Browsing by Author "McCorkle, Pope"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Open Access
Best Practices for Modernizing Integrated Public Benefits Applications
(2023-04-19) Holtzman, Rachel
Many state agencies around the country are trying to modernize applications for public benefits programs in their state. This work often involves developing an integrated application for two or more public benefits, and then engineering an online portal on which to host the integrated application. Because most state agencies lack the technological expertise to do this work in-house, they hire third party vendors and consulting firms to help. This report thus seeks to answer the question: What can be learned about best practices for equitable applications, from states that have modernized their remote integrated benefits applications for Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and/or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs since the Affordable Care Act? To answer this question, the researcher conducted 24 interviews with Subject Matter Experts involved in designing, building, launching, administering, and/or researching integrated benefits applications. Findings include best practices for the processes of hiring, building, launching, and conducting outreach related to integrated benefits applications. States must also ensure that the benefits applications are human-centered, meaning that the features and capabilities of the application facilitate equitable access and successful enrollment by applicants with diverse backgrounds, identities, and needs.
Open Access
Case Studies for the Research Triangle Foundation’s Global Convergence Center
(2014-04-18) Khaled, Tyseer
As the Research Triangle Foundation proceeds to implement its 2011 Master Plan for the Research Triangle Park (RTP), the Global Convergence Center will likely play an important role as a centerpiece and symbol for the park. The Foundation envisions the Convergence Center as a campus for cutting-edge, collaborative research that serves as a common ground where Triangle university researchers can work together. In addition to building RTP’s reputation as a premier research hub in both the United States and the world, the Convergence Center could contribute to local economic development by leading to entrepreneurial spin-offs from the research conducted at the center. This paper seeks to help answer what the Research Triangle Foundation can do to develop a center that is cutting-edge, collaborative, and draws on local talent. We explore three case studies: the MIT Media Lab, multi-university teams, and RTI International. The MIT Media Lab serves as an example of cutting-edge research. The study of multi-university teams provides insight on effective collaboration, and RTI International serves as an example of how an organization attracted local talent. These case studies point to some best practices that may guide the Foundation’s design of the Convergence Center. Best Practices: 1. Select a leader for the Convergence Center that has deep relationships with the Triangle universities and has worked across academia and industry. 2. Develop a unifying vision for research that the Convergence Center will host. 3. Ensure researchers and administrators have ample opportunity to develop relationships with industry. 4. Reduce faculty concern about working with industry by creating processes that match faculty interests with market or industry needs. 5. Reduce and eliminate the organizational boundaries that researchers must work across. 6. Recruit diverse teams from uncommonly grouped areas of research. 7. Recruit prestigious researchers and leverage their reputation to attract more talent and research dollars. 8. Ensure that the Global Convergence Center offers a unique research opportunity that cannot be found at local universities.
Open Access
From the Graveyard of Empires to the Queen City: Exploring the Status of Resettled Afghans in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Efficacy of Volunteer Partnership
(2024-04-30) Schwartzbauer, Nathan
This Master's Project attempts to better illuminate the status of resettled Afghans in Charlotte, North Carolina as of 2024. The project explores the perceptions of Afghan households about their resettlement, the assistance available, and their involvement with groups of local churches and other volunteers. The author created a survey that local Charlotte Afghan interpreters administered to 31 resettled Afghan respondents. Many of the survey questions mirrored those from a 2023 national survey of resettled Afghans from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in the Administration for Children and Families (part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). The Master's Project survey innovates beyond ORR questions to provide more information about the status of Charlotte Afghans specifically. The paper provides some contrast with previous resettlement experiences in the United States and North Carolina – specifically, the Vietnamese, Montagnards, and Iraqis. The author proposes areas of enhanced focus for Charlotte volunteers, nonprofits, resettlement agencies, and local policymakers working with resettled Afghans. The paper highlights the specific focus areas of immigration status adjustment, childcare access, and addressing ethnic disparities within the Afghan community itself. The project also emphasizes the importance of sustaining local volunteer partnerships at the most immediate level towards approaching problem-solving with resettled Afghan families – which is characterized as “subsidiarity” in the paper. The author suggests that larger resettlement organizations and support resources should only assist with tasks that cannot be met by local volunteer partners. The paper proposes future areas of exploration potential, especially in consideration of longer-term partnerships lasting longer than three months. The work does not claim to be definitive in providing a single set of solutions to helping resettled Afghans. Rather, the work seeks to contribute useful knowledge by creating more awareness among policymakers and community stakeholders in Charlotte, along with any other interested parties in North Carolina and beyond.
Open Access
Reaching Gender Parity in North Carolina: Best Practices for Female Political Candidate Recruitment
(2015-05-03) Estes, Rachael
Women make up over 50 percent of North Carolina's population; however, women occupy less than 25 percent of the seats in the NC State Legislature. Through a series of interviews and extensive research, this study aims to uncover the barriers to reaching gender parity in elected office in North Carolina and to identify the most effective strategies for targeting and recruiting women to run for public office in North Carolina.
Open Access
The Obama Model For Transparent Government: Lessons Learned for State Executives
(2012-05-01) Gilbert, James
By almost every conceivable measure, Americans today are less positive and more critical of government. Majorities or pluralities of all demographic groups report high levels of distrust towards government and believe the federal government needs very major reform. A growing amount of literature indicates that transparency can improve governmental decision-making. Participation can also have other important effects on customer satisfaction. Research indicates that use of the Internet to transact with government has a positive impact on citizen trust as well as public perceptions of government responsiveness. Yet skeptics suggest closer examination of the concept and its application is needed. The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States became associated with the effective use of Internet technologies during his campaign. Then at the beginning of his new administration, President Obama declared that he would work to ensure the public trust and establish a new system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. This paper compares the promises and performance of the Obama Administration to develop a set of recommendations that Common Cause North Carolina can provide to governors and state cabinet officials on transparency initiatives throughout state executive branch agencies. This research follows a review procedure combining evidence from quantitative and qualitative studies. This paper reviews the government transparency initiatives launched by the Obama Administration that resulted from his two Memoranda on Open Government as well as the recent actions federal agencies have undertaken to make public information more accessible in response to the administration’s Freedom of Information Act Memorandum. This paper also reviews the delivery models and paths for success proposed by scholars as well as other observers and incorporates their views in developing a list of ‘lessons learned’ for states. I recommend that Common Cause propose to state executives the following: 1) States should leverage existing federal infrastructure and national priorities as well as further cultivate state-federal relationships to foster transparency efforts; 2) States should provide data in frameworks that are both useful and citizen-friendly in addition to providing the corresponding underlying data; 3) States should develop new performance and outcome measurement methods to gauge the success of transparency policy initiatives; and 4) States executives should be careful not to overpromise on the outcomes of transparency initiatives.
Open Access
Victims of Military Sexual Assault and Access to Interlocutory Appeals: The Need to Go Beyond the Ordinary Review Standard for Writs of Mandamus
(2017-06-11) Lucero, Gabrielle
This project analyzes whether writs of mandamus filed by victims of sexual assault in the military justice system should be reviewed at the standard of an ordinary interlocutory appeal. The project conducts a policy analysis of the role of victims in the courts-martial process as well as the impact on defendants of expanded victim interlocutory appellate rights. At the end of the analysis, the author recommends that Article 6b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice should be amended in four ways. First, language should be added that requires military courts of appeals to apply ordinary standards of interlocutory appellate review for victim writs of mandamus. Second, the statute should include a time limit when the court must respond to a petition for a writ of mandamus. Third, the statute should require the judge to include a substantive opinion when issuing a decision on a petition for a writ of mandamus. Finally, the statute should explicitly give the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces jurisdiction to hear appeals regarding victim writs of mandamus.
Open Access
You Really Need to Open This. Using Behavioral Economic Nudges to Increase Property Tax Compliance
(2017-06-19) Gamble, Tyler
By utilizing low-cost, behavioral economic "nudges," we achieved a significant increase in the rate of on-time property tax payments in Guilford County, North Carolina. Using a large-scale randomized control trial, we were able to demonstrate that a short, handwritten note - combined with minor alterations to a county-issued "reminder letter" - increased the likelihood that single property owners made a full or partial tax payment by 35.6%. In isolation, the small alterations to the reminder letter increased the likelihood of full or partial payment by 12.4%. All told, our interventions saved the county of Guilford around $70,000 in collection costs.