June 2025

McAllister Hall

IPI served as the evaluator of the NSF COMPLEAT grant awarded to Dr. Sasha Wang in the Boise State Math Department. The project just completed its third and final year. The COMPLEAT project aimed to improve math content courses for preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) to advance their 21st Century workforce skills as future teachers. This included teaching PSETs how STEM subjects interact and how to teach and develop project-based learning that integrates all STEM subjects. PSETs across the country were able to work with local afterschool programs to work directly with elementary students. This project was implemented at Boise State University, Augusta University, University of Texas at San Antonio, and Kapi’olani Community College. 

The final year of evaluation found that PSETs learned a lot through the process of the project. Most valued the opportunity to work with students and learned new instructional practices, some specific to STEM, that they hope to implement in their future classrooms. Overall the activity helped PSETs learn more about STEM, how to teach STEM, and gain more confidence in teaching. After School program elementary students participating in the program found it enjoyable and were able to have positive STEM learning experiences. 

In the next year, the research team is working on writing and publishing peer review products as well as presenting findings at conferences.

City Club of Boise Project Completed

Creston Dupree, John Gisler, Sebastian Kou, & Ellie Winger

In June, the summer interns completed a project for City Club of Boise. City Club is a nonprofit organization that aims to provide a space for people to come together to explore diverse issues and hear varied viewpoints. City Club asked IPI to help them understand if City Club is exploring the issues that matter to the population and how they can better engage more people in their work, including young people and more conservative voices. IPI interns completed this research by reviewing survey data already collected by City Club and conducting interviews with board members and members of City Club. They presented their findings to the City Club Board on June 26th.

Presentation of Hispanic Statewide Healthcare Plan

Maria Onaindia & Libbie Luevanos

On Saturday, June 14th, Maria Onaindia and Libbie Luevanos presented their findings from the Hispanic Statewide Healthcare Plan to Cuéntame Más in Nampa. Read the report here.

May Realty Report

Maria Onaindia

Check out our May Realty Report, created in partnership with Boise Regional Realtors! Find market information on multiple counties in Southwestern Idaho here.

Presentation of 2025 DMV Customer Satisfaction Survey

Matthew May, Lantz McGinnis-Brown, Maria Onaindia, & Hannah Lang

On June 30th, IPI team members Matthew May, Lantz McGinnis-Brown, Maria Onaindia, and Hannah Lang presented their findings from the 2025 DMV Customer Satisfaction Survey to the DMV team and Executive Leadership at the Idaho Transportation Department. Key findings include:

• Survey participants are happy with DMV services – 72.6% of Idahoans rate the Idaho DMV as excellent/good, with 88% agreeing that Idaho DMV staff are courteous and 89.8% agreeing that the DMV staff are knowledgeable.
• Over three-quarters of respondents (78%) support the DMV’s long-term modernization goal: every Idahoan could visit the DMV offices in-person once in their life to confirm their identities, but all future services could be done remotely or online; in-person appointments would remain available. 
• Half of Idahoans are willing to use mobile drivers’ licenses (55.7%), an electronic extension of a physical card which could be used to provide information to stores, retailers, airports, and other service providers.

The report will be posted on Idaho Transportation Department’s Research Program website in the coming weeks.

Community Engagement and Belonging Hosts REP4 Meeting

With support from the President’s Office and the Center for Educational Opportunities – TRIO Educational Talent Search, Community Engagement and Belonging hosted the REP4 Regional Learner Summit from June 4 – 6. REP4 (Rapid Education Prototyping for Change, Learners Leading Learners) is a national alliance that empowers students to reimagine the future of education. High school students from across the Treasure Valley took on this year’s challenge to create a resource that supports first-generation students, their families, and/or communities by easing the transition to post-secondary education, with the goal of enhancing academic and personal success. Vanessa Fry of IPI is the REP4 National Fellow for Evaluation and helped plan this year’s summit. In her fellowship role she oversees the evaluation of all REP4 summits across the country.

Vanessa Fry Joins Urban Land Institute’s Midsummer Leadership Retreat

Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Midsummer Leadership Retreat was hosted in Boise in June. Vanessa Fry of IPI participated in a panel conversation to help kickoff the America’s Leadership Meeting as part of the week with a conversation about ULI’s Advisory Services, the unique tools and partnerships that are available for district councils to tap in to, and the impact this scope of work that ULI provides leaves on communities and in district councils. Vanessa spoke about her role on a Technical Assistance Panel in Boise that focused on housing. Recommendations from that panel were integrated into City of Boise’s recent zone code modernization effort.

Govern for America (GFA) Summer Institute & Fellowship Completion

Research Associate Hannah Lang attended GFA’s Summer Institute in Denver, Colorado from June 26th-29th. Completing her two year Fellowship with GFA, Lang has gained professional development skills aimed at enhancing government operations and programs, with a particular emphasis on state agency evaluation. While at the conference, Lang sat on a panel discussing the importance of research in government decision making processes and IPI’s work in the Mountain West region. Additionally, Lang presented her findings from her year-long Design Thinking Project, which focused on revamping IPI’s communication and social media platforms. She plans to share the insights gained from the conference and Fellowship with IPI staff and apply the new skills to more effectively assess state programs.

Youth Homelessness Project Launches

Idaho Policy Institute, in collaboration with local planning and public engagement firm Agnew::Beck (A::B), have been awarded a contract to conduct the Idaho Statewide Youth Homelessness Assessment in collaboration with Idaho Housing and Finance Association, Our Path Home, and Idaho’s Youth Action Board. With extensive experience in homelessness research, data analysis, and targeted engagement approaches, the team will conduct this critical statewide study that will help direct additional resources throughout Idaho. The team  will use a comprehensive, mixed-methods research strategy designed to provide a robust statewide assessment of youth homelessness in Idaho. The project will be completed in four phases with each  phase emphasizing data-driven analysis, community-based engagement, and actionable recommendations that support Idaho’s Coordinated Community Plan to prevent and end youth homelessness.