Strategic Growth Area: Policy

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10919/79480

The Policy SGA is a dynamic hub with spokes, focused on undergraduate through doctoral education, research, and scholarship. The policy hub brings together teams of experts with different, but complementary specializations and comprehensive policy expertise in key areas. The spokes of the hub connect to and integrate this expertise within and across the destination areas to translate scholarship to practice through the complex decision-making processes of policy making, implementation, and evaluation.

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Addressing the Impact of Housing for Virginia’s Economy
Virginia Coalition of Housing and Economic Development Researchers (Governor’s Housing Conference, 2017-11)
In October 2014, Governor McAuliffe issued Executive Order (EO) 32, “Advancing Virginia’s Housing Policy,” to “identify and implement actions to enable quality, affordable housing, which will strengthen families and communities and foster economic growth.” The Housing Policy Advisory Council (HPAC) was thus established under the leadership of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to help guide the development and implementation of Virginia’s housing policy. A key directive of EO 32 was identifying the links between housing and economic and community development. To this end, the HPAC commissioned a study from a consortium of researchers at Virginia Tech, George Mason University, The College of William and Mary, and Virginia Commonwealth University, with the premise that successful housing policy must be based on independent analytic findings and best practices. The collaborative research of the four universities provides key information on the Commonwealth housing sector, focusing on the economic impact of housing, future scenarios impacting housing needs, and links between housing and other key policy sectors. This report summarizes the research conducted by the four universities and the implications for Virginia’s housing policy development. The report is designed to assist stakeholders and policymakers think more creatively and collaborate more intensely at the state, regional, and local levels as Virginia strives to build on the successes of the past and meet the pressing housing challenges facing the commonwealth. The entirety of the research is included in nine supplemental appendices listed below: Appendix Report 1: Economic Impacts Of Virginia’s Housing Industry Appendix Report 2: Housing The Commonwealth's Future Workforce 2014-2024 Appendix Report 3: Housing Affordability, Msa Gap Analyses Appendix Report 4: Housing And Transportation Appendix Report 5: Virginia Housing Production Affordability Findings Appendix Report 6: Housing And Economic Opportunity Appendix Report 7: Housing, Education, And Economic Development - Literature Appendix Report 8: Housing, Health, And Economic Development - Literature Appendix Report 9: The Future Of Housing In Virginia
Biopolitical and Disciplinary Peacebuilding: Sport, Reforming Bodies and Rebuilding Societies
Zanotti, Laura; Stephenson, Max O. Jr.; Schnitzer, Marcy H. (Taylor & Francis, 2015-03-25)
The peacebuilding political rationality established in the first years of the current century broadened the target of such efforts from state institutions to populations and adopted an array of disciplinary and biopolitical techniques aimed at changing individuals and the ways they live together. This article explores international organization discourses on sport and peacebuilding and argues that the broad consensus on sport as a peacebuilding strategy is most fruitfully explored in light of the intensification of the biopolitical and disciplinary trajectories of the liberal peace.
Catawba Sustainability Center and Catawba Hospital Renewable Energy Site Planning Process Study
Meyers, Ron; Carstensen, Laurence W.; Ford, W. Mark; Grant, Elizabeth J.; Klopfer, Scott D.; Schenk, Todd; Taylor, Adam (Virginia Tech, 2020-09-29)
The transdisciplinary Renewable Energy Facilities Siting Project produced a white paper outlining their proof-of-concept using a case study from the Catawba Valley.
Changing the Face of Leadership and Administration in Public Service
(Center for Public Administration & Policy, School of Public & International Affairs, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2005-10-01)
The purpose of the Virginia Tech Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP) Roundtable Series for Leadership and Administration is to bring together the leading scholars, practitioners, students, and others for a stimulating conversation focusing on the exchange of ideas that will advance the knowledge and understanding of leadership in public administration through the sharing of research and experiences. For this particular session, Dr. Colleen Woodard moderated a discussion between Robert J. Lamb, Senior Advisor for Policy, Management and Budget for the U.S. Department of the Interior, and David Lewis, Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Affairs for the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University on the topic “Changing the Face of Leadership and Administration in Public Service.” The roundtable discussion set out to find the difference between management and leadership and also determine whether the distinction is truly necessary.
Considering the Relationships among Social Conflict, Social Imaginaries, Resilience, and Community-based Organization Leadership
Stephenson, Max O. Jr. (Resilience Alliance, 2011)
This article focuses on the question of what role community-based organization leaders play in shaping the possibility for the emergence of new social imaginaries. It argues that deep social conflicts and efforts to secure purposive change are likely to demand strong civil society organization response and that certain forms of imagination are necessary and must be actively employed among community-based leaders if new imaginaries are to be discerned and effectively shared in ways that encourage sustained dialogue and the development of new social understandings. The article explores these briefly and draws illustratively upon two relevant examples from the peacebuilding literature to contend that such imaginationled leadership is necessary to catalyze new social imaginaries that can lead to more resilient social orders.
Crack-Powder Cocaine Disparity and Commodity Fetishism
Agozino, Onwubiko (2021-11-01)
This is a case study of discriminatory drug policy in the US from a political economy perspective. Convictions and sentencing for drugs offenses are far higher for African Americans than white Americans even though white people use more drugs than African Americans. Two kinds of cocaine usage are bifurcated in penal policy – cocaine powder, more expensive and used more by whites and the affluent, and crack cocaine, cheaper and hence used more by the poor and by African American users (though two-thirds of those who use crack are white). The theory of commodity fetishism in the legal form will be applied to offer an original insight into this problem and the innovative abolitionist solution consistent with the theory.
Crisis to Credibility Through Inclusion: Developing an International Port Security Network
(Center for Public Administration & Policy, School of Public & International Affairs, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2007-11)
The purpose of the Virginia Tech Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP) Roundtable Series for Leadership and Administration is to bring together the leading scholars, practitioners, students, and others for a stimulating conversation focusing on the exchange of ideas that will advance the knowledge and understanding of leadership in public administration through the sharing of research and experiences. The subject of this Roundtable session was "Crisis to Credibility Through Inclusion: Developing an International Port Security Network." CPAP's own Dr. Anne Khademian interviewed Captain Suzanne Englebert, USCG, Seventh Coast Guard District. During the Roundtable, Captain Englebert was also introduced as the first Coast-to-Coast Inclusive Management Fellow, part of the Coast-to-Coast Inclusive Management Initiative, a joint effort between Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy and the University of California-Irvine.
The Dilemmas of Citizen Inclusion in Urban Planning and Governance to Enable a 1.5 °C Climate Change Scenario
Chu, Eric; Schenk, Todd; Patterson, James (Cogitatio Press, 2018-04-24)
Cities around the world are facilitating ambitious and inclusive action on climate change by adopting participatory and collaborative planning approaches. However, given the major political, spatial, and scalar interdependencies involved, the extent to which these planning tools equip cities to realise 1.5 °C climate change scenarios is unclear. This article draws upon emerging knowledge in the fields of urban planning and urban climate governance to explore complementary insights into how cities can pursue ambitious and inclusive climate action to realise 1.5 °C climate change scenarios. We observe that urban planning scholarship is often under-appreciated in urban climate governance research, while conversely, promising urban planning tools and approaches can be limited by the contested realities of urban climate governance. By thematically reviewing diverse examples of urban climate action across the globe, we identify three key categories of planning dilemmas: institutional heterogeneity, scalar mismatch, and equity and justice concerns. We argue that lessons from urban planning and urban climate governance scholarship should be integrated to better understand how cities can realise 1.5 °C climate change scenarios in practice.
A Dynamic Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for Military Personnel and Veterans
Ghaffarzadegan, Navid; Ebrahimvandi, Alireza; Jalali, Mohammad S. (PLOS, 2016-10-07)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stands out as a major mental illness; however, little is known about effective policies for mitigating the problem. The importance and complexity of PTSD raise critical questions: What are the trends in the population of PTSD patients among military personnel and veterans in the postwar era? What policies can help mitigate PTSD? To address these questions, we developed a system dynamics simulation model of the population of military personnel and veterans affected by PTSD. The model includes both military personnel and veterans in a "system of systems." This is a novel aspect of our model, since many policies implemented at the military level will potentially influence (and may have side effects on) veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The model is first validated by replicating the historical data on PTSD prevalence among military personnel and veterans from 2000 to 2014 (datasets from the Department of Defense, the Institute of Medicine, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other sources). The model is then used for health policy analysis. Our results show that, in an optimistic scenario based on the status quo of deployment to intense/combat zones, estimated PTSD prevalence among veterans will be at least 10% during the next decade. The model postulates that during wars, resiliency-related policies are the most effective for decreasing PTSD. In a postwar period, current health policy interventions (e.g., screening and treatment) have marginal effects on mitigating the problem of PTSD, that is, the current screening and treatment policies must be revolutionized to have any noticeable effect. Furthermore, the simulation results show that it takes a long time, on the order of 40 years, to mitigate the psychiatric consequences of a war. Policy and financial implications of the findings are discussed.
Effects of Government Spending on Research Workforce Development: Evidence from Biomedical Postdoctoral Researchers
Hur, Hyungjo; Ghaffarzadegan, Navid; Hawley, Joshua D. (PLOS, 2015-05-01)
We examine effects of government spending on postdoctoral researchers’ (postdocs) productivity in biomedical sciences, the largest population of postdocs in the US. We analyze changes in the productivity of postdocs before and after the US government’s 1997 decision to increase NIH funding. In the first round of analysis, we find that more government spending has resulted in longer postdoc careers. We see no significant changes in researchers’ productivity in terms of publication and conference presentations. However, when the population is segmented by citizenship, we find that the effects are heterogeneous; US citizens stay longer in postdoc positions with no change in publications and, in contrast, international permanent residents (green card holders) produce more conference papers and publications without significant changes in postdoc duration. Possible explanations and policy implications of the analysis are discussed.
An Empirical Analysis of International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) Annual Surveys
Weisband, Edward; Colvin, Christopher (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000-02)
Engaging IDPs in Sri Lanka: a Buddhist approach
Barry-Murphy, Emily C.; Stephenson, Max O. Jr. (Oxford, 2014-11)
A Buddhist Sri Lankan NGO provides an example of how endogenous faith-based civil society organisations can help mobilise IDPs in owning and defining strategies for their own protection.
Environmental Remediation to Address Childhood Lead Poisoning Epidemic due to Artisanal Gold Mining in Zamfara, Nigeria
Tirima, Simba; Bartrem, Casey; von Lindern, Ian; von Braun, Margrit; Lind, Douglas; Anka, Shehu Mohammed; Abdullahi, Aishat (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2016-09)
Background: From 2010 through 2013, integrated health and environmental responses addressed an unprecedented epidemic lead poisoning in Zamfara State, northern Nigeria. Artisanal gold mining caused widespread contamination resulting in the deaths of > 400 children. Socioeconomic, logistic, and security challenges required remediation and medical protocols within the context of local resources, labor practices, and cultural traditions. Objectives: Our aim was to implement emergency environmental remediation to abate exposures to 17,000 lead poisoned villagers, to facilitate chelation treatment of children ≤ 5 years old, and to establish local technical capacity and lead health advocacy programs to prevent future disasters. Methods: U.S. hazardous waste removal protocols were modified to accommodate local agricultural practices. Remediation was conducted over 4 years in three phases, progressing from an emergency response by international personnel to comprehensive cleanup funded and accomplished by the Nigerian government. Results: More than 27,000 m³ of contaminated soils and mining waste were removed from 820 residences and ore processing areas in eight villages, largely by hand labor, and disposed in constructed landfills. Excavated areas were capped with clean soils (≤ 25 mg/kg lead), decreasing soil lead concentrations by 89%, and 2,349 children received chelation treatment. Pre-chelation geometric mean blood lead levels for children ≤ 5 years old decreased from 149 μg/dL to 15 μg/dL over the 4-year remedial program. Conclusions: The unprecedented outbreak and response demonstrate that, given sufficient political will and modest investment, the world’s most challenging environmental health crises can be addressed by adapting proven response protocols to the capabilities of host countries. Citation: Tirima S, Bartrem C, von Lindern I, von Braun M, Lind D, Anka SM, Abdullahi A. 2016. Environmental remediation to address childhood lead poisoning epidemic due to artisanal gold mining in Zamfara, Nigeria. Environ Health Perspect 124:1471–1478; http://dx.doi. org/10.1289/ehp.1510145
The European Union and Peacebuilding: A Sysyphean but Essential Responsibility
Stephenson, Max O. Jr.; Stivachtis, Yannis A.; Zanotti, Laura (Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2013)
Exploring Producers', Staff Members', and Board Members' Cognitive Frame on Decision Making in an Appalachian Organic Farming Venture
Gervich, Curt D.; Stephenson, Max O. Jr.; Stern, Marc J. (Southern Rural Sociological Association, 2012)
Sustainable development assistance organizations (SDAOs) aim to help producers of natural resource products move their goods and services to market. This article explores how the cognitive frames held by producers, staff, and board members in an agricultural SDAO in rural Appalachia influence organizational decision-making. This study explores identity, characterization, value, and membership frames. Data collected through semi-structured interviews with growers, staff, and board members reveal that the frames these stakeholders hold lead to the institutionalization of decision-making processes that allow organizational managers to make quick, consistent, and clear decisions while avoiding conflicts among members who hold competing frames. Simultaneously, these tacitly-supported practices are exclusionary, and they limit creativity and information exchange, as well as reducing transparency. Consequently, the SDAO may face organizational challenges due to limited problem-solving and adaptive management capabilities. Additionally, the prevailing nature of some members’ frames may prevent other participants from changing their views of the SDAO, limiting the firm’s flexibility to experiment with new management and organizational structures and resilience in the face of change.
Final Report Abstract: Caregivers of Persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Information and Support Needs
Roberto, Karen A.; Blieszner, Rosemary; Brossoie, Nancy; Winston, Brianne L. (Alzheimer's Association, Medical and Scientific Affairs, 2007)
Fragile Foundations and Enduring Challenges: Essays on Democratic Politics and Governance
Stephenson, Max O. Jr. (VT Publishing, 2019-05-22)
In this volume of timely essays, Max O. Stephenson Jr. offers unique insight into the state of politics and policymaking in the United States. Covering the period 2010-2018, his essays chronicle a growing crisis in American governance with many of the nation’s professed values and principles increasingly under attack—including the rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the ability of a share of its citizens otherwise eligible to vote to exercise their right to do so. But Stephenson does more than sound a warning cry. He urges all Americans to reclaim self-governance and democracy by embracing the central values and core purposes underpinning the United States. Max O. Stephenson Jr. is Professor of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech where he also directs the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance (VTIPG).
Global Systems Science (GSS) DA and Policy SGA (PSGA) Synergies and Opportunities Workshop
(Virginia Tech, 2017-09-29)
The goals of this day-long event, held on September 29, 2017, were to identify areas for collaborative synergy and cooperation between the GSS DA and PSGA and showcase a model for future DA/SGA collaboration and shared innovation.
The Import of Neoliberalism on Efforts to Encourage Agency in Three Fields of Development Action
Stephenson, Max O. Jr. (ISTR, 2014-07)
This article examines the dynamics of population agency and empowerment in each of three fields of aid provision—humanitarian relief, international development and peacebuilding—during recent decades. It first describes how the concept of active agency and participation has been commonly defined in these fields. Thereafter the analysis explores the obstacles and challenges analysts have identified, to date, in aid organization efforts to realize efficacy among targeted populations. Third, this study sketches the principal-agent accountabilities regime operating in major donor nations and international organizations in the three domains surveyed. The argument suggests that funders need to revisit their accountability assumptions and measures and broaden those to acknowledge the socio-cultural, political and economic conditions and governance capabilities of the nations and the populations targeted, since these ultimately mediate both citizen engagement and efficacy and intervention outcomes. The article concludes with a brief exploration of its implications for aid practice in the three fields treated.
Institute for Society, Culture and Environment Annual Report 2011
Roberto, Karen A. (The Research Institutes of Virginia Tech: Institute for Society, Culture and Environment, 2011-08)

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