2025 Idaho Policy Institute Annual Report

As we look back on 2025, I am honored to share the Idaho Policy Institute’s annual report. Now in our tenth academic year, IPI continues to advance Boise State University’s mission by delivering independent, nonpartisan analysis that helps leaders make informed, forward-looking decisions.

This year’s portfolio demonstrates the breadth and depth of our work. From housing affordability and transportation safety, youth well-being, and nonprofit capacity, our projects reached every corner of the state. Whether evaluating statewide programs, producing timely data resources, or supporting local governments and nonprofits, we remained focused on translating research into actionable insights that address Idaho’s most pressing challenges.

2025 also underscored the power of collaboration as we work to build bridges between our community partners and campus. Our relationships with public, private, and nonprofit partners across Idaho remain foundational to our mission, and we are grateful for their trust, candor, and commitment to evidence-informed decision-making. Just as importantly, this year demonstrated the essential role of students in IPI’s work. Our internships offer hands-on research opportunities that prepare students for careers in public service, policy analysis, and community leadership. Their contributions to projects exemplify the educational and public-service commitments of the School of Public Service. In the year ahead, IPI will place an increased focus on building long-term partnerships that advance our mission and serve to provide high-impact learning experiences for students.

As you explore this report, you will see not only the outcomes of our research but also the people behind the work. These accomplishments belong to an exceptional team whose dedication to methodological rigor, transparency, and service defines IPI’s success. IPI has an elite team of researchers that create immense value for the state. I am deeply grateful for their expertise and passion, and for the continued support of our partners, community members, and faculty who make our work possible.

Thank you for your continued support of the Idaho Policy Institute and its mission to use high-quality research to inform policy, strengthen decision-making, and improve lives across our state. We look forward to continuing this work with you in the year ahead.

Warm regards,
Dr. Luke Fowler
Interim Director, Idaho Policy Institute
School of Public Service

Team: McAllister Hall, Vanessa Fry, Hannah Lang, Kristi Spalding, Libbie Luevanos
Community Partner: Central District Health

Central District Health (CDH) commissioned IPI to conduct an environmental scan to better understand how jurisdictions within its service area – Ada, Boise, Elmore, and Valley Counties – are using Idaho’s opioid settlement funds, with the goals of informing strategic regional planning, reducing opioid-related harms, and protecting and promoting health in the communities which CDH serves.

The project provided an analysis of opioid-related programming, identified gaps in resources and unmet needs, and other actionable recommendations. 

The project team from IPI used a mixed-methods approach, including a review of publicly available data, six stakeholder interviews, and 12 focus groups involving 68 participants, including individuals with lived experience, service providers, and community partners. Quantitative data highlighted increasing overdose deaths and rising service demands, particularly in rural areas with limited treatment infrastructure. Qualitative findings revealed challenges such as barriers to detox and treatment services, lack of transportation, affordable housing shortages, and barriers to accessing clear information about available resources.

Key recommendations included:

• Establishing a regional steering committee to guide funding decisions and ensure alignment with local needs.
• Scaling effective harm reduction, transportation, and prevention programs. 
• Expanding access to secular recovery models and detox centers.
• Enhancing cross-system partnerships for housing, reentry, and behavioral health services. Creating multilingual, accessible resource directories for community use.

Beginning in July of 2024, the project concluded in June of 2025. Read the full report. 

Team: Matthew May, Lantz McGinnis-Brown, Maria Onaindia, Hannah Lang, Cheong Kim, Simon Richardson, Owen Kerr, Anthony Bertelsen, Cecilia Calvo, Spencer Reed
Community Partner: Idaho Department of Transportation

Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) contracted with IPI to conduct an evaluation of Idaho’s Alive at 25 program – a young driver education program that is offered either voluntarily or as a way for drivers under 25 to get a potential driving citation removed from their record. Alive at 25 is intended to teach young drivers safer driving habits, resulting in fewer crashes and citations. The program evaluation began in March 2024 and ended in December 2025.

In order to determine the impact of the Alive at 25 program, IPI analyzed crash and citation data for program participants and compared results against a control group of Idaho drivers of similar age who did not take the course. Additionally, IPI surveyed program participants at three points in time to measure the lasting impact of the program, including before they took the course, immediately after they took the course, and three-months after they had taken the course. This allowed the research team to better understand how attitudes might be changed as a result of Alive at 25.

IPI researchers also conducted interviews with several stakeholder groups, including: Alive at 25 program instructors, to explore how program design and format impacts student learning outcomes; program leaders, to dig into the context of Alive at 25 programs (and related programs) across the nation and how Idaho’s program may differ from others; and curriculum developers, to identify programmatic intent.

The main findings of the evaluation included: 

• The Alive at 25 course is viewed favorably by both instructors and participants. Instructors mainly see the course as a way to provide learning opportunities for young drivers and to reduce risky driving behavior, while course participants indicate that the course is “very useful” to them as a driver immediately following the course.
• Evidence suggests that Alive at 25’s impact on citations and crash occurrences is short-term. Analysis of secondary citation and crash data suggests that individuals exhibit changes of behavior change in the short term (0-6 months following course completion), but these improved behaviors do not extend outside of this immediate time window.
• Alive at 25 curriculum is in needed-flux. The National Safety Council (NSC) is currently piloting a new version of its Alive at 25 curriculum, with an anticipated implementation by the end of 2025. Most course instructors identified elements of the current curriculum in need of revision or refinement. It will be necessary to evaluate the degree to which the new curriculum addresses these concerns, so that effort is not made to correct something already in the process of being fixed.

The final report will be published on the Idaho Transportation Department website in the coming months.