We are delighted to introduce our newest Associate, Jim Pripusich, PhD!
Jim is passionate about explaining the causes of human attitudes and behaviors in addition to the consequences of policy and institutional change. As a political scientist by training, he has expertise in thinking creatively about answering complex research questions with quantitative and qualitative data. Continuing reading in his bio…
Welcome, Jim!
The 20th century model of delivering a liberal and creative arts education is inadequate to the task of developing graduates who can think broadly and critically in and out of their chosen fields.
We are thrilled to celebrate the creation of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences at the University of Denver.
The creation of the College is a direct result of their strategic planning process. The exciting Keystone Strategic Plan commits the college to nothing less than the transformation of the liberal and creative arts education in alignment with the University’s transformation under DU IMPACT 2025.
What role will the social sciences, arts, and humanities play in a world that increasingly operates through artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and big data? A very important one. The careers and lives of tomorrow will be defined by distinctly human qualities such as ethical judgment, creativity, adaptability, agility, and storytelling.
“This plan represents the best of our strategy work at Corona. We are thrilled with the resulting plan and look forward to the momentum and positive changes it creates for the students, staff, faculty, and alumni of the college,” said Karla Raines.
Read the full press release here. See the video that DU produced about the plan below.
We were very excited to work with B:CIVIC, the Denver Chamber, DaVita, TIAA and the University of Denver to collect data about how businesses in Colorado are engaging with and giving to their communities. It was great to see that businesses of all sizes across Colorado are engaging in corporate philanthropy, especially at the local level. It was also interesting to see that in addition to cash donations, many businesses are offering support for their employees to donate time and money.
The report can be found here.
At our I2020 presentation last week, we had a lot of great discussion about the data. One topic we discussed was representation in arts, culture and creativity. While a large majority of Denver residents in our survey believed that people like them participate in arts, culture and creativity, African American and especially Latinx residents were more likely to doubt that people like them participated. Even a small difference can be important, though, since people might use representation to infer other things about an organization and its events, such as whether an event is welcoming, whether they have the right background knowledge for an event, and whether an organization is relevant to them. Also, representation is important because it’s something that organizations have some control over, especially representation within their boards and staff.
Quantitative research is really useful for understanding the “what” of a topic. To get to the “why” though, you really need qualitative research that gives people space to explain things in their own words. We hope the results from this I2020 survey inspire Denver organizations to start digging into the “why”.
To view the presentation, click here (PDF). To learn more about Imagine 2020, including additional research, click here.
Today, Kate Darwent, PhD, spoke to an audience of over 100 arts leaders about the need to increase opportunities for Denver residents, especially African American and Latinx residents, who are hungry to participate more in arts, cultural and creative activities. The city conducted a one-of-a-kind statistically valid survey of its residents in 2017 to learn what they value about the arts, what motivates them to engage, and the barriers they face. Interestingly, residents with a strong desire to participate more face a complex web of barriers including: lack of opportunities in their immediate neighborhood, less satisfaction with the amount of information they receive, and more uncertainty about whether people like them participate in arts, culture and creativity.
The 2017 survey was a mid-point check on IMAGINE 2020: Denver’s Cultural Plan.
As we end 2017, Corona Insights would like to offer recognition to our team members who have been promoted this year. We were pleased to witness the promotions of Matt Bruce and Kate Darwent, PhD, to the position of Director, and Gregory Hornback to the position of Senior Associate.
Matt has been with Corona Insights since 2012, and has been involved in numerous projects related to natural resources, utilities, recreation, and other areas of interest. He is a leader in ensuring that the company uses sound methodologies and embraces new ones as needed.
Kate also joined Corona Insights in 2012, and she has played a key role on many Corona projects in the areas of research, strategy, and evaluation. Some of her key contributions have come in the role of advancing our work in survey research and market segmentation, with particularly strong roles in our health, arts, higher education, and philanthropy practices.
Greg joined the firm in 2015, and has been a great “swing player”, bringing his versatile skills to bear in our strategy practice, quantitative research, and qualitative research realms.
We’re always pleased to offer promotions, because they affirm many positive things. First and foremost, they mean that our team members have proven themselves at meeting our clients’ needs, and that they are providing the high quality of insights and counsel that our clients expect. Second, it means that they are continuing to make great progress in their careers, continuing to build and display their skills and assume more responsibilities. And finally, it’s an affirmation of our company and our culture that we are successfully hiring the right people, and that those people choose to stay with Corona Insights as they crystallize their personal brands and professional reputations.
So please join us in congratulating Matt, Kate, and Greg on their accomplishments, and we hope that you will see plenty more of them in coming years!
We are excited to share a new case study about our work with Summit County, CO. This case study in particular is great for us to share as it showcases the research, and resulting use of the findings, to inform public information campaigns. Furthermore, the topic of the research, marijuana use and safety, is a relatively new area for public health research as legalization in various forms expands. Corona is proud to be a leader in this space, and more importantly, to be informing so many public campaigns.
You can view the case study here.
This research was also recently presented at the APHA Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA.
We are delighted to introduce our newest Associate, Andrew Streight!
Andrew specializes in strategic planning and will primarily be working with Karla on our strategic consulting projects.
See our staff pages to learn more about Andrew or any other Corona team member!
We are delighted to introduce our two newest team members, Molly Hagan and Sandra Frazier.
Molly is an Associate specializing in qualitative research. Sandra is Corona’s new Office Coordinator and is tasked with keeping Corona running smoothly in the background.
See our staff pages to learn more them (or any other Corona team member)!
OK, so there may not be a lot of actual research going on in this post, but we at Corona have a wide variety of interests and sometimes like to show those off too! One such interest is that I have been shooting professional fireworks shows for over 20 years. I got my start in helping out my dad back when I was in high school (and when the regulations for the minimum age for helping on a show were more…loosely enforced). Since then, it’s been a summer hobby of mine for years.
Though everyone knows what fireworks are like when they explode, I have found over the years that very few people have any idea what it takes to put on a good show! Even for a relatively small show (I was in charge of the show in Lafayette, Colorado for 5 years), it takes a crew of at least 5-6 people an entire day to get ready for the big event. Here’s a quick overview of the steps involved!
Place and secure the mortars. Nearly all aerial fireworks are shot out of mortars (tubes), so the first step is to distribute large racks of mortars and secure them using braces, sand bags, or even burying them. Professional fireworks are really powerful, and failing to properly secure the mortars to ensure safe operation can lead to disastrous results.
Wire everything up. Though it is possible to ignite a professional firework device by hand, a vast majority of shows are set off electronically. That doesn’t necessarily mean computerized, but it means that an electric match is inserted into the fuse of the firework so that it can be lit from a safe distance. (If you’ve ever fired off a model rocket, it’s the same concept.) Once the e-matches are inserted, each is wired to a “rail” with a designated ID number so that we can set off that shell exactly when we want to.Fireworks shows are a lot of fun for both the audience and the crew, but it is definitely a ton of work that requires a special type of worker to enjoy. (Spoiler alert: fireworks crews aren’t paid like kings.) I hope that this inside look will help you to appreciate all of the work that went into making your 4th of July holiday memorable!