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Leaning into the Messiness of Authentic Engagement: Fostering Reciprocity in Foundation Strategy, Learning, and Evaluation
Get PDFOver the last several years, numerous foundations have endeavored to forge deeper relationships with grantees and challenge the status quo in strategy development and evaluation design. Encouraged by efforts such as the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project and the Equitable Evaluation Initiative, some funders are seeking to redefine how they engage grantees and field partners by navigating the nuances of power dynamics, mutual interests, and genuine collaboration. While there are encouraging signs of progress, there are also plenty of examples of foundation and nonprofit leaders getting stuck or reverting to the modus operandi. Competing agendas, the lack of sustained political will, and general inertia often undermine equity-driven efforts, making it challenging to translate commitments into practice. How can foundations and nonprofits committed to equity and inclusion continue to lean in rather than step back?
The Irvine Foundation has a long history of listening to community and workers, specifically. To help shape the strategy of a new statewide policy advocacy initiative, the foundation convened a smaller subset of grantees (leaders of community organizing agencies, statewide advocacy and immigrant rights organizations, movement coalition leaders, and research partners) who represented an emerging community of ecosystem players. Once the strategy was approved by the foundation board, the same group introduced the strategy to Irvine\u27s grantee partners and continued to shape a collaborative vision of success and the initiative\u27s approach to learning and evaluation.
Based on interviews with foundation staff, consultants, and grantees, this article elevates key insights from this engagement process and efforts to move beyond listening toward authentic, early, and iterative engagement of grantees in philanthropic strategy and evaluation design. We explore what it takes to lean into the messiness of relational philanthropy and power dynamics
Centering Community Voice in Strategic Design: The BUILD Health Challenge Model
Get PDFIt is commonplace today for philanthropies to require grantee partners to have a community engagement strategy to ensure that the institution reflects the community that it serves. It is also incumbent on foundations to embrace the same intent. Alongside participatory practices, listening is an opportunity to level the power dynamics inherent to philanthropic practice.
The BUILD Health Challenge® (BUILD) is an innovative funder collaborative designed to support local cross-sector action to address the root cause of health inequities. Established in 2015, BUILD supports participants from across the U.S. to engage in partnerships including residents, community-based organizations, health departments, and health systems.
Listening practice begins with the understanding that the work of building a better future should be guided by those who experience the impacts of our decisions and therefore know best what those decisions should be. Over time, BUILD progressed from gathering feedback to fostering deep trust with awardees and fully integrating awardee voice and decision-making into its operational framework and culture. While BUILD committed to these actions from the outset, implementation was a decade-long process requiring diligent iteration and openness to change and growth. In 2021, BUILD worked with Success Measures to carry out a Listening Tour, co-designed with previous grantees, that elicited clear steps for how grantees could help shape subsequent rounds of awards and the structure of BUILD. Subsequent listening has fundamentally shifted BUILD, including its strategic plan, a more overt focus on racial justice, increasing accountability, and pathways for current and previous grantees to participate in decision-making.
This article will highlight the listening process that BUILD invested in over several years and what it enabled. It will also highlight what made the listening possible, how BUILD and its community partners took action based on the feedback, and how long-term practice built trust and enabled transformative change
Reimagining Positionality in Curriculum: Unlocking Consciousness Beyond Hegemonic Boundaries
Get PDFThis paper examines the interplay between hegemonic systems, curriculum, and individual consciousness in diverse life contexts. It underscores the need for critical thinking skills and self-examination to challenge hegemonic ideologies embedded within curriculum materials. The paper emphasizes the potential for curriculum to shape and influence consciousness, yet it also highlights the autonomy of consciousness to critically engage with curriculum content. Positionality and identity are explored, illustrating how they impact an individual\u27s social role and their ability to promote social justice.
Through the Currere as a autoethnography research method, the paper offers a comprehensive reflection on the author\u27s experiences as an international student in a predominantly white institution. By examining past experiences, decision-making processes, and information sources, the paper explores the impact of hegemonic systems on curriculum and consciousness. The narrative journey highlights the potential for transformative change through critical self-examination and more inclusive curriculum design
Evaluating coplanar and noncoplanar treatment plans for the Varian Halcyon and Varian Truebeam for intact prostate patients.
No full textProstate cancer is among the most treated malignancies with radiation therapy, where precise dose delivery is critical for tumor control and minimizing toxicity. VMAT is widely adopted due to its efficiency and conformity; however, the choice between coplanar and non-coplanar beam arrangements remains an area of ongoing investigation, especially with newer platforms like Halcyon and TrueBeam. This retrospective dosimetric study compares coplanar and non-coplanar volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatment plans for intact prostate cancer patients using the Varian Halcyon and Varian TrueBeam systems. Plans were created using a standardized protocol within Eclipse v16.1, with all Halcyon plans employing coplanar arcs and all TrueBeam replans incorporating at least one non-coplanar arc. The primary aim was to evaluate differences in dose coverage to the planning target volume (PTV) and dose sparing of organs at risk (OARs). Metrics such as D95, D98, conformity index, and OAR-specific dose constraints were compared using paired statistical analyses. Preliminary findings indicate that non-coplanar plans on the TrueBeam system achieved comparable or slightly improved dosimetric outcomes in select OARs while maintaining target coverage. These results suggest potential clinical benefits of non-coplanar planning in prostate radiotherapy; however, practical limitations, including complexity, feasibility of couch rotation, and treatment time, must be considered. Further investigation is warranted to assess long-term clinical outcomes
Active Calculus: Single Variable, 2nd Edition
No full textActive Calculus is different from most existing calculus texts in at least the following ways: the text is freely readable online in HTML format and is also freely available for in PDF; in the electronic formats, graphics are in full color and there are live links to java applets; there are live WeBWorK exercises in each chapter, which are fully interactive in the HTML format and included in print in the PDF; the text is open source, and interested users can gain access to the original source files on GitHub; the style of the text requires students to be active learners — there are very few worked examples in the text, with there instead being 3-4 activities per section that engage students in connecting ideas, solving problems, and developing understanding of key calculus concepts; each section begins with motivating questions, a brief introduction, and a preview activity, all of which are designed to be read and completed prior to class; following the WeBWorK exercises in each section, there are several challenging problems that require students to connect key ideas and write to communicate their understanding. Learn more at https://activecalculus.org/acs2e/.https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/books/1034/thumbnail.jp
Using Seasonal NDVI to Predict the Aboveground Abundance of Tundra Plants
No full textNumerous studies have shown changes, both increases and decreases, in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) across Arctic ecosystems. Higher NDVI values have been associated with larger deciduous shrubs and increases in graminoid cover. We used the differences in NDVI collected throughout the growing season to estimate the above-ground abundance, cover and biomass, of different plant functional types at Atqasuk, Alaska. We examined NDVI at three critical times during the growing season: an initial measurement a few days after snowmelt, the second occurred shortly after leaf-out for deciduous shrubs, and again at peak season. We also examined the relationship between biomass and plant cover, measured with a point frame. To model cover and biomass, plant functional types (PFT’s) with similar phenological green up patterns were combined together. The combinations of PFT’s include “evergreen’s” (evergreen shrubs, lichens and bryophytes), “non-evergreen’s” (deciduous shrubs, graminoids and forbs), “all plants” (combination of all types). We also attempted to split the non-evergreens into graminoids and deciduous shrubs. Each combination of plant functional types (e.g. all plants, evergreens, non-evergreens, deciduous shrubs, and graminoids) cover and biomass were modeled using the hypothesized difference in NDVI relevant to them. Each model was cross validated using leave one out cross validation, and the error between predicted and observed values was calculated to assess each model. This process yielded significant models for both cover and biomass respectively: All Plant (R2: 0.71, R2: 0.50), Evergreen (R2: 0.65, R2: 0.67), Non-Evergreen (R2: 0.69, R2: 0.20), deciduous shrubs (R2: 0.62, R2: 0.42), and graminoid (R2: 0.27, R2: 0.19). The hypothesized differences in NDVI provided accurate models, except for the graminoid models, where a different relationship better modeled cover and biomass (R2: 0.70, R2: 0.80). Future work will see if this approach can be applied across the North Slope of Alaska and elsewhere in the Arctic. This method has the potential to characterize vegetation quickly and allows for large spatial coverage. Monitoring vegetation change is fundamental to understanding the changes taking place across the Arctic ecosystem. This method provides a novel, intermediate approach between ground sampling and higher spatial scale remote sensing techniques
Impact Analysis on Silicone Breast Implants Using In Vitro Experiments and Finite Element Analysis
No full textSilicone breast implants are commonly used in breast augmentation and reconstruction procedures. Mentor introduced two newer models of silicone gel-filled implants, the MemoryGelTM Xtra and MemoryGelTM Boost, designed to increase the gel fill and projection of the implants while reducing wrinkling and rippling of the shell. Modifications to the shape and fill of these implants may result in different mechanical responses under compressive or impact loading conditions. To investigate whether these structural differences influence implant behavior, in vitro drop testing and finite element analysis (FEA) simulations were conducted, focusing on impact forces, internal stresses, and deformation patterns experienced by the implants. Compression and tensile testing of implants and their components were done to inform the material models for FEA.
Statistical analysis of the drop test data showed that, for the medium and large implants, significant differences existed between the MemoryGelTM implants and both the Xtra and Boost implants, however, the maximum forces of the Xtra and Boost implants did not differ significantly. The small and medium Xtra implants consistently showed greater equivalent von Mises and maximum principal stresses. In the large size group, the Boost implants showed larger stress, whereas for all sizes, the MemoryGelTM implants showed the lowest stresses. The stress distributions for both equivalent and maximum principal stress were similar for all implant types. Equivalent stress was centralized within the implants, whereas maximum principal stress (tensile) was localized on the surface of the implant.
Drop testing results indicated that increased fill and projection in the Xtra and Boost implants affected the applied forces under impact conditions. This showed that implant design influenced the response of silicone implants to mechanical loads. Despite MemoryGelTM showing higher applied forces in the horizontal orientation, the Xtra implants experienced greater internal stresses—suggesting that highly filled designs may be more vulnerable to failure under compressive loads.
Understanding the mechanical behavior of these implant models under impact loading is critical for evaluating rupture risk and potential failure mechanisms. This study aims to provide insight into how design modifications affect implant safety and performance, offering a scientific basis for clinical considerations and future product development
Drivers of Policy Support and Political Consumerism Behavior Among Water Recreationists
No full textIndividuals who engage in water-based recreation share a distinct bond with water quality due to their direct contact with aquatic environments during leisure activities. Increasing concerns about water quality have led to a rise in research exploring how environmental conditions and perceived risks shape environmental attitudes and conservation actions. However, it remains uncertain whether water recreationists extend their conservation efforts beyond those directly tied to their activities. To explore this issue, the present study investigates whether water-based recreationists in South Carolina support more stringent water management policies and engage in political consumerism behaviors, such as boycotting and buycotting. Data were collected through surveys, and multiple and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Findings indicate that risk perceptions play a crucial role in motivating all three types of conservation behavior. Additionally, age was positively linked to support for stricter water management policies but negatively associated with both boycotting and buycotting behaviors. These results help shed light on the factors influencing these relatively overlooked forms of conservation behavior
