The Research and Policy Initiative of the Community Development Project partners with grassroots community organizations to provide strategic research and policy support to strengthen our partner’s organizing and advocacy work.

Assistance Provided

• Development, design and implementation of participatory research projects in support of organizing and advocacy;
• Production of reports, fact-sheets and other materials to be used for organizing, advocacy and campaign development;
• Training of staff and membership in participatory research methods;
• Design of research tools, including surveys, focus group and interview guides;
• Quantitative and qualitative data analysis;
• Policy research and analysis;
• Background research and literature reviews;
• Assistance in the implementation of surveys and interviews;
• Development of databases;
• Media support;
• Assistance in the development of programmatic, organizing and policy strategies stemming from research.

CDP Research and Policy Update Fall 2010 - Spring 2011

CDP Research and Policy Update Winter/Spring 2010

CDP Research and Policy Update 2009

Below is a list of our partner organizations and some of the joint research and policy projects we are currently conducting or have recently completed.

CURRENT AND PAST COLLABORATIONS

Domestic Workers United (DWU) is an organization of Caribbean, Latina and African nannies, housekeepers, and elderly caregivers in New York, organizing for power, respect, fair labor standards and to help build a movement to end exploitation and oppression for all.

• New Report: In 2010, CDP and DWU released "Domestic Workers and Collective Bargaining" analyzing the groundbreaking possibility of collective organization and bargaining among privately employed domestic workers in New York State, and recommending eliminating the unjust exclusion of domestic workers from the New York State Labor Relations Act. This report builds off of DWU historic victory of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights which was signed into law in 2010.
• Work in Progress: CDP is currently providing research and policy support to DWU, through ongoing tracking of the implementation of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. This data collection is done in conjunction with CDP’s worker’s rights legal clinics for domestic workers.

CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities works to build grassroots community power across diverse, poor and working-class Asian immigrant and refugee communities in New York City.

• New Report: In March 2011, CDP and CAAAV released a report documenting the Southeast Asian community’s need for a community center in the South Bronx. a report by CAAAV and the Community Development Project: "Building the Mekong: Healing the Wounds of War and Forging the Future of the Southeast Asian Community in the Bronx" presents results from a survey project conducted by CAAAV members, with research support from CDP. Survey results show a loss of culture among the youth and a lack of services for older Southeast Asians in the Bronx. CAAAV is proposing to combat these problems through the creation of the Mekong Center, a community center in the Bronx that would offer cultural programs for youth and culturally and linguistically appropriate services for older Southeast Asians. This new report will be used as a tool to fight for the Mekong Center.
• Work in Progress: CAAAV has also partnered with CDP in a number of coalitions and collaborative projects (see below) including the NYCHA Report Card Project, the Right to the City Alliance and the OUR Waterfront coalition.
• Past Reports: "A People's Plan for the East River Waterfront" (2009); "Converting Chinatown: A Snapshot of a Neighborhood Becoming Unaffordable and Unlivable" (2008); "The Hear This! Report: The Need for Multilingual Housing Services in New York City" (2006).

DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association, Inc. is an independent non-profit grassroots organization based in New York that upholds and promotes the rights and welfare of Filipino immigrant and migrant workers.

• New Report: DAMAYAN collaborated with CDP to release a report, titled a report by Damayan Migrant Workers Association and the Community Development Project: "Doing the Work That Makes all Work Possible". The report is the culmination of a multi-year, participatory study focusing on Filipino domestic workers, that included surveys, focus groups, interviews, a literature review and data analysis; DAMAYAN members actively participated in all aspects of the research. The report documents the economic difficulties and harsh working conditions many Filipino domestic workers face on a daily basis and the impact on their families and livelihoods. The report also includes many concrete recommendations that will help improve the lives and working conditions for all domestic workers and their families.

Mothers on the Move / Madres en Movimiento (MOM) is a member-led community organization founded in 1992 as a vehicle for low-income people of color to take strategic leadership in campaigns to transform ourselves and the South Bronx community.

• New Report: MOM in collaboration with CDP released a report documenting three intersecting issues affecting residents of the South Bronx: high unemployment rates, deteriorating housing conditions, and poor health. summarizes the findings of surveys and focus groups conducted by MOM members, who are also residents of the South Bronx. The report also includes the community's solution for addressing all three issues: a green jobs program that would train and place public housing residents in jobs focused on retrofitting and greening existing New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments. This timely report highlights the voices of public housing residents, whose opinions will help inform the larger green jobs policy debate, particularly within the NYCHA community.
• Work in Progress: MOM is working with CDP on the NYCHA Report Card Project and as a member of the RTTC alliance (see below).
• Past Reports: Mothers on the Move and CDP: "Change Starts with Us: A Grassroots Vision for the Development of the South Bronx" (2010).

FIERCE is a membership-based organization building the leadership and power of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth of color in New York City.

• Work in Progress: CDP is working with FIERCE on a participatory action research project to identify vacant properties for the development of a LGBTQ community center, determine specific priorities for services and programs at the center and finally, to develop a clear design and budget for the community center. FIERCE is working to develop a community center so that LGBTQ youth of color have a safe place to access services and programs. Results of the canvassing and visioning will be presented in several formats, including maps, fact sheets, renderings and a final report. FIERCE is also a part of the Right to the City Alliance.
• Past Work: "Expanding Access to Public Space at the Hudson River Park" (2009); “Coming Out, Stepping Up: Organizing to Build the Power of LGBTQ Youth” (2010).

Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL) is a statewide grassroots membership organization building power among low-income people who are living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, drug use and incarceration.

• Work in Progress: VOCAL and CDP are conducting a participatory research project to explore the key problems faced by patients of Methadone Maintenance Treatment Programs (MMTP) and to identify ways to improve patient satisfaction, retention in care and address neglected health issues. Survey and focus group findings will be summarized, along with secondary data, in a final report that is set to be released in the spring of 2011. CDP and VOCAL also work together through the Right to the City Alliance.
• Past Work: "Stuck in the System" (2010).

Desis Rising up and Moving (DRUM) is a multigenerational, membership led organization of working class South Asian immigrants in New York City.

• Work in Progress: In partnership with DRUM, CDP is coordinating a research project focus­ing on the experiences of undocumented South Asian workers in Jackson Heights, Queens, particularly taxi drivers, domestic, construction, restaurant and retail workers. With the support of CDP, DRUM is conducting surveys, focus groups and in depth interviews to document the experiences of undocumented South Asian workers and to identify the issue areas most in need of worker organizing and advocacy. Results from the surveys, interviews and focus groups will be released in a final report.
• Past Work: "Education Not Deportation: Impacts of NYC School Safety Policies on South Asian Immigrant Youth" (2006).

New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) is a community-based, non-profit organization that works to ensure that new immigrants can build social, political and economic power in their communities and beyond.

• Work in Progress: CDP is working with NICE to document fraudulent and predatory practices of immigrant service providers and employment agencies in Queens. This will be done through a coordinated canvass of all immigrant service and employment agencies in Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona, Queens as well as surveys and focus groups with new immigrants that have accessed these services. Research results will be documented in a final report that will be used to support NICE’s immigrant consumer justice campaign.

Teachers Unite (TU) Teachers Unite organizes teachers around human rights issues that impact public school communities, and supports teachers to build strong Union chapters that prioritize social justice.

• Work in Progress: Teachers Unite and CDP are conducting research to document the lack of meaningful teacher, parent and student involvement in NYC schools. Under Mayor Bloomberg’s policies of mayoral control, teacher, parent, and student decision-making power has significantly been reduced. As a result, community involvement bodies including, School Leadership Teams, District Leadership Teams and Community Education Councils, lack real power in making decisions about their schools.. Survey results, combined with focus groups and secondary research, will be summarized in a report to be released near the beginning of the 2011 school year. Teachers Unite is also a member of the Right to the City Alliance.

Families United for Racial Economic Equality (FUREE) is a Brooklyn-based multi-racial organization made up almost exclusively of women of color organizing low-income families to build power to change the system so that all people's work is valued and everyone has the right and economic means to decide and live out their own destinies.

• Work in Progress: FUREE is partnering with CDP through the Right to the City Alliance and the NYCHA Report Card project.
• Past Work: "Food Fight: Expanding Access to Affordable and Healthy Food" (2009); "Out of Business: The Crisis of Small Businesses in Rezoned Downtown Brooklyn" (2008).

Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES) a neighborhood housing and preservation organization dedicated to tenants’ rights, homelessness prevention, economic development, and community revitalization.

• Work in Progress: Currently, CDP is working with GOLES on the NYCHA Report Card Project (see below) and as a part of the OUR Waterfront coalition.
• Past Work: "NYCHA Report Card: Preliminary Findings" (2010); "NO GO for Local Businesses" (2008).

Community Voices Heard (CVH) is an organization of low-income people, predominantly women with experience on welfare, working to build power in New York City and State to improve the lives of our families and communities. 

• Work in Progress: CVH is a part of the NYCHA Report Card Project and a member of the Right to the City alliance.

COALITIONS AND ALLIANCES

New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Report Card Project is a research project in partnership with GOLES, FUREE, CAAAV, MOM, CVH and CDP.

• Work in Progress: CDP has partnered with several grassroots organizations including GOLES, FUREE, CAAAV, MOM and CVH, to document problems within NYCHA and identify necessary reforms. Through direct services and grassroots organizing initiatives, many community organizing groups learned about specific problems with NYCHA’s policies and practices regarding management and repairs. Many of these practices negatively impact the quality of life for NYCHA residents. Partner organizations are currently surveying and conducting secondary analysis towards the production of a city-wide report summarizing the findings and recommendations.

Right to the City (RTTC) is a national organization of community-based organizations with chapters in eight different cities, including New York City. New York City’s chapter includes CAAAV, CVH, FIERCE, GOLES, MOM, VOCAL, Picture the Homeless, and WE ACT.

• Work in Progress: As a resource ally to the New York City’s Right to the City Chapter, CDP continues to support RTTC’s work and active campaigns through research, policy, fundraising and logistical support.
• Past Work: A Right to the City Alliance Report on Public Housing: "We Call These Projects Home: Solving the Housing Crisis from the Ground Up" (2010); Report by Right to the City-NYC and CDP: "People Without Homes and Homes Without People: A Count of Vacant Condos In Select NYC Neighborhoods" (2010); Right to the City: "Right to the City Policy Platform 2009" (2009).

O.U.R. Waterfront is a coalition of community based organizations and tenant associations representing residents of the Lower East Side and Chinatown, including CAAAV, GOLES, LES Ecology Center and University Settlement. These organizations are concerned about the impact of development and the increasing pressures of gentrification in their neighborhoods.

• Work in Progress: CDP is providing strategic research, policy, legal and land use assistance in order to ensure that the development of the East River Waterfront is responsive to the needs of its residents in the short and long term.
• Past Work: "A People's Plan for the East River Waterfront" (2009).

TOOLS TO SUPPORT ORGANIZING

Research for Organizing Toolkit will include popular education trainings and tools to support and research and policy development that will advance grassroots organizing. The toolkit will be designed for organizers and members of grass­roots organizations to build concrete research skills that can be applied to actual research projects that they are working on within their organization. The toolkit is set to be released in the summer 2011.

Campaign Materials: CDP also works with groups to create and develop outreach and campaign development materials, some examples include:

-Issue Identification Materials for FUREE: CDP supported FUREE’s campaign development work by providing data analysis and writing to develop a short educational document which outlined the findings of a survey conducted with over 500 young people in Brooklyn.  The document helped to identify the issues most pressing to youth including: jobs, safe schools, after-school programs and police harassment.  FUREE used this document to help develop their youth organizing campaign.

-Policy Factsheets for FIERCE: In support of FIERCE’s national campaign development work, CDP helped to create several fact sheets and worksheets on various topics, including the Local Jobs for American Act, the REAL ID program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The materials were used to support FIERCE in their national campaign development process.

-Popular Education Trainings for RTTC: CDP also works with our grassroots partners to break down complex policy issues and ensure that policy and research is accessible to all communities. CDP has developed trainings for many of our community partners including FIERCE, CAAAV, and Right to the City.