Bronx Research Institute for Community Solutions
BRICS aims to deliver crucial research services to convey community and policy needs, mobilizing resources for impactful, transformative change.
We collaborate closely with local stakeholders, ensuring our projects resonate with the needs and values of the people they are designed to serve. Our partnerships with policy-makers and nonprofit organizations drive the relevance of our research, facilitating the creation of informed, actionable strategies that resonate on both local and national stages. Our unique approach encompasses multifaceted research methodologies, policy analysis, and community-driven solutions crafted and refined within the borough's rich cultural and historical context.
The key focus areas of BRICS include providing essential research services to communicate community and policy needs. BRICS initiatives demonstrate our dedication to meeting the Bronx community's present and future needs. These include pioneering studies in environmental justice, smart city innovations, migration trends, educational equity, food security, economic development, and small business support.
Learn More About BRICS Studies:
We are proud to launch the inaugural studies of the Bronx Research Institute for Community Solutions (BRICS). We recognize that the most sustainable solutions arise when community members and scholars work together as equals, building on the community's strengths. Through co-learning and co-creation, we elevate these strengths, envisioning a future shaped by collective insight and actionable strategies.
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The study "Addressing Barriers to Financial Equity: Facilitating Caregiver-Child Conversations About Money" aims to empower Bronx residents by fostering financial literacy and resilience. In collaboration with Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the project will engage community stakeholders at every step to ensure it addresses local financial interests. The project has three core aims: (1) assess how caregiver-child conversations about money can enhance feelings of financial empowerment, (2) develop a framework with practical tools for financially empowering Bronx residents, and (3) extend these insights to families throughout the Bronx and other underserved communities to support a more resilient local economy.
Community Partner:
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church
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This collaborative project with Montefiore Einstein’s Center for Bioethics aims to ensure that hospital ethics consultation and mediation practices are informed by the needs and values of the Bronx community. Montefiore’s Center for Bioethics is a national leader in clinical ethics consultation. The Bronx is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse counties in the nation, while also the lowest ranking county in the state for health factors and health outcomes. Standard practices in clinical ethics consultation may not fit the profile of this unique community. Through community-driven initiatives, this project will empower Bronx residents in complex medical contexts and enable the Center for Bioethics to facilitate clinical decision-making that meets community needs.
Community Partner:
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The study "Food Insecurity and Fresh Produce Consumption in the South Bronx" focuses on enhancing access to fresh produce and supporting healthier eating habits in the community. By partnering with BronxWorks, the study leverages community strengths and local resources to promote sustainable changes in nutrition. Using a community-based participatory research approach, the project will assess the impact of fresh produce incentives on promoting healthier food choices through the BronxWorks Nutrition Incentive Program. This initiative aims to empower residents, contributing to improved well-being and long-term positive outcomes for the South Bronx.
Community Partner:
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“From Digital Desert to Digital Oasis: Mapping Digital Capabilities in the Human Services Ecosystem in the Bronx (D3O)” is a qualitative research initiative that uses appreciative inquiry and speculative design to explore the potential of digital tools for empowerment. In collaboration with Whedco, the study focuses on assessing digital capabilities in the Bronx. Through interviews and focus groups, the research team will examine how digital tools are currently used, envision future technologies, and identify potential challenges. Data will be analyzed using grounded theory, with findings shared through a report, a digital equity workshop, and a peer-reviewed publication.
Community Partner:
Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco)
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The overall objective of this research project is to identify the impact of traffic-related air pollution on educational outcomes for New York City students. In partnership with researchers and two other community-based organizations in the city, we have installed low-cost air quality monitors inside and outside of 20 high schools across the city, along with weather stations at each school. We also partnered with teachers and students at the schools to conduct weekly building surveys to assess indoor conditions and identify defensive behaviors (such as the use of air filters), which is the focus of this proposed action. These monitors and building surveys allow us to identify pollution at each school, understand how the ambient traffic-related pollution corresponds to indoor conditions, and eventually quantify the impact on resulting academic performance. This work will provide high-resolution, actionable data that the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) can use in its efforts to reduce transportation-related pollution near schools.
Community Partner:
New York Civil Liberties Union
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Food apartheid, or restricted access to healthy food, disproportionately affects marginalized communities due to legacies of segregation and systemic exclusion. This issue is most severe among lower-income, female-headed, Black, Latine, and immigrant households, with the Bronx experiencing the highest rates of food insecurity in NYC (39%), representing a public health crisis. Our community-faculty partnership will pilot a food sovereignty initiative, an inclusive, community-centered approach that leverages local resources to address these challenges. Collaborating with ReBORN Farms, we will implement a sustainable circular economy model in the Bronx, evaluating its impact, sustainability, and scalability. This model focuses on health, cultural pride, and economic development by creating community-driven solutions for growing local food, reducing waste, and sourcing seasonal crops. Profits from produce sales will be reinvested to support farm operations, staffing, and product innovation, fostering long-term sustainability and community empowerment.
Community Partners:
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This pilot project aims to explore how wildfire-driven plumes of air pollution, which are predicted to increase due to climate change, adversely impact New York City (NYC) residents and burden the city’s health care sector. We plan to explore structural breaks in the time series of hospital visits associated with respiratory ailments during the major Canadian wildfire event in the first week of June 2023 and the less-significant, but still substantial, New Jersey and New York wildfires in November of 2024. We will be partnering with Fordham to analyze data from Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, which is one of the 11 ER centers in the NYC Health + Hospitals network, the public hospital system of NYC. Our measured outcomes include hospitalizations as well as health care utilization by patients seen during the wildfire-induced spikes in particulate-matter concentrations over the 30-day and six-month windows following these events.
Community Partner:
New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation
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This study seeks to evaluate the long-term impact of Read Alliance’s programming on Teen Leaders, young students (READers), and school communities. Through a mixed-methods research approach, we will collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to assess how participation in Read Alliance influences Teen Leaders' academic and career trajectories, enhances early literacy outcomes for young students, and influences student growth as observed by teachers and school leaders/admin. We will conduct interviews and surveys with multiple stakeholders, including current and former Teen Leaders, families, and school administrators, to understand their experiences and perspectives. The study will explore how Read Alliance fosters leadership development, college and career readiness, and educational equity. Additionally, we will examine the ways families and educators perceive the program’s impact on students' academic confidence and success. Findings will inform program improvements and demonstrate the value of Read Alliance’s model in advancing literacy and youth workforce development.
Community Partner:
Read Alliance (READ)
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Grupo de Mujeres Latinas (GML) was founded to create a welcoming space for Latina women in the Bronx, and has evolved into a multifaceted program offering workshops in arts, computer skills, health, sewing, parenting, and spiritual formation, all while fostering dignity, agency, and leadership. Yet, many women participating in GML are not only struggling with a disproportionate number of stressors that fuel an array of mental health concerns (e.g., depression, post-traumatic stress), but also face structural barriers to accessing mental health support in the Bronx. To address this, we will implement an evidence-based curriculum to train GML staff (e.g., workshop leaders, youth group leaders) to recognize, respond to, and appropriately refer out as needed for urgent mental health needs. By centering Latina voices and culturally relevant solutions, we aim to create a sustainable “train the trainer” program to improve knowledge and skills related to mental health, and promote lasting change within GML and other Bronx communities.
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