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Institute Intelligence

Insights, case studies, news, and updates from ISLG’s good governance research and action.


Insights Carla Sinclair Insights Carla Sinclair

Amid an uncertain economy, human services lead job growth—but wages threaten the sector’s long-term strength. Data shows us the way forward. 

Summer job reports show that human services and state and local government are among the fastest-hiring sectors. But many of these jobs lag behind in wage growth. Our analysis of New York State charts a path for policymakers and other leaders to create a pipeline of quality, sustainable public services.

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Insights, Project Updates Carla Sinclair Insights, Project Updates Carla Sinclair

Rethinking RFPs and Grant Management for Real Impact

The Request-for-Proposal (RFP) and other parts of grantmaking often leave out smaller, grassroots community organizations who are closest to those they serve. Using our Community-Based Restorative Justice Program and Grassroots Policy Incubator as examples, we dig into ways that funders and grant managers can create a more inclusive process that uplifts new ideas without sacrificing program quality and accountability.

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Insights Carla Sinclair Insights Carla Sinclair

10 Years into the Safety and Justice Challenge, Data Continues to Show No Link between Jail Population Reductions and Violent Crime

For the fourth year in a row, an analysis of individual-level jail data and county-level crime trends assessing the relationship between pretrial release and crime affirms past findings: violent crime and the rate that people returned to jail after release have remained the same before and after reforms were implemented. 

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Insights Carla Sinclair Insights Carla Sinclair

Women in Jails: What the Numbers Show, and Don’t Show

Factors leading to rising rates of incarcerated women are not well-understood or researched. Recognizing the differences in pathways that lead women and survivors of violence to jail are crucial to developing more gender-responsive, equitable, and effective criminal justice policies focused on reducing jail populations.

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