A Critical Effort To Preserve Farmland |
To preserve the resilience of our agricultural economy and food system in a changing climate, there is a pressing need to expand the number of farms and farmland acres that are protected throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, not only through state programs but also by municipalities, non-profits and federal agencies. It is also critically important to ensure that farm businesses operating on protected farmland are viable and are provided with the greatest chance of success at producing food both in difficult economic times and in the face of climate change.
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The journey begins for justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Both inside and out of the institute. |
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This month, the Institute built on a process already started by several of its business groups to make our workplace to be more open, diverse, inclusive, equitable, supportive and, ultimately, more just.
The first and current phase is about making a shared commitment to this journey to all of our staff, over 150 people strong and spread across the U.S. This will be followed up by an institute self-assessment and resulting understanding of where the institute is on the journey; identifying the impact we want to have with this journey; developing a process to identify issues and opportunities; and finally to act, study, reflect and celebrate.
“This work is not a series of events or activities. It is a process. It is a collaborative journey to figure out together how we can become a more open, diverse, inclusive and supportive organization where everyone feels their contributions are wanted and valued,” said Donahue Institute Director Johan Uvin. “We are building upon the good public work we’ve been doing for 50 years.”
“The journey will be one we do together with discussion, reflection and participation. We will have course corrections as we go along. We will do this together.”
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Now registering for Spring 2022 leadership and new manager webinars! |
Become a more effective, self-aware, and confident leader, while developing action plans for both your personal leadership growth and leading change in your organization. Our online Leadership Excellence Certificate program combines a cutting-edge leadership development curriculum with a highly interactive online learning environment. Learn more about this leadership skills program. We are now pre-registering! Also, see the program's video link in this newsletter issue.
We are also offering a series of webinars for new managers. These learning modules are focused on core skills that any manager should master to be effective in engaging, developing and retaining talent, and driving the performance of their team members. Each webinar is designed to engage the participant and to stimulate dialogue so that new managers can also learn from their peers.
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Have the Massachusetts Casinos Affected Local Commercial Real Estate?
Before gaming was legalized in Massachusetts, gambling advocates and opponents both made predictions about the economic impact of casino operations in the host communities.
Was either side right?
The most recent report from SEIGMA, prepared by the institute's Economic & Public Policy Research group and covering the years 2010 to 2020, describes real estate conditions in the host and surrounding communities that are home to the Commonwealth’s three casinos: Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor.
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Spring 2022: Leadership Excellence Program (video) |
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Digital journalism in Pakistan is the focus of Shared Narratives
Democracies around the world are frequently exposed to disinformation, and Pakistan and the United States are no exceptions. By bringing journalists and digital media specialists from both countries together we are developing a shared understanding of the nature and scope of the issue and implementing educational and organizational strategies to combat falsehoods in the public sphere.
Our Civic Initiative group, in cooperation with the UMass Amherst Journalism Department, looks to increase the digital skills and business models of 30 young Pakistani journalists. The all-virtual 12-month program started in November and will feature topics such as storytelling, business models, ethics, developing information sources and more. The program started in November and runs through late 2022. Guest speakers include journalism practitioners from both countries.
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How we serve our clients through Applied Research & Program Evaluation
The Applied Research and Program Evaluation group (ARPE) provides research services and methodological and subject matter expertise to a broad client base.
ARPE staff has experience in early education and care, K-12 education, higher education, public health, human services, and economic and workforce development, uniquely positioning us to bring comprehensive resources and diverse perspectives to our projects.
They recently worked with the Massachusetts Community College Equity Consortium to conduct an inventory of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEi) policies and practices across the Commonwealth’s 15 community colleges. This work was funded through the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s Higher Education Incentive Fund. The inventory served as a mechanism to take what is often discussed as an abstract concept and turn it into something concrete to reflect on. A report on findings from the inventory was presented to the consortium in September 2021.
Additionally, ARPE staff are planning evaluations of two new federal grants awarded to our long-standing partners at BayState Health’s Family Advocacy Center (FAC). First, the FAC will launch the Child Advocacy Training and Support Center to support Child Advocacy Centers in increasing access to quality trauma-informed services for children and their families. The second award, the Building Resiliency in Young Children program, aims to improve access to and quality of trauma-informed services for children, prioritizing Latino children, who show early signs of or who have been diagnosed with mental illness due to adverse life experiences. We are proud of our ongoing role in supporting FAC in providing these critical services to children and families impacted by trauma.
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Mortgage Lending Trends in Massachusetts: The “Building Commonwealth” tool was designed by our Economic & Public Policy Research group to serve the Massachusetts Community and Banking Council membership and the public with accessible maps/dashboards and data illuminating Massachusetts mortgage (newly updated!) and small business lending trends.
Census 2020: County-level populations in Massachusetts: In terms of sheer population numbers, the largest gains in population since the 2010 Census were seen in Middlesex at 128,917 followed by Suffolk at 75,913 and Essex at 66,670. Only two Massachusetts counties, Franklin and Berkshire, lost population between Census 2010 and 2020, with a loss of 343 in Franklin and 2,193 in Berkshire.
The Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2021: The COVID-19 pandemic brought so many intense social, economic and public health challenges it is easy to think that the pandemic has “changed everything” with respect to housing. This year’s edition of the Greater Boston Housing Report Card suggests the opposite: The region’s most difficult long-term housing challenges are not only still with us but have been compounded by recent events, and bold federal, state and local policy changes are as badly needed as ever. Commissioned by The Boston Foundation and in partnership with the Mass Housing Partnership's Center for Housing Data
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Donahue Institute
UMass Amherst
100 Venture Way, Suite 9
Hadley, MA 01035
(413) 545-0001
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