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At VIVA, supporting our partners in addressing the needs of diverse communities has been a driving goal since we were founded 9 years ago. We are committed to working in partnership to fix systems that are broken. During this momentous time, people and organizations are taking an especially close look at how their actions and efforts can be anti-racist.

To kick off our new blog series focused on how organizations can use data to support their social impact efforts – and better understand the impact of those efforts – Laura Bowen, VIVA’s Communications Director, interviews Christine Tringale, VIVA’s Director of Data & Analytics.

“Sometimes you are planted apart to see how you will grow together.” ― Nitya Prakash In this sudden era of remote work, everyone from internal teams to systems partners will rely on virtual collaboration more than ever before. To help make this transition as smooth as possible, we’ve pulled together VIVA’s top six tips for successful virtual meetings that connect, inspire, and keep the ball rolling – even when you are not physically in the same space. 1. Define the…

The Quality Counts California (QCC) Local Consortia and Partnership Grants RFA released January 31, 2020 merged First 5 and California Department of Education funding streams for quality rating improvement systems (QRIS) into one grant. Nine years after the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge catalyzed the development of QRISs in California, and five years after the expansion of support for quality through CDE’s CSSP and First 5 CA’s IMPACT investment were made, we now have an exciting opportunity to…

Let’s face it – meetings can sometimes be a bit dull. But to start a meeting with the wind at your back, we recommend using these ice breakers to allow everyone a chance to arrive in the space, have a laugh, a moment of reflection, and an opportunity to learn something new about their colleagues. Enjoy!

Helping children understand and value differences can be quite a task. VIVA worked with Quality Start LA to create Me and My Friends, a short e-book about a preschooler named Mateo who lives in LA County. The book was positioned alongside tips for parents and providers to help guide conversations about diversity and inclusion.

That’s the question we’ve been asking during a year-long research and storytelling project to understand families’ experiences accessing and using public services to create better lives for their children. The first thing we did was research to understand a system that was redesigned to better work for the families that need it. Michigan made significant investments in redesigning its public service system using human-centered design principles, and the result is impressive. Learn more about what Michigan has done right, and where they have room…

Having celebrated VIVA’s 8 year anniversary as a firm, we are proud to reflect on how we view our work, our team, and those we serve. We regularly discuss as a team what brings us together and what unifies our efforts, and at the end of these conversations, we always land on social impact partnerships. With this in mind, we began to think about our firm’s name. But before we go further, let’s take a brief walk back in time. When Nicole and…

At this year’s Build #QRIS2019 Conference, we participated in some excellent sessions, delivered three presentations, spread the word about VIVA Goods, caught up with many familiar faces…and, of course, ate more than our share of beignets!

Did you know that summer reading programs began in the 1890s as a way to encourage school children, particularly those in urban areas, to read during their summer vacation?