This talk will describe four types of research activities that OMB Watch has undertaken in the United States that can result in shaping public policy. It will be followed by a discussion of four issues that NPOs face when doing policy research that may be worthy of further discussion. Summary of Presentation by Gary D. Bass Executive Director, OMB Watch March 27 and 29, 2001 Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan Types of Policy Research Activities

1. Applied Research. This is the most common type of research undertaken by universities and "think tanks." It is based on standards for research designs and analyses; it most often provides statistical interpretations of the data that is collected or re-analyzed. Although applied research is often funded by foundations and government, policy research does not receive the same support as other types of research. It is unusual for this type of policy research to be conducted by nonprofit organizations (NPOs) involved in service delivery; rather it is usually done by researchers in for-profit or not-for-profit institutions. As a result, the research findings are usually written in a style more appropriate for scholarly journals. In most cases, these research activities remain distant to NPOs involved in the policy process. This may be because NPO practitioners have little time to read such materials, or the literature is written in a manner that is difficult to understand to the lay person or NPO practitioner, or the material has little real world relevance to the activities that NPOs face. As might be expected, OMB Watch has done little applied research. However, we are engaged in a multi-year collaborative applied research project with Tufts University to assess factors that encourage or discourage public policy participation by NPOs. The research effort, called Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy Project (SNAP), was designed with three phases: (a) survey research of NPOs regarding policy participation; (b) discussion groups with NPOs to describe data results and seek input on ways of hurdling barriers to participation; and (c) dissemination of findings with a focus on ways to implement the ideas for hurdling the barriers. Enclosed is a description of the research project and some preliminary results.
2. Policy Analysis. For many national and state NPOs engaged in public policy, this type of research may be the most common approach. When legislation or regulations are published, an NPO, such as OMB Watch, will provide a summary of the proposal and describe its implication for the NPO sector. This type of research is often used by other NPOs to help them understand the legislation or regulation, and summarize the proposal to its membership (e.g., through newsletters). It is also used by the news media and policymakers to understand the policy proposal from the perspective of the NPO that prepared the analysis. One example of the power of the policy analysis occurred a few years ago when there was a legislative proposal to limit or prohibit policy participation by NPOs that received federal grants (commonly called the Istook amendment). The proposal was very technical and continued to change, giving little time for local, state, and national NPOs to obtain and understand the legislation. OMB Watch provided detailed analyses – both short and long versions – within hours of obtaining the legislative proposal. These analyses were provided to thousands of NPOs through email and fax, which, in turn, helped them determine their point of view on the proposal. (Having both short and longer, more detailed analyses is very important.) The OMB Watch web site <www.ombwatch.org> provides many examples of such policy analyses.
3. Impact Analysis. Often times it is not enough simply to analyze what the proposed legislation or regulation would do. What other NPOs, along with policymakers, want to know is what impact the legislation or regulation would have, as well as what impact alternatives might have. OMB Watch has had experience with two types of impact analyses: econometric studies and anecdotal reports. Econometric Studies: President Bush has proposed repeal of the estate tax, which is a tax on decedents with wealthy estates. Repeal of this tax would have an impact on concentrations of wealth, on charitable bequests, and on federal and state revenue. Because the NPO sector and others are concerned about repeal of the estate tax, many in Congress are interested in modifying rather than repealing the tax. While OMB Watch and others have done policy analyses (see, for example, www.ombwatch.org/npadv/estatetax), there is little research done on legislative alternatives. In order to influence ways in which the tax might be modified, OMB Watch is moving to commission an econometric study to show the impact various proposals would have on concentrations of wealth, charitable bequests, and government revenues. It is important to select a contractor that is widely respected and has the ability to do the research in a timely manner. One difficulty is finding the resources for such research, which could cost between US$50,000 and US$100,000. Anecdotal Reports: A powerful research tool is to provide stories and case examples of how legislative and regulatory proposals would affect specific organizations. When the Istook amendment was proposed (see above), OMB Watch contacted state and local NPOs to collect stories on how the proposal would change the work they do in communities. The collection of stories was organized by state and given to members of Congress, along with the names of contacts in each organization. This had a large impact since many members of Congress want to hear from people in their district or state. (Today, OMB Watch makes use of the Internet to obtain anecdotal information to supplement our comments to Congress and federal agencies.)
4. Action Research. OMB Watch places a heavy emphasis on doing research that leads to action. Here are three examples of action research. Recommendations to President Bush: OMB Watch, in collaboration with several other NPOs, developed a first-time ever Internet survey <//npadv/2000/survey.html#survey> to seek the opinions of NPOs across the country on what policy changes the new President should make to strengthen the relationship between the NPO sector and the federal government. Following the survey, an advisory panel of 25 NPO leaders from across the country was convened – largely using Internet technology for meetings – for 2 hours each week for 5 weeks to review the survey results and translate them into recommendations for President Bush. The Nonprofit Agenda, which contains the final recommendations, was distributed to the President and made public through our web site at <www.ombwatch.org/npagenda/>. RTK NET (Right-to-Know Network): In 1989, OMB Watch made federal government data about toxic releases available through computer telecommunications and, as the Internet became more commonly used, through the Internet to help community groups advocate for local, state and national policies that protect the environment. In addition to providing the data online, we also trained community groups on how to use telecommunications and the data that was available through RTK NET. As the years have progressed the number of databases on RTK NET has increased as has NPO familiarity with the Internet. This has helped empower NPOs by giving them the ability to search for information about dangerous chemicals by zip code, city, or state – or by the name of a company. Use of right-to-know data has result in a 46% decline in toxic chemical releases over a ten year period. RTK NET has also been a powerful tool in demonstrating to the government ways of making information publicly accessible. RTK NET is available at www.rtknet.org. Online Policy Resource Center: Moving in tandem with the SNAP applied research (see above), OMB Watch was interested in using the Internet as a vehicle for strengthening NPO policy participation. Accordingly, we have developed a web-based resource center to help NPOs learn about the intersection of public policy participation and use of newer information technologies. The resource center will contain information about NPO lobbying rules, case examples of participation, research findings such as those from the SNAP research, tools to facilitate policy participation, and more. The information center will be abailable at http://www.npaction.org.

Issues that Need Further Exploration

1. Research Collaboration: We strongly support this proposition. Our experience with the SNAP research (described above) highlights some of the tensions and questions that need to be addressed when a university and a practitioner NPO collaborate. Working through these issues with Tufts University has resulted in a research process and product that is significantly better than what either partner could do on its own. Our experience developing the Nonprofit Agenda (described above) demonstrates a different set of issues that should be addressed in a collaborative action research effort.
2. Resources: Undertaking any policy research requires an organizational commitment that includes staff training, funding, and proper allocation of time. Many NPOs, particularly those involved in service delivery, cannot also undertake policy research. While they may have the skills, they may not have the time. Even for those NPOs that do policy research, they cannot do all types of research. For example, the SNAP applied research has been more difficult to do for OMB Watch because of the pressure to analyze current legislative and regulatory proposals as opposed to work on longer term research issues.
3. Translation of Findings: Doing the research is only part of the task. It is very important for NPOs and researchers to think in advance about how to translate the research findings in ways that can help empower NPOs. Use of web sites, such as the Nonprofit Sector Research Fund's site, helps. But it is essential to write results in ways that the intended audience will understand them. NPO practitioners may be less interested in reading statistical analyses than in reading implications of the data for the work they do. The news media may be more interested in a cogent summary of the research findings to help them identify the key points. And researchers may be more interested in reading statistical analyses, along with methodological descriptions.
4. Dissemination and Action: Even with great translation of the research findings, it is essential to have a broad dissemination strategy and to have a plan for putting the research findings into action. OMB Watch places a high priority on such planning. In recent times, we have shifted our dissemination and action strategies to incorporate the use of the Internet because of cost, time savings, and the ability to reach a wide audience. However, the initial investment was significant. We had to develop the internal technology capacity, which included purchase of equipment and software and staff training. We also had to expend resources in training other NPOs on how to use the Internet.