NGLTF Ignorant of Cost of
Its Own Study on Prop 8
This morning veteran gay journalist Rex Wockner sent out this notice to his readers:
Box Turtle Bulletin
12 Jan 09
The NGLTF Study On Race and Prop 8: The Problem of Margins of Error
by Jim Burroway
(Wockner summarizes: A poll with a +/- 8.5-point to a +/- 14.7-point margin of
error is not useful.)
Read:
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2009/01/12/7953
The bulletin has raised serious questions about the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force study that was issued last week, and those questions have piqued my curiosity about the price-tag for the study.
Here is the crux of Burroway's concerns:
Remember, we’re dealing with a probable margin of error for the African-American churchgoing sample of somewhere in the neighborhood of plus or minus 12% to 14.7%. With an uncertainty that large, these numbers could be all over the place and still be a statistical tie. Any assessment of actual differences is completely swamped by the margins of error.
Funding for the race and Prop 8 research came from the Haas Fund of San Francisco, where the former executive director of NGLTF, Matt Foreman, now works.
I made some calls and sent an email to Inga Sarda-Sorensen, the communications director for the task force, thinking she would have the basics of the study, starting with the cost. I was wrong. Here is the entirety of her written reply:
Hi Michael,
The study was commissioned by the Haas, Jr. Fund and I do not know the cost of the study.
Best regards,
Inga
Rather shocking she doesn't the amount spent, and compounding her ignorance is her terseness. I guess it would have killed her to provide with the name and contact info for the right person at the Haas Fund who would have the answer I'm seeking. Is this proper behavior for a communications director, to give the brush off to a news blogger, and say nothing along the lines of "If I can be of further assistance, please contact me." Nope, she is just interested in making me and my question go away.
Nonetheless, I wrote to Sorensen asking who I should be in touch with at the fund, and pointing out how odd it was she lacked the cost info. I also left a voice mail message for Matt Foreman, asking him to get me the price-tag for the study.
I read many gay and mainstream press accounts, along with posts at gay blogs, about the NGLTF study, and didn't see anything about how much money was spent on the survey and analysis.
The reason why I want this information is because after upwards of $45 was wasted by the No on 8/Equality California leaders, of which NGLTF was a key partner of the leadership circle that lost gay marriage equality for us, I think we need lots more fiscal transparency.
And not just about anything related to the Prop 8 loss and its aftermath, but to every aspect of our community organizations and how they spend gay community dollars.
Whether the cost was $100 or $10,000, NGLTF should release the figure today and we can start to forgive the organization for its failure to include the amount in its release about the Prop 8 study.
[UPDATE]
Be sure to read Matt Foreman's reply in the comments section, along with my response to him.
5 comments:
Michael -
I know my assistant left you a message saying I would get back to you as soon as I was out of my meetings this afternoon. Sorry you couldn't wait.
The Haas, Jr. Fund commissioned the study because we have invested several million dollars in public education efforts to advance marriage equality over the last seven years, including work within people of color communities. We wanted to understand why people voted one way or another to guide our future investments.
The Task Force does not know the costs of the study because it was never discussed with them and the formal arrangement was between the Fund and the authors of the study and a vendor who performed some of the data analysis.
We gave the study to the Task Force Policy Institute to release, in conjunction with other groups working on marriage equality. This is an effective way for an academic study to be released and for advocacy groups to say what studies such as this mean to a given social justice movement and to work that needs to be prioritized in the future. Moreover, the Task Force Policy Institute was considering commissioning its own study and it made no sense for there to be two of them.
We do not normally make public the fees Haas, Jr. Fund pays to individuals or firms who do work for us (as opposed to amounts we give away in grants). In this case the costs were under $10,000. Given the magnitude of our past and future investments in marriage equality, we feel this was a wise investment.
Matt Foreman, Program Director
Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
hi matt,
thanks so much for emailing me and giving me more info on your fund, where it's put some of its gay-directed dollars over the years, and its role with your former org, NGLTF.
i believe the task force should compile a list of costs associated with the study, and provide the community with some fiscal transparency.
it's beyond weird the spokeswoman for NGLTF couldn't produce the cost of the study, something any good researcher should immediate provide to the blogging public.
i hope rea carey, NGLTF executive director, will instruct her communications director to gather the info on costs associated with the valuable report, and post it on their site.
given the millions the hass fund distributes to CA gay groups in general, and those fighting for marriage equality, i wonder if you would consider holding a public forum or two in the Castro about where the fund will be directing its money.
i think the northern california gays would welcome hearing from you and your colleagues. you might also benefit from hearing the uncensored voices of the gay public.
there's lots of reasons for more communication from you and your nonprofit foundation.
best,
michael
Hi Michael,
To follow-up on Matt Foreman’s posting in response to your question about the cost of the Prop. 8 voter analysis study, the Task Force itself spent a total of $4,907 in staff time and the cost of holding a national audio press conference call to release the study with the authors.
When you originally contacted the Task Force, we responded accurately to your question: "I am keen to find out the total cost of the study, which was funded by the Haas Fund here in San Francisco. Can you tell me the exact price tag of the study, please?" We hope that between Matt’s response about the Haas, Jr. Fund commissioning the report and the information I have provided here, we have answered your questions. If you need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Best regards,
Inga Sarda-Sorensen
Communications Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Almost $5,000 for a study that has a margin of error between 8.5 and 17.7%
Are you kidding me?
I can't imagine any company in the private sector accepting a study with that margin of error. The fact that NGLTF did accept it speaks volumes.
The $5k was for a national audio press conference, not for the study. Regardless of what they spent for that, the margin of error makes it useless and they should not pay.
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