The Bell Policy Center

The Bell Policy Center uses policy research and analysis, advocacy, and strategic communication to advance systems change that supports economic mobility and equity. We approach this work with a focus on four main areas: Public Funding for Economic Mobility: Legislative, ballot, legal, and long-term strategies to ensure public funding for the essential ingredients and levers of economic mobility, as well as core research and analysis on public funding and economic mobility from an equity lens.Strengthening the Caring Economy: Research, communication, and advocacy to elevate and strengthen Colorados caring workforce (early childhood educators, direct care workers supporting older adults and people with disabilities, educators and staff in the K-12 system) and the families they serve.Closing Equity Gaps: Identifying and tackling structural barriers for historically marginalized communities in key levers of economic mobility, with a strong focus on housing, financial empowerment, postsecondary education, and aging, and a specific racial and gender equity lens.Telling the Economic Story: Telling the story of our economy to policymakers, media, and activists with a focus on fairness, racial equity, and economic mobility.Throughout these four priorities, our systems change work strives to center Community (research and advocacy that engages with and builds from the priorities of affected communities), Equity (advancing greater equity in economic mobility for BIPOC Coloradans, women, and other historically marginalized communities), and Narrative (influencing the conversation around economic mobility and building public and political will for systems change on economic mobility). Our team conducts research and analysis to illuminate effects of the systemic barriers and structural inequities that have prevented communities of color, low-income Coloradans, and other marginalized groups from achieving economic mobility, and support communities in developing actionable policy and systems change strategies for addressing them. Through strategic communication and advocacy, we engage Coloradans in these issues, elevate them with policy leaders and the public, and build momentum for actionable solutions. 2023 Accomplishments included:Strengthened the case for public investment in programs and services that promote greater economic mobility and equity through several research products, including Measuring Adequacy: Funding and State Services, a report with Colorado Fiscal Institute analyzing what it would take to adequately fund a spectrum of basic government functions and looking at where Colorado currently stands in terms of funding levels for key programs and services;Updated our research on Colorados Revenue Base and provided several key resources for leaders and the public around TABOR and analysis of Colorados state budget, looking at trends, opportunities, and challenges, as well as research and communications resources to inform the property tax debate and look at options for more targeted relief for low- and moderate-income Coloradans;Published our 2023 Ballot Guide in October in English and Spanish, providing research and analysis of each of the statewide measures, and rating of each measures impact on tax fairness, racial equity, and economic mobility; Developed three research briefs exploring the current state of the care economy in Colorado: Accessibility of Care, Affordability of Care, and Quality of Care; Updated our Cost of Quality Child Care Model and actively contributed to Growing Our Future and its efforts to transform child care in Colorado; Launched a series of resources on housing issues in Jefferson County in cooperation with Colorado Gives Foundation, including research, communications, and a webinar series;Developed Colorado's Lending Landscape, a study examining the lending and credit landscape for Coloradans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; With partners in the Older Worker Policy Collaborative, successfully advanced a policy to prohibit the use of high school and college graduation dates in job applications;Developed new analysis on Real Wages in Colorado and the effects of inflation on those wages and continued our In the Know series, providing accessible research, analysis, and facts on the issues leading discussions and debate in the policy conversation., including School Finance, Energy Costs, the Caring Workforce, Consumer Protection, Rent Control, and Zoning and Land Use Reform;Continued messaging and narrative work to engage communities in discussions of tax and fiscal issues. Worked with multiple coalitions to advance tax fairness and to provide education on fiscal and tax issues;Produced a series of materialsincluding videos, blogs, and visual contentto help Coloradans understand economic mobility and fiscal issues.