Patty Simonton

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy talks about the need for a "whole-of-society approach" to advancing social connection. We've tried to heed that call in our work at Einhorn Collaborative, supporting a broader range of efforts that engage actors across sectors. That includes: Projects like Team Up to enlist large national civic organizations with a presence in local communities to help people build connection across difference through service. Research groups like Building H to measure the impact of products on consumers’ health and urge companies to do better to improve social connection and other health outcomes. Initiatives like Human Connections AI to bring together social connection experts with technologists to puzzle through how AI companions can be designed to enhance and not degrade human relationships. Another project that has helped us explore a facet of the whole-of-society approach is the Connective Tissue Framework, which puts forward a range of recommendations for how government – especially at the local level – can create the structural conditions and everyday opportunities for people to experience healthy connection. I've learned a lot from Sam Pressler, lead author of Connective Tissue. In this piece, I asked Sam to share more about the story behind the framework and a few highlights. https://lnkd.in/esayJU3b

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#Eval24 is 1 week away! Will you be there? In this month's newsletter we make it easy for you to see where the Social Finance TIG will be and when, and how to stay connected while you're at the conference. #AEASFTIG

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Kudos to Ben Gose & The Chronicle of Philanthropy for shining a light on the opportunity for philanthropy to improve its track record in rural America. It's good to see a serious amount of ink coupled with nuance and care on this subject. As mentioned in the article, my research has found more than $465B of opportunity for rural America in #IIJA, #CHIPs, & #IRA, but rural communities - esp the poorest - will struggle to access it. What a chance for foundations! And for those foundations focused on racial equity...rural is where the dual burden of place & race manifests most strongly. If you have a racial equity agenda, you should also have a rural agenda. So glad to see well-deserved credit given to Katrina Badger, MPH, MSW & RWJF, which is truly this era's rural philanthropic leader among national foundations, as well as other philanthropic entrepreneurs such as Ann Lichter & Resource Rural; Heidi Binko & Just Transition Fund; and Charlie Brown & Trust for Civic Life. And the article mentions place-based foundations such as BLACK BELT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, LOR Foundation & Ford Family Foundation that are at the cutting edge of this work. The article also references the incredible work of practitioners such as Jim King of Fahe, Kimber Lanning of Local First Arizona, CEI (Coastal Enterprises, Inc.) (tune into the next #ReimagineRural episode for more on them ;-), Partners for Rural Transformation, and too many others to mention. It's a great introduction that demonstrates just what good investments are available for foundations that take an interest - the opportunity for impact is huge. The data has been consistent for decades, and forthcoming research will again reinforce it: rural America receives a disproportionately low share of philanthropic resources, which is especially distressing given rural places dominate the map of the nation's most deeply disadvantaged places. It's high time we changed that. #RuralMatters #RuralPhilanthropy #RuralEquity

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If you’re curious how market consolidation and structural racism impact food access, or simply interested in data visualization, this fascinating new tool from Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) and the UChicago Data Science Institute Open Spatial Lab is for you. With support from RWJF, RAFI and the Open Spatial Lab developed the Grocery Gap Atlas, which visualizes a number of intersecting datasets: food access, measured as access to grocery stores; corporate concentration of the grocery industry; and residential segregation. Seeing how corporate and systemic factors map onto inequities in food access is so valuable for advocates and decisionmakers—and making this data available to all is vital to combating food injustice across the country.     https://lnkd.in/g6TJxE7V

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This article offers some hope. I would like to be part of one of these groups with linkages or chapters in North Carolina. https://lnkd.in/edBScSVZ

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A must read for those looking at transformative and systemic changes: "Patient, flexible leadership and funding will be needed for the field of community development finance to evolve from the principles of market, scale, and self-sufficiency and fulfill its promise of increasing equity and opportunity in historically disadvantaged communities. Philanthropy will be essential for this move, but so will public and private developers, other public- and private-sector partners, and, most important, the empowered community residents and organizations who will be in the driver’s seat."

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This is a big deal. For a very long time, many service designers in government have been told that user research, particularly usability testing, required review under the Paperwork Reduction Act. This was never really true, exactly, but because it has been unclear to agency PRA officers and others, it has meant that teams in government often don't test forms and websites to understand how their users experience them because the process to get clearance to do so would take too long. So they don't things like: Do users understand the questions? Do they have the data or documentation they're being asked for? Which questions should go first, and which later? Does this question even need to be asked at all, or right now? How can government service designers make this easier on the public and businesses? But now OIRA has issued guidance making it clear that usability testing does not need review by their office. The guidance is written plain language and uses clear examples. Service designers need to download this guidance and have it handy. This should clear up any confusion with their agency PRA officers. It will save enormous amounts of time and result in less burdensome, easier to use government forms and websites. The best part about this, IMHO, is that OIRA further clarifies that when government staff learn something through this testing and research, they should simply act on it. Read it for yourself: *** Part II: Incorporating Improvements Based on Usability Testing Usability testing is designed to identify issues with—and potential improvements to— new or existing paper or digital forms, websites, or services. When standing up a new program, form, or online system, agencies can incorporate any pre-launch usability feedback during its creation and initial PRA approval. If feedback about an existing paper or digital form identifies potential improvements, OIRA encourages agencies to quickly incorporate those changes. If left unaddressed, these issues can significantly decrease the usefulness of the product, unnecessarily burdening the public or the agency. *** Hats off to the teams at OIRA and USDS who made this happen. Particular shout outs to Sam Berger, whose deep concern about this issue and championship of it has been evident for over a year, and to Natalie Moore, a genius of usability testing. I know that there are many more who made this happen who I don't personally know, and Natalie thanks Rita Young, Michael McManus, and Laura Chang. Also, thank you to Ezra Klein for asking me about this when I did his show over a year ago. It was the last thing I thought a podcast host would pick up on, just a few paragraphs in my book, but that episode helped spark some very meaningful conversations.

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Digital discrimination is a systemic problem, largely impacting low-income communities & communities of color across California (and the nation). Our movement must be louder & stronger than the big internet service providers who benefit from the status quo. Stand with us as we call for a ban on digital discrimination in California: https://lnkd.in/gfX5yrGU #DigitalEquityNOW #AB2239  

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Join me, MOFP Executive Director Kate MacKenzie & fantastic pioneers on food, climate, and regional policy for a live event during #ClimateWeekNYC We'll talk about how cities are utilizing their purchasing power to align with climate and sustainability goals and the importance of regional colaboration. Three panels with government officials, development organizations, advocates, and researchers doing pioneering work. Sign up now: https://lnkd.in/gZJn8sie Date: September 24, 2024 Sessions: ⭕ “Think Locally, Act Regionally”: NYC’s Regional Approach to Local Food Policy This panel will spotlight how New York City and State are strategically collaborating with regional partners to support a sustainable, healthful, and resilient food system. Moderator: Michael Hurwitz, CFP Project Speakers: Michelle Hinchey, NY State Senate, Kate MacKenzie, NYC Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, Rohit Aggarwala (NYC Dept of Environmental Protection and NYC's Chief Climate Officer), @LaurenWilliams, NYS Dept of Agriculture and Markets ⭕ “The Research-Policy Integration / Feedback Loop” The goals of this session are to: 1) Understand ways in which researchers and decision makers can work together more effectively; 2) Improve coordination across researchers and disciplines to support NYC’s food policy-making; and 3) Discuss what we know about the ability of food policies to meet NYC’s climate goals and where gaps remain. Moderator: Milagros de Hoz, NYC Mayor’s office Speakers: Becca Jablonski, Cornell University, Jessica Fanzo, Columbia University’s Climate School, Craig Willingham, City University of New York, Elsie Moore, Cornell University ⭕ Understanding the Role of City Food Policy at a Global Level How can lessons from regional success be translated across continents? What are unique assets in different parts of the world that can inform and benefit other cities and regions? While every region has different priorities, this panel will bring together learnings, challenges, and principles for success from representatives across Africa, the United States, Europe, and Latin America. Keynote speaker and moderator: Corinna Hawkes, FAO Speakers: Leticia Campos Bardi, State of Bahia, Brazil, Betina Bergmann Madsen Madsen, City of Copenhagen, Denmark, Luana F. Joppert Swensson Swensson FAO, Wawira Njiru, Food4Education Co-hosted by The City Food Policy Project, The Rockefeller Foundation Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, NYC Office of the Mayor RTI International Colorado State University, Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming, and Cornell Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management.

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We can't say enough how important democracy work is to climate progress. In a piece for Inside Philanthropy this week, foundation leaders Cathy Cha and Ralph Lewin remind us that "the strength of democracy — whether at the local, state or national level — has huge impacts on the ability of all funders and our nonprofit partners to deliver results on any issue and for any community." We see the impact of lack of representation across the South, from city councils and state regulatory agencies that greenlight polluting industry at the expense of residents' health, to a rash of state-level voter suppression and anti-protest laws that make it ever harder for Black, Brown, and Indigenous people to be heard. Supporting fair elections, accessible public processes, and engaged and energized voters needs to be all of our business. https://lnkd.in/g-vPep6r

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Public services are so often set up to fail. But there are 3 straightforward shifts in public spending the government could implement which could help create the conditions for more effective, person-centred services. Huge thanks to Jessica Studdert and New Local for inviting me to share my thoughts on this important subject. #PublicSpending #PublicSectorReform #LocalGovernment #productivity

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"Key to Listen, Listen, Act is an aphorism we refer to frequently at TPF: 'don’t arrive with the answer.' When working on a challenge, it’s imperative not to show up to a community, project, or meeting already certain about the solution. While it’s important to honor your own experience and be prepared, it’s more crucial to show up curious and allow the contributions of others to inform the process for a stronger outcome." Read my latest blog for The Patterson Foundation where I connect TPF's philosophy of not arriving with the answer with Tulsa Changemakers' Listen, Listen, Act program. Debra Jacobs Wendy Thomas Marcia Bruno-Todd, MPA Jake Lerner Hannah Jarman Lydia Jeong Abbey Doyle

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A lot is happening next week, and I've been struggling with how to make sense of it in my work. So I wrote this exploration of what the Harris-Walz Opportunity Economy plan might mean for cities and climate. The short of it is that there is a ton of overlap between the Harris-Walz housing proposals and what cities are fighting to accomplish on climate change. In any election scenario, there are still a lot to be determined - and a lot from this plan that can inform cities' thinking moving forward. I hope this post can serve as an informal research agenda - maybe it's a how do we push the Opportunity Economy plan to its maximum potential, or maybe we have to figure out what we can take forward even with out it. Either way, writing this has helped me prepare for what's to come, and I welcome thoughts and feedback as we head into the election and beyond. https://lnkd.in/gDiSXDGP

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The ongoing discussions surrounding homelessness, catalyzed by recent Supreme Court arguments, underscore the urgent need for informed action. Gain deeper insights into this issue by examining the 2023 Point-in-Time (PIT) count numbers. Understanding these statistics is pivotal in crafting effective solutions to combat homelessness nationwide.  Read Francis G. Torres’ key takeaways: https://lnkd.in/eXq2UZgK  #homelessness 

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Sounds like an amazing #vacancy to work on the intersection of systemic #riskassessment and #nature. I love their explicit wording: "ASRA is founded on a set of principles including non-human sanctity. Incorporating nature into #riskanalysis is not merely a matter of #environmental #stewardship or human self-preservation. #Naturecentric approaches attribute intrinsic value to all living organisms and ecosystems, independent of their utility to humans. This perspective recognizes the #interconnectedness of all life forms and the importance of preserving the integrity and health of other #species and #ecosystems for their own sake, and not just as a resource for humans. This approach involves evaluating the impacts of human activities on #biodiversity, #habitat #connectivity, and #ecological #processes."

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As written up in POLITICO's Massachusetts Playbook by Kelly Garrity today, we have compiled a database of lobbying data for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You can read it in full and access the data below. Some highlights: - There are a lot of lobbyists in the state. For every legislator, there are about 8 registered lobbyists. - Most of them are paid as lobbyists full-time - the median earnings are only $16,160. - Those who are full-time lobbyists can do very well for themselves. Some earned more than half a million dollars in 2023. - It raises significant questions about how long we can keep talented people in elected office or staff positions when they could earn much more lobbying. There are 75 people who earn more from lobbying contracts than the salaries from every elected official in the state. How long can we expect talented people to stay in a tough job, with perhaps a difficult commute, when every day they see people walking around the State House who used to be in their shoes and are now in a higher tax bracket? https://lnkd.in/e4-2U4mV

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