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 Institute is working with the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts (RCAHD) on a three-year process to improve the health department's community engagement strategies and data collection, and to make these strategies part of ongoing operations with the goal of continually assessing and refining service delivery.

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.

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.

VTIPG faculty and students produce annual reports directed to Albemarle County’s Board of Supervisors along with two periodic monitoring reports each calendar year directed to the County’s internal staff.

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.

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

VTIPG has partnered with the Community Design Assistance Center (CDAC) to conduct community engagement to inform conceptual redesigns for the former Donkenny property in Floyd, VA, with funding from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

VTIPG and the City of Roanoke will provide nonprofit and local government capacity-building training programs in order to help create a thriving community where collaborative efforts lead to more effective programming and enhanced democratic processes.

VTIPG conducted an assessment to support and inform considerations for restructuring Loudoun County’s nonprofit grant program, overseen by the Loudoun County Department of Management and Budget and a steering committee representing county human services offices and the nonprofit community.

The Octagon House Foundation contracted with Virginia Tech from June 1 – September 30, 2025, to conduct an executive feasibility study including a market scan, a SWOT analysis based on key findings from stakeholder and case study interviews, a projection of the economic impact of visitation using IMPLAN, and recommendations.

VTIPG worked with five Local Departments of Social Services (LDSS) in the New River Valley, collectively known as the Partners for Self-Sufficiency (PSS), to provide tailored wrap around services to address employment barriers and service needs for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) clients.

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.

This inquiry explores a range of challenges faced by, and opportunities available to, Syrian refugees with disabilities in Jordan that shape their capacity to engage in their communities. This study seeks to chart a share of Jordan’s efforts to comply with its international obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, drawing on the lived experiences and insights of Syrian refugees with disabilities currently living in Jordan and staff members of relevant civil society service and support organizations.

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.

VTIPG has had the privilege of learning about the work occurring at the Calfee Cultural & Community Center (CCCC) in Pulaski, Virginia. The original Calfee Training School in which the CCCC is located was a Black elementary and middle school, which closed with desegregation in 1966 and has been vacant for some years. A group of school alumni and Pulaski residents has mobilized to reimagine the physical space as well as preserve the important and too-little-known history of the school.

The Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance (VTIPG) conducted a limited review of the housing start assumptions used for the proposed Greene County Water and Sewer Financial Model.

This project will include a thorough review, expansion, and updating of the Blueprint for Action previously written in 2020, within the given timeframe in four phases: orientation, data gathering, analysis and planning, and reporting.

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.

VTIPG led the SSI Advocacy for Employment Options (SAFE) initiative to develop and deliver a training and technical assistance model for disability assessment and SSI advocacy for the TANF and VIEW programs.

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.

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.

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.

SwiftStart assisted unemployed and underemployed parents with child care responsibilities to access training for higher-paying, middle-skilled careers in health care, information technology, or advanced manufacturing. VTIPG supported program implementation and evaluation from 2016-2021.

Mount Rogers Community Services (MRCS) received USDA Emergency Rural Health Care grant funding to expand and optimize their Smyth County mental health and recovery campus. A team of VT faculty and graduate students is evaluating health outcomes, the construction process, health economics, the partnership network, and the trauma-informed design components of the project.

VTIPG, StreamLines, LLC, and collaborative partners conducted research at the request of the Virginia Community College System - Workforce Development Services (VCCS-WDS) for the Virginia Veterans Demonstration Project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Demonstration Project intended to improve educational and employment opportunities for Virginia’s Transitioning Service Members (TSMs) and veterans.

VTIPG received seed funding through the Vibrant Virginia Initiative for two projects, the first focused on opioid use disorder (OUD) and the second on community development in Southwest and Southside Virginia. A major goal of Vibrant Virginia is to connect and grow a network of researchers and practitioners interested in addressing concerns throughout Virginia’s urban and rural 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.

VTIPG partnered with the Virginia Tech Center for Housing Research to conduct an eviction reduction needs assessment for Total Action for Progress (TAP), funded by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The research team utilized demographic statistics, court administrative records, CoStar real estate data, and stakeholder interviews to analyze eviction trends.

VTIPG collaborated with the Virginia Tech Center for Survey Research and the Virginia Tech Center for Geospatial Information Technology to conduct a comprehensive study of veteran’s needs, experiences and service gaps in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

This project provides project management training for a selected group of employees at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to enhance their skills and knowledge in this important area.