and increasing the number and diversity of placed applicants.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) protects and promotes the health of eight million New Yorkers through evidence-based programs and services. The work of the Early Childhood Health and Development Unit includes programs, policies, resources, and research to support the holistic and equitable physical, cognitive, and social emotional growth and development of young children throughout New York City. The unit furthers these aims through its Parents Connect program, which entails a series of neighborhood-based, facilitated discussions that provide an opportunity for parents and caregivers to connect and learn about early childhood health and development programs, information, and resources. DOHMH engaged a Capstone team to evaluate the programmatic impacts of Parents Connect. The team surveyed program participants to identify successes, challenges, and areas for improvement; coded and analyzed the survey data; and conducted a related literature review. The team included its findings and recommendations in a program evaluation report that it presented to DOHMH leadership.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) supports Kings County Hospital in delivering its nationally-recognized, hospital-based violence intervention program called Cure Violence. The program is an evidence-based, anti-violence program that uses a public health approach to reduce violent injury among high-risk youth and aims to change social norms that reinforce violence. DOHMH engaged a Capstone team to prepare a cost-effective analysis and investigate reimbursement opportunities for the program. To evaluate the sustainability of the program, the team conducted a literature review, performed data analysis, and assessed direct and indirect costs of violence. The team provided comparative research on similar programs in other states to assess the cost-effectiveness of the program. Based on its findings, the team compiled a final comprehensive report containing recommendations for reimbursement opportunities and a drafted policy proposal.

The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation (WHGF) empowers the lives of young people from underserved communities by improving physical and emotional health through the sport of gymnastics. The Capstone team worked with WHGF to develop a performance measurement and management (PMM) system to equip the organization with an effective tool that captures key metrics of program quality. The team conducted an environmental scan—encompassing WHGF’s peers, key attributes of the NYC gymnastics industry, and funder requirements—along with a literature review of prominent research related to gymnastics and gymnastics organizations. Based on its research findings, the team developed a set of indicators and data collection tools and provided the client with a comprehensive PMM system. The system measures four primary outcomes—emotional health, leadership, physical health, and strong communities—and incorporates practices at peer organizations with customized structures and tools to suit the capacity of WHGF, setting the organization up for success in its implementation.