I think that policy makers tend to make better decisions when they have better information, and there is a well-informed and engaged public advocating for where they want the community to go to.
Joda Thongnopnua, center, David Morton, left, and Jackie Homann work at the Metro Ideas project, and independent non-profit start up that is rethinking the traditional policy research model.More Info
For more information on the Metro Ideas Project visit its website at www.metroideas.org
A stuffy boardroom and 30 black and white pages of data analysis is not how the Metro Ideas Project approaches public policy.
Instead the team of three young thinkers is tackling the complexities of Hamilton County education spending and working to present that information in a digestible and engaging way to help inform lawmakers and taxpayers alike.
Stepping in to fill the gap created by the closing of the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies, the Metro Ideas Project has been weeding through dense school system budgets and data sets for the past nine weeks to calculate per-pupil spending at the school level – which varies among schools in Hamilton County. By tracking per-pupil spending and teachers’ salaries at the school level the group hopes to help the community and its leaders evaluate each school’s return on investment and issues of equity.