Return on Investment

Improving Public Policy

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North Pacific Fisheries Commission takes precautionary action to manage important forage species

In April, the international North Pacific Fisheries Commission adopted an interim harvest strategy for Pacific saury, a small pelagic species and an important source of food for tuna, sharks, and salmon that has seen a significant population decline because of overfishing. The commission’s adoption of this precautionary Pew-backed measure represents a critical first step toward development of a full harvest strategy for Pacific saury that will set longer-term objectives for management of this important forage species to account for its outsize role in marine food webs. Pew and its partners also helped to secure a new measure that will strengthen compliance and transparency of other commission management regulations.

Florida adopts Apalachicola Bay management plan addressing climate change

In June, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Acquisition and Restoration Council adopted a Pew-backed resource management plan for the Apalachicola Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, which incorporates measures to enable the 246,000-acre reserve to better withstand threats ranging from development to rising seas and extreme weather. The plan calls for science-based restoration and management of oyster reefs to maintain a viable fishery and to enhance the health of the bay located off the Florida panhandle. Pew is encouraging federal and state governments to develop natural resource management plans that enable ecosystems and communities to better adapt and become more resilient to changing conditions.

California adopts Pew-backed climate targets that include blue carbon habitats

California adopted nature-based climate targets in April aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing carbon sequestration on natural and working lands such as forests, croplands, and wetlands to advance climate adaptation and resilience. For the first time, these state targets include blue carbon habitats, such as salt marshes and seagrass beds that can capture and store large amounts of carbon. Since 2021, Pew has supported research, provided technical advice, and engaged in policy advocacy to elevate coastal blue carbon as an important component of California’s climate change response.

Pew signs agreement with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization

Pew and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) signed an agreement in March that aims to see more member states effectively implement measures to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by improving their monitoring, control, and surveillance of fishing operations. By formalizing work with the FAO, Pew can more effectively support the strengthening of government efforts to end IUU practices and the global adoption and application of international agreements that can stop illegal catch from reaching the marketplace. The agreement also highlights joint efforts to enhance information exchange among governments.

Pew’s housing policy initiative testimony and opinion makes a difference in Hawaii

As the nation faces a shortage of affordable and accessible housing, Hawaii Governor Josh Green (D) in May signed two land-use reform bills into law, legalizing two accessory dwelling units per lot and apartment buildings on commercially zoned land and allowing co-living microunits in commercial buildings converted to housing. The new laws came after staff from Pew’s housing policy initiative testified in favor of the legislation and published an op-ed in the state’s largest newspaper highlighting the benefits of these laws.

Pew launches Behavioral Health Emergency Response Initiative

In April, Pew’s mental health and justice project launched the Behavioral Health Emergency Response Initiative with a convening in Detroit of three partner organizations. Co-funded by Blue Meridian Partners and in collaboration with the Marron Institute at New York University, the initiative will start with a year-long process to assess the state of the crisis response infrastructure and offer a plan to address challenges and capitalize on opportunities. Pew is working to identify state-level policy changes necessary to strengthen the continuum of care for those in crisis.

Tennessee and Oklahoma pass bipartisan legislation to improve debt cases

In May, Tennessee and Oklahoma approved legislation that imposes requirements on debt collector plaintiffs to demonstrate the validity of their claims at the start of a court case. The bills had bipartisan support and were the result of Pew’s courts and communities project’s research that drew attention to the high volume of debt collection lawsuits and the harmful consequences of interactions with the court system that patients and consumers face. The project is helping to develop data-driven reforms in states to meaningfully reduce caseloads, court hearings, and subsequent court interactions in cases such as debt collection lawsuits.

Budget working group convenes to exchange ideas on state fiscal issues

In June, the Pew-sponsored National Conference of State Legislatures Budget Working Group continued work with its fourth in-person meeting to share ideas and collaborate on fiscal issues, including improving data access to help inform budgeting decisions and preventative maintenance for state infrastructure needs. The Budget Working Group is composed of state legislative fiscal leaders and senior staff, co-chaired by Montana House of RepresentativesAppropriations Committee Chair Llew Jones (R) and Colorado State Senator Chris Hansen (D), and is supported by Pew’s state fiscal policy team.

Invigorating Civic Life

Lexey Swall for The Pew Charitable Trusts

Pew-funded report evaluates housing funding in Philadelphia

In March, the Reinvestment Fund, a nonprofit financing and research organization, released a Pew-funded report employing a framework for understanding the return on investment connected with local public sector spending on housing programs in Philadelphia. The analysis examined a subset of housing programs illustrating the breadth of objectives addressed by local housing entities and the complexity of direct comparisons among dozens of initiatives operated by the city. Collectively, the programs reach over 13,000 beneficiaries annually, but none can completely resolve the needs associated with their programs given the vast scale of those needs and limited funding. Philadelphia’s local housing funding dollars more than doubled during the period studied, with an increase from $118 million to $241 million from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal 2023. The findings from the report were shared with Philadelphia City Council members and staff who plan to use the findings to inform their questions during the fiscal 2025 budget hearings.

Study finds more women are serving on city councils

In March, Pew released an analysis, “More Women Serving on Philadelphia City Council, but Gains Lag Some Peer Cities,” examining the city councils of Philadelphia and 14 other large U.S. cities. The analysis looked at three aspects of councils: gender representation, tenure, and salary. Since Pew last examined city councils in 2016, one of the most significant changes is the increase in female representation. Six cities have majority female representation in 2024 while none did in 2016. Although Philadelphia grew its percentage of women from 35% to 41%, it dropped in ranking from fifth to ninth as other cities more greatly increased their female council representation. Overall, tenure has reduced to an average of 6.9 years, down from 8.2 years in 2016, because of increased turnover during the most recent elections, particularly in cities without term limits.

Analysis explores Philadelphia’s post-American Rescue Plan Act fiscal reality

In March, Pew released the analysis “Philadelphia’s Post-ARPA Fiscal Reality,” exploring scenarios for Philadelphia focusing on the city’s financial prospects after the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding expires in December. Under the city’s current five-year financial plan, Philadelphia’s fund balance will drop substantially as the federal ARPA money runs out, falling from a projected figure of $682 million in fiscal 2024 to less than $14 million in fiscal 2029. In each of the years covered by the plan, the city is projected to spend more than the revenue coming in. Assuming the projections are correct, that balance of revenues and expenditures is unsustainable. And, in the event of an economic downturn, depending on the nature and magnitude, the city could expect a revenue shortfall of more than $1 billion over five years as compared with the current projections. The analysis explores possible scenarios that city policymakers might explore to increase revenue and reduce expenditures to address the gap and help to inform the coming budget hearings.

Pew Center for Arts & Heritage-funded projects featured around the world

With The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage support, many projects continue to reach national and international audiences following their Philadelphia-area premieres. These include the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s “The Shape of Time: Korean Art After 1989,” which is traveling to the Minneapolis Institute of Art; the Fabric Workshop and Museum’s “Jayson Musson: His History of Art,” which moved to the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati; and Ars Nova Workshop’s “Milford Graves: A Mind-Body Deal,” which went to Bennington College’s Usdan Gallery in Vermont. Internationally, “Designing Motherhood,” which was originally produced by the Maternity Care Coalition and exhibited at the Mütter Museum and the Center for Architecture and Design, will be on view at Stockholm’s Swedish Center for Architecture and Design; and “The Contest of the Fruits” by Berlin-based artist collective Slavs and Tatars was on display in Berlin at Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, following its debut at the Hurford Center for the Arts and Humanities at Haverford College.

Pew holds gathering on effective approaches for countering religious bias

Pew brought together in Philadelphia representatives of 18 foundations from around the country in April to consider the connection between research and practice related to religious tolerance. Pew staff shared initial findings from a multifaceted research effort that looked at programs offered by a range of organizations that work to counter bias against different religions and promote respectful relationships across religious differences. Among the effort’s central findings was that there is little consensus about what sort of programs work best in terms of improving relations among individuals from different religious traditions and that few providers invest much time and money in evaluating their efforts in a rigorous way. The group of funders, including Muslim and Jewish family foundations as well as most of the leading religion funders, explored some of the most promising ways to narrow the gap between research and practice.

“State of the City” report released

In April, Pew released “Philadelphia 2024: The State of the City,” an annual report that compares Philadelphia’s progress on a series of indicators and benchmarks with nine other U.S. cities of similar makeup, size, and geography. The 2024 report focused on Philadelphia in a year of significant transition. With a new mayor, new membership on City Council, and new civic leadership, the trends that have given Philadelphia a sense of dynamism in recent years, including its increasingly well-educated and diverse population, continue. Unemployment fell to record levels at an average of 4.2%, the lowest in more than 30 years, while the number of jobs, an average of 765,400, was the highest in 40 years. But Philadelphia’s persistent problems remain as well, threatening to undermine any sense of progress. Those problems include the high crime rate, the staggering number of drug overdose deaths, and the fact that more than 1 in 5 residents are living below the poverty line.

Pew Fellows in the Arts receive national and international recognition

Pew fellow in the arts Camae Ayewa, a musician, poet, and visual artist, is one of 10 artists to receive the CHANEL Next Prize, a 100,000-euro award that comes with a two-year mentorship and networking program and recognizes artists who are helping define contemporary art and culture. Pew fellow and visual artist Armando Veve’s work appeared on the cover of the March 31 issue of The New York Times Magazine, illustrating a heart and accompanying the story “Reinventing CPR.” Two Pew fellows, Carolyn Lazard and Karyn Olivier, were featured in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 2024 Biennial, the longest-running survey of contemporary art in the United States. In a recent review, ARTnews noted both artists’ work as standouts, including Olivier’s “gorgeous sculpture” composed of found buoys and multicolored ropes.

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage-supported theater work featured on national stages

In June, Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater received a 2024 Regional Theatre Tony Award, becoming the first theater in Pennsylvania to receive this recognition for a continuous level of artistic achievement. The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage has supported the theater through grants spanning more than 25 years. The Malvern, Pennsylvania-based theater company People’s Light’s play “Lights Out: Nat ‘King’ Cole” will make its off-Broadway debut, as announced in May by the New York Theatre Workshop. The music-theater work about the legendary jazz artist originated with a Center grant and was developed and co-written by Academy Award-nominated actor, writer, and director Colman Domingo.

Philadelphia’s tax burden affects businesses differently

In June, Pew released the analysis “For Businesses, Philadelphia’s Tax Burden Differs by Size and Sector,” exploring the city’s two business income taxes, the business income and receipts tax (BIRT), and the net profits tax (NPT), which provide nearly 16% of local tax dollars for government services and operations. Examining more than 921,000 city business tax returns from 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021, the analysis calculates the tax burden on different sectors and business sizes. The median BIRT bill was $1,315 over the four years studied. Among those owing more than the median, an average of 52 businesses owed $1 million or more annually. Because of the city’s exemption to BIRT on sales under $100,000, only about one-fourth of Philadelphia businesses incur a BIRT liability, with three-fourths paying no BIRT, although some still owed money separately on the NPT. This report concluded Pew’s “Fiscal Future” series, which examined Philadelphia’s post-pandemic recovery.

Informing the Public

CDC Unsplash

How public K-12 teachers view their jobs and the education system

Public K-12 teachers are stressed about their jobs, and few are optimistic about the future of education. Most teachers say their job is frequently stressful (77%) and overwhelming (68%), according to a Pew Research Center survey of 2,531 U.S. public K-12 teachers. Meanwhile, 70% of teachers say their school is understaffed. And about half of public K-12 teachers say they would not advise a young person starting out today to become a teacher. These are among the findings from a series of Pew Research Center publications that explored what it’s like to be a teacher today, what teachers want Americans to know about teaching, and what teachers, teens, and the U.S. public say about current curriculum debates.

The untold economic hardship among Asian Americans

Asian Americans are often portrayed as economically and educationally successful. In reality, about 1 in 10 Asian Americans live in poverty. Asian Americans also have the most income inequality of any major racial or ethnic group in the United States. Pew Research Center conducted 18 focus groups in 12 languages to explore the stories and experiences of Asian Americans living in poverty. In March, the Center published a data essay and a short film about Asian Americans’ experiences with economic hardship and overcoming challenges and their views of the American dream and social mobility in America.

Teens’ “almost constant” use of the internet and social media

Despite negative headlines and growing concerns about social media’s impact on youth, teens continue to use these platforms at high rates—with some describing their social media use as “almost constant,” according to a series of Pew Research Center reports examining teenagers’ relationships with technology and digital devices. Most teens think the benefits of smartphones outweigh the harms for people their age. However, 38% of teens say they spend too much time on their smartphone, and about a quarter say the same regarding their social media use. Roughly three-quarters of parents (76%) say that managing how much time their teen spends on the phone is an important or a top priority.

Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project studies religion in East Asia

By some measures, East Asia seems like one of the least religious regions in the world: Relatively few East Asian adults pray daily or say that religion is very important in their lives, and rates of people leaving religion are among the highest in the world, according to a Pew Research Center survey of 10,000 adults in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and neighboring Vietnam. Yet, the survey also shows that many people across the region continue to hold religious or spiritual beliefs and engage in traditional rituals. The research is part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, which has provided global analysis of religious trends for more than a decade, including in-depth studies in more than 100 countries.