Selected Strategic Research & Planning Projects Social Service Needs Research, The Forbes Funds' Tropman Fund for Nonprofit Research OMG is conducting research for The Forbes Funds' Tropman Fund, which supports applied research on issues affecting nonprofit sector management. The work includes researching the predominant service needs of residents from distressed areas of Allegheny County, and comparing those needs currently available services. The study also considers whether residents in distress are actually receiving the services they need, and will explore barriers to and satisfaction with services. Program Planning, Philadelphia Foundation With Patti Patrizi, OMG is assisting the Philadelphia Foundation with a planning process that will result in a repositioning of its role in the community, as well as a new grantmaking and evaluation strategy. Planning and Development of the Civic Design Program, the Heinz Endowments, and the facilitation of the Pittsburgh Civic Design Network OMG worked with Heinz Endowment program officers from the Arts and Culture Program, Economic Opportunity Program, Education Program, Environmental Program, and Children, Youth, and Families Program to create a formal plan and logic model for a new interdisciplinary grantmaking program, the Civic Design Program. Its objectives include creating a strong civic and policy infrastructure for enhancing and sustaining Pittsburgh's built and physical environment. OMG also facilitated the start-up of a region-wide network of organizations that are engaged in civic design work. Network members work together to increase their impact and align their objectives for policy impact. Grantmaking Strategy Development for the Restoration of the Schuylkill River Watershed, William Penn Foundation OMG worked with the communities and environment program to develop an implementation plan, a RFP, and a theory of change for a new grant making strategy to restore the Schuylkill River Watershed. The team also managed the grantmaking review and final selection process of the grantees along the watershed. The Contribution of the Arts to Excellent Education, National Endowment for the Arts OMG reviewed and assessed the full range of available research evidence to support the claim that experience in the arts among school children increases scholastic performance, particularly as measured by standardized achievement tests. This project, undertaken with assistance from nationally recognized arts education consultant, Charles Fowler, resulted in a monograph that was widely distribution to educators, arts professionals, legislators, and others concerned with the roles of the arts in education reform. Design as a Catalyst for Learning, National Endowment for the Arts To study ways teachers use the principles of design to help students master various academic subjects and problem-solving skills, OMG conducted a national survey of teachers who use design in their classrooms. OMG then completed a series of in-depth profiles of schools and classrooms across the nation to document the effective use of design to improve student achievement. The results of the research were published under the title, Design as a Catalyst for Learning, by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. The publication was recognized by the Association for Research Libraries as an Outstanding Book for 2000. Appel Farm Art and Music Center OMG provided strategic planning assistance to the southern New Jersey Appel Farm Art and Music Center. Through field research and the design and facilitation of meetings with board and staff, OMG helped shape a major new program and the expansion of the organization's long-term direction. As part of our assistance for this regional cultural organization, OMG developed, administered, and analyzed a 3,600-person survey and defined Appel Farm's service area through use of a GIS drive time analysis based on survey responses. Defining Community Integration for People with Serious Psychiatric Disabilities, University of Pennsylvania Under a subcontract with the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Psychiatry's Research and Training Center on Community Integration, OMG provides training to people in state and local mental health systems that promotes the integration of people with serious mental illness into the general community. OMG played a key role in defining appropriate community integration concepts and identifying effective policies and programs that promote integration. Through the project, OMG works nationwide with mental health consumers, direct service personnel, and state mental health systems to develop strategic approaches to systems change. Research on Effective Communication Strategies for Latino Parents of School-Age Children, Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, US Department of Education, and the Self-Reliance Foundation OMG conducted research for an agency of the Department of Education to determine which outreach strategies are most effective in engaging Latino/Hispanic parents in their children's education. The Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs used the study to conduct an intensive national outreach campaign to ensure that Hispanic parents acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to guide their children's education. Strategic Planning, Youth Build Charter High School of Philadelphia OMG conducted a strategic plan for this ten-year-old program and charter school in Philadelphia. The program focuses on at-risk youth who have had trouble succeeding in a traditional school setting, and is intended to address job preparedness through hands-on employment training that leads to a high school diploma. Strategic Planning and Convening for Family-Strengthening Youth Development, Annie E. Casey Foundation OMG convened a series of roundtable discussions involving researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to examine issues in youth and family development. OMG is preparing a report that will be used by the Foundation to help articulate the basis for family-strengthening youth development, an approach that attempts to document and highlight the role, influences, and contributions of the family on positive youth development. School/Arts Partnership Project, Cleveland Cultural Coalition OMG worked with the Cleveland Cultural Coalition to design a framework for a partnership between Cleveland cultural arts institutions and public schools. The goal is to improve both arts education and learning outcomes for students. OMG worked with the program's staff to draft program guidelines, devise an overall evaluation plan, and develop a governance and funding mechanism for the initiative. The effort is intended to eventually involve nearly fifty public elementary, middle, and secondary schools partnered with approximately forty cultural arts institutions in the Cleveland area.