Learning and Evaluation Partner:
Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) Pilot for Expectant Families in Seattle, WA
Unconditional and unrestricted cash embodies a set of values that depart sharply from the paternalistic, stigmatizing approach the U.S. has taken toward poverty alleviation for decades. Further, unconditional cash has numerous and well documented benefits for household economic stability and maternal and child health. Studies illustrate that the cognitive and brain development of low-income children differs from that of children in higher-income families. Higher family income is associated with better performance on assessments of children’s language, memory, executive function and socioemotional functioning, with corresponding associations found in the neural structure and function of brain regions that support these skills.
The rapid adoption of the recent measures of financial assistance (stimulus checks, as well as extended and increased unemployment benefits) underscored two things:
- Unrestricted cash works and is recognized as the most efficient approach to enabling people to meet basic needs
- The existing safety net is inadequate to the task of providing basic resources.
Addressing the current crises, and preparing for the next, requires that we put in place flexible and responsive structures that adequately protect pregnant people and caregivers with young children against the economic shocks caused by job and wage loss, or the sudden loss of any kind of support structure. The pandemic has exposed the deep inequalities and deficiencies in our social safety net that have relegated millions of families to the margins of the economy, while perpetuating racist myths about work and poverty.
APPLICATIONS DUE
November 5, 2021
QUESTION / CONTACT
Gloris Estrella
The Opportunity
Perigee Fund seeks a learning and evaluation partner with experience in community evaluation methods including formative assessment, community based participatory research, and evaluation of community engagement processes. We expect this partner to design a process that will systematically gather data about the experiences of expectant families and families with young children 0-3, offer insights to the implementing organization along the way, help share the stories of what GBI means for families, and lend insights to the broader GBI movement.
Target Population
Perigee Fund is currently partnering with group of leaders in the Urban Native community that is now organizing to design the guaranteed basic income pilot. We expect they will have a proposal to fund families via a GBI pilot in 2022. The program will enroll pregnant families within the Puget Sound urban Indian and Pacific Islander communities in a cash support program, from pregnancy through the first 3 years of the children’s lives.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Perigee seeks partners that reflect the diversity of the communities across the state and who are committed to centering family and community voices in strategy, design and execution of their work.
Desired Characteristics of a Partner
- Based in the Pacific Northwest and able to be present in the Seattle area
- Experience informing questions of policy and practice through evaluation
- Commitment to equitable evaluation in design and in practice
- Experience working in partnership with American Indian/Alaska Native communities
- Ability to build strong relationships and trust
- Familiarity with and willingness to engage in the GBI movement
- Ability to use multiple media outlets to shares stories and findings
- Familiarity with decolonizing research methods
- Familiarity with child and maternal mental health learning and evaluation
Eligibility
- Open to the full spectrum of types of evaluation providers such as individuals, firms, academic centers and community-based groups.
- Priority will be given to groups with Indigenous leadership within the organization or institute.
How to Apply
Please submit your written proposal on or before November 5, 2021. Contact Gloris Estrella (gloris@perigeefund.org) with questions, to request an extension, or to set up a time to connect to learn more about this opportunity.
Project Timeline
The contract timeline will run January 2022 – July 2022 for evaluation design phase. Evaluation implementation plan will be determined through the design process, in close conversation with Perigee Fund.