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Oxford Global Handbook Series
Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley
Handbooks: Approved
Public Administration for Social Policy: Promising Practices and Emerging Challenges Karen Baehler, American University, ed. (approved in 2017)
Social Program Design and Implementation Evaluation Anu Rangarajan, Mathematica Policy Research; and Diane Paulsell, Mathematica Policy Research; eds. (approved in 2017)
Family Policy: A Life-Course Perspective Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley; Emiko Ochiai, Kyoto University; Birgit Pfau-Effinger, University of Hamburg; and Douglas Besharov, University of Maryland; eds. (approved in 2018)
Child Protection Systems Jill Berrick, University of California, Berkeley; Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley; and Marit Skivenes, University of Bergen; eds. (approved in 2018)
Handbooks: To be Reviewed International Handbook of Education: A Policy Research Approach Paola Mattei, University of Milan; Xavier Dumay, University of Louvain; and Antonina Santalova, University of Oxford; eds. |
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Conferences/Policy Seminars (Academic/research activities in which more than two members participate or the Network is identified as a cosponsor) Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley
European Center for Research, Policies, and Action for Minors and Migration and the ‘International Journal of Child Welfare Policy’ (Melilla, April 2018) Network members Sagrario Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo and Marit Skivenes established the European Center for Research, Policies, and Action for Minors and Migration in December 2017. In April 2018, they held the third annual seminar on research, policies, and actions for migrant minors in Melilla, Europe, and Spain. Network members Neil Gilbert and Mark H. Lopez also participated in the seminar. In addition, Sagrario Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo and Neil Gilbert are launching a new journal titled The International Journal of Child Welfare Services. It is proposed that INSP members serve as the international editorial advisory board.
Rigorous Impact Evaluation in Europe (Torino, May 20-22)
This conference honored Alberto Martini and was cosponsored by Evaluation Review, the Collegio Carlo Alberto, the University of Maryland, and the Network. The conference included keynote talks by prominent researchers and policy-makers, including Daniele Bondonio, Università del Piemonte Orientale; Senator Laura Bottici, Italian Senate; Eric Hanushek, Stanford University; Alberto Martini, Università del Piemonte Orientale; Rebecca Maynard, University of Pennsylvania; Stefano Scarpetta, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development; and Jeffrey Smith, University of Wisconsin.
In addition, twenty-six papers were presented in ten panels on the following topics: cross-national generalizability in impact evaluation, economic growth/development, employment protection and contracts, elementary/primary education, issues and approaches to conducting rigorous impact evaluation, refugee and migrant policies, secondary and post-secondary education, systematic reviews, welfare policies and employment, and workforce development. In total, about fifty people attended the conference.
A special issue of Evaluation Review that contains some of the papers will be published in the future.
UNED Social Policy Seminar on "Social Policies and the Welfare State" (Malaga, May 2018)
Under the leadership of Antonio Lopez, the “IV International Seminar on Social Policies and the Welfare State” was held at the University of Malaga, Spain, May 23-25, 2018. Participants included Pablo Alvarez, ISCTE-IUL; Jill Berrick,
University of California, Berkeley; Joaquin Castillo de Mesa, University of Málaga; Sofia Dedotsi, University of Northumbria; Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley; Ana López Narbona, University of Málaga; Chaime Marcuello Servos, University of Zaragoza; and Joseph Roscoe, University of California, Berkeley.
Family Sensitive Social Protection Consultation Meeting (Doha, June 2018)
Seven members of the Network (Douglas Besharov, University of Maryland; Timo Fleckenstein, London School of Economics; Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley; Antonio Lopez, UNED, Traute Meyer, University of Southampton; Jacqueline O'Reilly, University of Sussex; and Marit Skivenes, University of Bergen) attended a two-day expert meeting of international scholars convened to review Neil Gilbert’s report on Family Sensitive Social Protection. This meeting, held in Doha on June 26-27, was co-sponsored by the Qatar Foundation’s Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA). Plans to follow-up this meeting with future symposiums co-sponsored with DIFI are currently under discussion. During this time in Doha, the Network members along with Dr. Anis Brik of DIFI also meet with members of the Brookings Institute of Qatar.
Helping Low-Skilled Americans Find Work: Using Comparative Effectiveness Performance Monitoring to Strengthen the Capacity of Public Employment Agencies (Austrian Embassy, Washington, D.C., November 2018)
In the US, the University of Maryland is working with the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research on a project that seeks to develop, test, and disseminate an enhanced approach to performance monitoring that (1) better assesses program functioning, (2) provides the tools to learn from high- and low-performers, and (3) encourages the adoption of the most promising practices. We received funding for the project in February and the project is now in its initial stage of developing the initial data collection and analysis plan.
On the Austrian side, researchers at WIFO hope to conduct a parallel project in Austria, with the possibility of expanding the project to other countries in Europe.
On November 13, 2018, UMD and WIFO will jointly convene a briefing on the subject at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, DC.
From the Austrian side, we hope that Beate Hartinger-Klein, Austrian Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, Health, and Consumer protection will open the meeting. Confirmed participants include Christoph Badelt, director of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research; Georg Fischer, the recently retired director of the Analysis, Evaluation, and External Relations division of the European Commission; Johannes Kopf, director general of the Austrian Public Employment Service; and Helmut Mahringer, research analyst at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research.
From the American side, we hope that Alexander Acosta, US Secretary of Labor, will also give a welcome. Confirmed participants include senior staff from the US House and Senate; Burt Barnow, George Washington University; Randall Eberts, Upjohn Institute; Jacob Klerman, Abt Associates and Evaluation Review; LaDonna Pavetti, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; and Jeffrey Smith, University of Wisconsin.
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International Teaching Douglas Besharov, University of Maryland
Sorbonne/OECD/UMD on “Understanding and Synthesizing Evidence-Based Research” (Paris, Summer 2018)
In summer 2017, Douglas Besharov and Douglas Call taught a three-week course in Paris titled “Comparative Policy Analysis and Practical Program Evaluation.” Other guest faculty were Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley; Jacob Klerman, Abt Associates, David Myers, American Institutes of Research; Anu Rangarajan, Mathematica Policy Research; Stefano Scarpetta, OECD; and David Seidenfeld, American Institutes of Research.
The course was held at the Pantheon-Sorbonne campus. Students selected a topic of their choosing for which to prepare a policy analysis. We attempted to match students with policy analysts from the OECD who could give them guidance on their policy analyses. Unfortunately, many of the students selected narrow topics that were US-focused which made it difficult for OECD analysts to provide much guidance.
For our 2018 summer course in Paris, we made three major changes from the previous year:
(1) The biggest change was that we enlisted “clients” to submit proposals of research reviews on topics of the clients’ choosing. Clients included five offices at the OECD, the Agence Francaise de Developpement, UNESCO, the Institut National d’Etudes Démographiques, and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement. Students were matched to clients before traveling to Paris and met with their clients in-person during the two weeks they were in Paris.
(2) We narrowed the topic of the course to focus on systematic reviews and research reviews. In 2017, the topic of the course was policy analysis and program evaluation.
Subtopics for the course included problem specification, inclusion/exclusion criteria, developing a search strategy, evidence gap maps, assessment of the quality of research, and methods of synthesis.
(3) We changed the dates that students were in Paris from the first three weeks in July to the first two weeks in June.
As with last year’s course, the length of the course was not strictly limited to the days in Paris. In the beginning of May, students were sent a list of potential projects and selected the projects they were most interested in. Students were then expected to reach out to their clients to identify the scope of their projects. In mid-May, we held an online pre-departure orientation that included assigned readings to the students on the different forms of cross-study analyses and literature reviews.
Course instruction took place in Paris from June 3–June 14, meeting for about three-and-a-half hours every day. Students used their afternoons to meet with clients and prepare assignments. On the final day in Paris, students presented detailed research plans to their clients. The students’ final assignments (research reviews) are due at the end of August, about two-and-a-half months after leaving Paris.
Successful students received three master’s level credits from UMD. (Tuition was approximately $3,700, not including transportation to Paris .)
In general, we found that this was a successful model. All of the clients were enthusiastic about working with the students and every student was able to meet with their clients at least once while in Paris, many for multiple times either in person or by Skype.
It is possible, however, that the narrowness of the topic or the title of the course depressed student interest. (Only nine students enrolled in the course.) For a future summer course, one possible title for the course could be Applied Policy Analysis: Research Reviews and Program Evaluation—with an option for students to prepare research reviews, policy analyses, or similar products, again with topics selected by clients.
In addition, one possibility to increase enrollment is to encourage INSP members to participate as guest faculty, with the course paying the expenses for the faculty
member if a specified number of students from their university enroll in the course.
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