Researcher-Policymaker Collaboration in COVID-19: Lessons Learned from Boston’s Summer Jobs Program

Webinar Materials:

• Slideshow Presentation
• Event Summary/Blog
• Panelist Biographies

Partner Websites:

• William T. Grant Foundation
• Dukakis Center for Urban Research & Policy
• Office of Economic Development, City Of Boston

Partner Resources:

• Saving Summer Jobs: How Can Summer Youth Employment Programs Improve Youth Outcomes during COVID-19
  • Policy Brief (short)
  • Full Publication
• OP-EDs:
  • Why It’s So Important that Cities Run Summer Youth Employment, Even During a Pandemic by Alicia Sasser Modestino
  • Mayor de Blasio, Bring Back Summer Jobs by Sara Heller and Judd Kessler
• Press Release: Funding Bolstered for Youth Summer Jobs Program
• News Coverage:
  • City boosts summer jobs program by $4.1m, with precautions in place (Boston Globe)
  • Youth summer jobs go virtual (Bloomberg Cities)
• Podcast: The Impact and Promise of Summer Jobs in the United States (J-PAL Voices)
• Video: When the Pandemic Put Summer Jobs at Risk in Boston, Northeastern Stepped in to Help

Overview:

How can research inform policy in the midst of a crisis? This past Spring, a collaborative relationship between Professor Alicia Modestino and the Boston Mayor’s office saved and then expanded Boston’s summer jobs program in the midst of the biggest pandemic in a century. This webinar shared the lessons learned from that story.

Following framing remarks from Vivian Tseng, William T. Grant Foundation, on the importance of research-policy partnerships, Alicia Modestino, Northeastern University, and Midori Morikawa, Director of Business Strategy at the City of Boston discussed how they were able to rapidly deliver and use research to make the case for expanding the jobs program and redesigning it to be safe and enriching for young people during the pandemic. They also discussed strategies for developing a long-term, trusting researcher-policymaker relationship, including researcher responsiveness to policymaker needs, co-creation of research agendas, and accessible translation of research findings.

Panelists:

• Vivian Tseng, Senior Vice President of Program, William T. Grant Foundation
• Alicia Modestino, Associate Professor, Northeastern University
• Midori Morikawa, Director of Business Strategy at the City of Boston
• Moderator: Loretta Goodwin, Deputy Director, AYPF