PEG memo on SCOTUS affirmative action implications

• Hewlett Foundation shares resources to prepare for and respond to the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decisions, including from Public Equity Group, ACLU, Munger, Tolles, and Olson and others

• Explore Public Equity Group’s memo on how the Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action ruling can impact the workplace and how organizations can protect diversity programs.

  • The legal implications of the SCOTUS affirmative action decisions are still being determined (and re-litigated) by courts and regulatory bodies. While we’ll do our best to update these resources accordingly, we encourage you to consult legal counsel for the latest developments

• Explore the Financial Times article, “Corporate diversity in the crosshairs after US Supreme Court ruling” (June 29, 2023), which outlines how the Supreme Court’s ruling creates hardships for organizations:

  • “[Per PEG Legal Team] the Supreme Court’s legal reasoning in the college cases could be applied in other cases aiming to end companies’ ability to use race as a factor in training, leadership and mentorship programmes designed to correct historic underrepresentation”

SSIR article on PEG’s Efficacy Before Scale framework (Now part of SSIR’s “Essentials” ebook)

An article by John Newsome, Igor Rubinov and Aneesha Capur in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), lays out the “efficacy before scale” framework. To invest in and grow promising organizations and programs in a way that promotes efficacy prior to significant scaling and expansion, there are three pathways to follow: piloting, testing, and iterating. The article lays out valuable case examples from Mission Asset Fund, Working America and Nurse Family Partnerships showing notable impact after following one of pathways to scaling with efficacy.

The key to this “efficacy before scale” approach is a three-step process:

1. Build the prototype to demonstrate (early) results: Experiment, test, and refine programmatic approaches based on evidence, feedback, and clear metrics

2. Refine and “prove” the case: Codify the model to determine which elements can and must be replicated, guided by data and metrics, and develop “proof points” to show significant impact with chosen populations or target areas

3. Plan to scale: With clarity on effectiveness and replication, develop plans for expansion, replication, and/or dissemination, built on strengths of the refined model

Read the full article here.

Learn more about other PEG Publications.

PROMESA: A Failed Colonial Experiment?

The 5th anniversary of the enactment of PROMESA has come and gone. PROMESA (Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act), is a US federal law enacted in 2016 that established a financial oversight board, a process for restructuring debt, and expedited procedures for approving critical infrastructure projects in order to combat the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis. Center for a New Economy has published an important policy brief outlining how US federal fiscal intervention overseeing Puerto Rico's finances has failed.

By replicating mistakes perpetrated by global financial institutions in dealing with Greece and other nations, the “Tropical Troika” made possible by Puerto Rico’s colonial status has led PROMESA to fail to accomplish most of the objectives set forth by its authors: about 2/3 of the bonded debt has not been restructured; no critical projects for economic development have been approved; audited financial statements are still three years in arrears; the shift to budgeting on a modified accrual accounting basis is a work in progress; and the government’s budget is still out of balance

Read the full report here.

Planned Parenthood reckons with legacy and advances racial equity

PEG is proud to stand with Planned Parenthood Federation of America in addressing their history and implications for their work:

“Planned Parenthood is taking [racial equity] work seriously. Our senior leadership team is diverse. We have invested in training designed to give everyone, from the board room to the exam room, a foundational understanding of how race operates. And we are establishing new diversity, equity and inclusion standards for affiliates seeking to be a part of the Planned Parenthood Federation.”

Read the full opinion essay by Alexis McGill Johnson, the president and chief executive of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in the New York Times.

PEG's framework for considering an organization equity journey

Drawing from a decade of client work, PEG developed the Equity Continuum: a framework to help organizations map and plan a unique equity journey. PEG is proud to have partnered with The Bridgespan Group to develop a short summary article outlining the framework.

Read the full article here.

Nonprofit transparency watchdog Espacios Abiertos unveils Fiscal Observatory

Given the challenges people face in making their voices heard in government debates and decisions on fiscal and budget issues, nonprofit Espacios Abiertos analyzed thousands of documents from the past 16 years to develop the new Observatoriofiscalpr.com platform, which seeks to provide greater accessibility and narrow information gaps for residents of Puerto Rico.

Find out more about this initiative here