The online essay series “RE: Reflections and Explorations” allowed Virginia Tech graduate students to share articles concerning their evolving research, interests, and experiences on topics relevant to the VTIPG mission. These essays analyze the critical issue of democratic agency and its challenges, the difficulties of self-governance in inter-governmental cooperation and in racial, ethnic, and religious diversity, and challenges resulting from rapid widespread economic, social, and technological shifts.

The Family Research Unit (FRU) provides research, technical expertise and human capacity to Fairfax County’s Department of Family Services Child Protective Services (CPS), Foster Care and Adoptions (FC&A), and the Fairfax/Falls Church Children's Services Act (CSA) Programs. The FRU team, with a 23+ year history, is comprised of research faculty and staff, with vast expertise in revenue maximization for children and youth being served by the above-mentioned programs.

The SAMHSA Evaluation Team has provided grant performance evaluation, needs and outcome assessments for several Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants for two southwest Virginia community services boards: Mount Rogers Community Services and New River Valley Community Services. The purpose of these grants is to expand services to un- and under-insured adults and youth with serious mental illness, substance use disorders, or co-occurring disorders.

In order to better understand the Housing First model and to provide more information about Housing First to developers and operators of recovery housing, the C2C team developed a Housing First toolkit. The toolkit includes information from interviews with existing Housing First programs run by Virginia Supportive Housing, REAL LIFE, and DESC, in addition to budgets, program policies, and other resources.

The Maré Research Group is a multi-stakeholder, international research and artistic partnership led by Professors Desirée Poets, Max Stephenson, and Nicholas Barnes, as well as community organizers Henrique Gomes de Silva and Andreza Jorge. The team has been conducting ongoing research documenting the lives of residents of the Complexo da Maré in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, through library exhibits, roundtable discussions, and written works.

VTIPG partnered with Reynolds Homestead, the Community Design Assistance Center (CDAC), and Envision Critz to conduct a series of community workshops to envision the renovation of a historic home for community use, as well as develop a land-use plan for the 13-acre plot surrounding the home. The design envisioned the creation of a community center oriented around arts and cultural programming that serves all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds in the community.

The Peer Empowered Addiction Recovery Living (PEARL) program of Piedmont Community Services (PCS) provides a 6-12 month residential stay in safe, supportive recovery housing, including access to counseling, case management, office-based opioid treatment (OBOT), and pregnancy and postpartum-specific care coordination. VTIPG provided technical assistance, photovoice program evaluation, and grant proposal support to assist Piedmont Community Services with the launch and maintenance of the PEARL program.

The Re-Employment, Support, and Training for the Opioid Related Epidemic (RESTORE) program provided by Total Action for Progress (TAP) has assisted women directly and indirectly impacted by the opioid epidemic by providing career services and job training. VTIPG conducted a program evaluation of RESTORE analyzing administrative data and findings from surveys and interviews with participants, RESTORE staff and training providers.

The C2C project is a novel multi-stakeholder intervention using referral, crisis response resources, case management capacities, and backpacks equipped with potentially life-saving tools to address goals of: 1) timely referral of persons experiencing or at-risk of overdose or other substance use health-related consequence; 2) reduction in overdose and relapse; and 3) connecting consumers to appropriate harm reduction, treatment and recovery programs.

The behavioral health interpreter training program aims to equip individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively interpret in mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) settings.

IPG Director Max Stephenson Jr. and Virginia Tech Graduate School Director of Communications Cathy Grimes co-edited two volumes comprising the Conversations series.

The LAMPP program focuses on facility, office, department, or shift group training needs for front line staff and new managers, with funding from the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation (VCBR).

Virginia Tech’s Peer Mentor Champion Training is designed to build capacity in public organizations by providing the tools and training employees need to create customized peer mentoring programs that are meaningful for their specific environments.

VTIPG has been working with alumni of St. Paul's College (SPC) in Lawrenceville, VA, to re-envision the role of this historically Black college and university (HBCU) that closed in 2013. The team has assisted with strategic planning and board governance.

TAP's Pathway Home program helps people in jails, prisons and Community Corrections Facilities (CCFs) return to their communities, find jobs, and avoid re-incarceration. Pathway Home supports participants every step of the way, from before release to a year of follow-up.

VTIPG conducted Total Action for Progress (TAP)’s triennial Community Needs Assessment (CNA) to guide the continued development and improvement of its programs and services. The CNA identified the top needs in the service area including individual-, household-, and community-level needs, as well as the impact of COVID-19 and the effects the pandemic had on TAP’s communities.

Violent Infrastructure: Ecologies of Decay and Displacement is the name of a traveling Photovoice exhibition based on a multi-year, feminist visual ethnography project led by Ariel Otruba. The research project examines the emotional impact of abject housing infrastructure conditions on internally displaced persons (IDPs) forced to flee the 1992-1993 Georgian-Abkhaz war.

The VMF program launched in 2017 and is a nationally recognized management and leadership succession pipeline program that equips college graduates who are interested in state public service with the knowledge and capacities to lead successfully in today's complex governing environment.

VPSL is a dynamic leadership development certificate program offered by Virginia Tech that is tailored to professionals at all levels within the public sector. This comprehensive program is designed to enhance leadership skills and address the evolving needs of state agencies.

YWCA NETN and SWVA was awarded a 2022 INSPIRE Initiative grant by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to fund a community needs assessment, which was conducted by Virginia Tech. The VT team reported on key findings from the interview, survey, and data collection process of identifying wraparound services, gaps, and networking capacity to strengthen the recovery ecosystem in the YWCA service area, and to inform the vision for a planned community wellness and resource center in Glade Spring, VA, to increase family resiliency.