Engaged Research
Constructing a Campaign- Fighting for a Living Wage
Madeline Janis, co-founder and national policy director of Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, discusses how constructing a campaign (and essentially telling your story) can change both policy and lives.
Research in Action.
Research oftentimes drives campaigns, policity intitiatives, and our collective understanding of challenges experienced. Below are research projects initiated by various organizations, explore the ways in which information is organized, presented, and the methodologies utilized.
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
LAANE is an established organization that seeks to reduce poverty and improve the health care and enviorment of the Los Angeles community. Utilizing social justice as a means to collaborate accross organizations, LAANE's research has facilitated a broader understanding of challenges experienced and explored the ways in which issues can be resolved. Below are sample research projects that have had profound impact for the Los Angeles community.
Poverty, Jobs and the Los Angeles Economy: An Analysis of U.S. Census Data and the Challenges Facing Our Region (2008)
This report finds that despite small gains in income in 2006, L.A.’s economy was still failing to provide adequately for millions of residents.
Examining the Evidence: The Impact of the Los Angeles Living Wage Ordinance on Workers and Businesses (2005)
Written in collaboration with University of California economists, this study examines the impact of the living wage law. The study concludes that the living wage law has raised wages for 10,000 jobs while causing little job loss. It also finds that the law has not prompted businesses to set up health plans for its workers. The report’s findings are based on three original random-sample surveys of workers and firms.
Healthy City
Healthy City provides data and mapping tools to help you build a better community. The Healthy City team also partners directly with organizations to develop research strategies and web tools that fuel social change.
Information + Action- Research that Impacts
Healthy City is an information + action resource that unites community voices, rigorous research and technology to solve the root causes of social inequity. Healthy City provides the public sector with actionable information such as data and maps through their online platform.
A Short Guide to Community Based Participatory Action Research (2011)
This guide is demonstrative of the way in which Healthy City conceptualizes the CBPAR framework and illustrative of the organization's mission and purpose. CBPAR democratizes how research is conducted in communities and guides the research methods for Healthy City.
Community Research Toolkit (2011)
This guide is an instructional toolkit developed by Healthy City to understand and implement community research. The guide helps community researchers create research questions and conceptualize, gather, and use data, with tips for analysis, visualization, and methods.
DataCenter: Research for Justice
DataCenter is a research firm that is committed to working with communities, briding cultural, language and information gaps. Specifically, the DataCenter implements grassroots research training programs, supports community partnerships, and engages the community.
Using Community Mapping for Power
The DataCenter provides a mapping training for the community. The video demonstrates how organizations can use mapping as a tool to understand their respective power and challenges experienced.
Voces del Canal: A Campus and Community Partnership (2013)
DataCenter led a dedicated team of 13 resident leaders in training workshops so the residents could design and implement their own community survey project. Together, they conducted a total of 678 survey interviews documenting the residents’ personal stories, opinions, and visions for a healthier community.
Next Stop Justice: Race and Environment at the Center of Transit Planning (2012)
This report examines public transit in San Francisco from the perspective of working-class and low-income residents. The report combines census data and 727 survey responses to better understand how prices influence transit services.
Poverty in America: The Living Wage Calculator
In many American communities, families working in low-wage jobs make insufficient income to live locally given the local cost of living. Recently, in a number of high-cost communities, community organizers and citizens have successfully argued that the prevailing wage offered by the public sector and key businesses should reflect a wage rate required to meet minimum standards of living. Dr. Amy K. Glasmeier developed a living wage calculator to estimate the cost of living in your community or region. The calculator lists typical expenses, the living wage and typical wages for the selected location.