Policy Tracker

This tool enables you to follow the progress of our policy recommendations. For each of our recent studies, you can see below how far we have come in advocating for the changes suggested by the research, as well as find out about the steps from production of the research to impact on policy.

PROJECTS	STAGE 1 Inception	STAGE 2 Dissemination	STAGE 3 Deliberation	STAGE 4 Implementation	STAGE 5 Impact
Long Shot: Aiming to Reduce Vaccine Hesitancy	2021 CAPRI Examines the Factors Contributing to Vaccine Hesitancy in Jamaica Jamaica began its COVID-19 vaccination programme in March 2021, but Jamaica’s vaccination rate is the second lowest in the Caribbean region, and despite an adequate supply of vaccines, demand ..... Read more	2022 Study: Distrust of Gov't, vaccine caused low vax rate Jamaica Observer, Saturday, March 12, 2022. BY ALICIA DUNKLEY-WILLIS WITH the Government set to miss its target of vaccinating 65 per cent of Jamaicans against the novel ..... Read more
Mind the Gap: The Inadequacy of Mental Health Services for Children	2020 Read more	2021 CAPRI’s Newest Study Examines Shortfalls in Children’s Mental Health Services The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) with support from the European Union on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 released the findings of their newest study titled: “Mind the Gap: The Inadequacy ..... Read more
Come Mek Wi Hol' Yuh Han': The Components of an Effective Social Safety Net for Jamaica	Read more	2021 CAPRI Launch New Research on the Country’s Welfare Programmes and the Effects on Those Most Vulnerable The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) on Thursday (March 18), through a web forum, presented findings from an in-depth analysis of Jamaica’s socio-financial construct and welfare programmes ..... Read more
Coming to Terms: The Social Costs of Unequal Access to Safe Abortions	2021 CAPRI launches report on the social costs of unequal access to safe abortion in Jamaica On Thursday, February 4, 2021, the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) with the financial support of the European Union launched its latest report “Coming to Terms: The Social Costs of ..... Read more	2021 CAPRI launches report on the social costs of unequal access to safe abortion in Jamaica On Thursday, February 4, 2021, the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) with the financial support of the European Union launched its latest report “Coming to Terms: The Social Costs of ..... Read more
Who Am I? The People Dem NIDS	2019 CAPRI Explores a National Identification System for Jamaica From the 1970s, discussions surrounding the implementation of a National Identification System (NIDS) begun. Since then, there have been numerous efforts to pass legislation and curate the required ..... Read more	2020 CAPRI Launches Report on a NIDS for Jamaica A new study by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) with the support of the Inter-American Bank (IDB) explores the implications of a national identification system for Jamaica and provides ..... Read more
Closed for Business: Barriers to Women's Entrepreneurship	2019 CAPRI Investigates the Barriers to Women’s Entrepreneurship Obstacles to women’s entrepreneurship is a problem that is not peculiar to Jamaica; it hinders development on an international scale. Jamaica is deemed to be having the highest proportion of women ..... Read more	2019 CAPRI Hosts Public Forum on Barriers to Women’s Entrepreneurship CAPRI’s public forum, Closed for Business: Barriers to Women's Entrepreneurship, was held on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, at the UWI Mona Visitors Lodge. Mrs. Ethnie Miller Simpson, President, ..... Read more
Testing, Testing: Challenges to Measuring Social Programmes for At-Risk Youth	2020 CAPRI Assesses Intervention Programmes Targeting Unattached Youth CAPRI’s in depth research on crime and security, has reinforced the conclusion that diverting young unattached males from crime and violence is ..... Read more	2021 CAPRI’s Newest Study to Assess the True Usefulness of Jamaica’s Anti-Violence Intervention Programmes The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, with the support of the European Union released the findings from their newest study titled: “Testing, Testing: Challenges ..... Read more
Fix the Village: Governance and Accountability for Children in State Care	2020 CAPRI Investigates the Quality of Care for Children in State Care CAPRI’s undertaking of the UNICEF Situation Analysis of Children in Jamaica in 2018 brought home to us ..... Read more	2021 CAPRI Assess State Care for Children in Jamaica The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) with funding from the European Union analysed the quality of state care for children in Jamaica in its most recent publication titled: “Fix ..... Read more
Following the Money: Transparency and Oversight in the Government Budget Process in Jamaica	Read more	2020 CAPRI launches report on Jamaica’s first ever Open Budget Survey On Thursday, December 3, 2020, the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) launched its latest report “Following the Money: Transparency and Oversight in the Government Budget Process in Jamaica”, ..... Read more	2020 CAPRI Attends International Budget Partnership Dissemination Workshop in Nairobi The Internation Budget Partnership (IBP) hosted a dissemination workshop, in Nairobi Kenya, in February 2020, to help member states draft a dissemination plan for the 2019 open budget survey (OBS). ..... Read more
The Economic Value of Urban Public Spaces	2018 CAPRI Explores The Economic Value of Urban Public Spaces Public spaces are important to successful communities and cities. Well-functioning public spaces facilitate the growth and accumulation of social capital, and promote the well-being of citizens.These ..... Read more	CAPRI launches report on Jamaica’s first ever Open Budget Survey On Thursday, December 3, 2020, the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) launched its latest report “Following the Money: Transparency and Oversight in the Government Budget Process in Jamaica”, ..... Read more	2019 CAPRI Discusses Findings of Working Paper on the Economic Value of Urban Public Spaces with Stakeholders In some cities, public space has been an important driver of tourism, small business development, and has enhanced the value of surrounding property. However, in Jamaica, much attention is not given ..... Read more
The Economic and Societal Costs of Sexuality Based Discrimination in Jamaica	2018 CAPRI Explores the Economic and Societal Costs of of Sexuality Based Discrimination in JA For a country to maximise the productivity of its workforce and the full potential of its people for economic growth and development, it must work towards reducing or eliminating discrimination against ..... Read more	2019 CAPRI Launches Study on the Costs of Sexuality Based Discrimination in Jamaica On Tuesday, October 29, 2019, CAPRI with the kind support of the European Union, launched its study on the Economic and Societal Costs of Sexuality Based Discrimination in Jamaica at a public forum ..... Read more
Guns Out: The Splintering of Jamaica's Violent Gangs	2019 CAPRI Conducts Study on Jamaican Gangs Jamaica’s violence problem is not new. Since the mid 1970’s the island’s per capita murder rate has steadily increased, by an average of 4.4 percent per year, from 19.8 per 100,000 ..... Read more	2020 CAPRI Launches Study on Jamaican Gangs CAPRI launched its study, Guns Out: The Splintering of Jamaica’s Gangs, at a public forum on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel. CAPRI invited Major General Antony Anderson ..... Read more	2020 CAPRI Hosts Review Meeting with Key Stakeholders for its Research on Gangs in Jamaica CAPRI in partnership with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) held a review meeting with key stakeholders for its research on Gangs in Jamaica. This research falls under the ..... Read more
Searching for Lessons from Two Decades of Anti-Violence Interventions in August Town	2017 CAPRI Examines the Year of Zero Murders in August Town The community of August Town has been plagued by decades of extraordinarily high degrees of violence. With the exception being 2016, the “year of zero murders”. The catalyst of this drastic ..... Read more	2019 CAPRI Launches Study on Zero Murders: Searching for Lessons from Two Decades of Anti-Violence Interventions in August Town Over the past two decades, a plethora of state and non-state actors, in a desire for peace, have initiated several violence-reduction/ intervention programmes in August Town. So when, in 2016, the violence-plagued ..... Read more	2019 CAPRI Hosts Review Meeting with Key Stakeholders for its Research on the Year of Zero Murders in August Town The Caribbean Policy Research Institute in partnership with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) brought together representatives from DFID, Inspector Michael Trail from the ..... Read more
Scamming, Gangs, and Violence in Montego Bay	2018 CAPRI Explores Scamming, Gangs and Violence in Montego Bay Lottery scamming as lucrative as it may seem, comes with the peril violence as any other illicit activity. In Montego Bay, murder and extreme violence are at crisis levels. The city is also the birthplace ..... Read more	2019 CAPRI Launches Study on Scamming, Gangs and Violence in Montego Bay Montego Bay is the birthplace and centre of the lottery scamming industry and its offshoots, an industry that generates millions of U.S. dollars a year, and is thought to be connected to the high murder ..... Read more	2019 CAPRI Hosts Review Meeting with Key Stakeholders for its Research on Scamming, Gangs and Violence in Montego Bay On May 29, 2019, CAPRI in partnership with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) held a review meeting for its research on scamming, gangs and violence in Montego Bay. Representatives ..... Read more
Beyond PET Bottles And Plastic Bags: Fixing Jamaica’s Environmental Regulatory Framework	2018 CAPRI Investigates Jamaica's Environmental Regulatory Framework Quality of life is dependent on our environment. The environment’s protection is imperative, but the Jamaican government has failed to operationalize its promises of assuring commitment to environmental ..... Read more	2018 CAPRI Presented Its Findings On Jamaica’s Environmental Regulatory Framework CAPRI presented the findings on Beyond PET bottles and plastic bags – Fixing Jamaica’s environmental regulatory framework at a public forum on November 28, 2018 at the Terra Nova All-Suite ..... Read more	2019 CAPRI Meets with Government Officials from the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation CAPRI’s Director of Research, Dr. Diana Thorburn and Communications Manager, Ms. Tracy Mamoun met with officials from the Ministry of Economic ..... Read more
In Search of the Most Efficient Tax for Jamaica	2018 CAPRI Investigates the Most Efficient Tax for Jamaica An economy requires ideally a large middle class to have a sufficient base for potentially raising revenue. Through taxation revenue a country is enabled to perform its functions and duties effectively ..... Read more	2018 CAPRI Launches Study On The Search Of The Most Efficient Tax CAPRI launched its study on in search of the most efficient tax for Jamaica at a public forum on Tuesday November 13, 2018 at the Spanish Court hotel’s Worthington property. The think tank put ..... Read more
From Force to Service: Transforming the Jamaican Police	2018 CAPRI explores A Study on the JCF's Reform If Jamaica is to significantly lower the rates of homicide and other violent crimes, and weaken the power of criminal networks in the society, a renewed attempt at a thorough transformation of the Jamaica ..... Read more	2018 CAPRI Launches Study on the JCF’s Reform With the GoJ leading the charge for a transformation of the island’s Jamaica Constabulary Force, CAPRI commissioned Professor Anthony Harriott to produce a study which is hoped may be used to ..... Read more
Unleashing the Power of Open Government Data	2018 CAPRI Explores the Power of Open Government Data We are in the midst of a global thrust towards the liberalization of data, with governments allowing greater access to, and use of, data by citizens.CAPRI in partnership with USAID-NIA, with Ms. ..... Read more	2018 CAPRI Launches a Study on the Power of Open Government Data CAPRI launched its study, Transparency, Growth and Transformation: Unleashing the Power of Open Government, on October 1, 2018, at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel. CAPRI's ..... Read more
An Economic Assessment of a DRS for PET Bottles	2018 CAPRI Explores Solutions for PET (Plastic Bottles) Waste Management Inexpensive, light, durable and versatile, plastic bottles have become a part of everyday life. They have also come to be one of the biggest sources of pollution of our time: one million plastic bottles ..... Read more	2018 CAPRI Launches A Study on the Economic Assessment of a Deposit Refund System (DRS) for PET (Plastic) Bottles CAPRI launched its study on an economic assessment of a Deposit Refund System (DRS) - a solution for PET bottles in Jamaica, at a public forum on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at the Terra Nova Hotel. Mr. ..... Read more	2019 CAPRI Meets with Industry Experts to Share Recommendations for A Deposit Refund Scheme (DRS) for Plastic Bottles CAPRI’s Executive Director, Dr Damien King, Director of Sustainability – Dr. Suzanne Shaw, and Researcher – Ms. Desiree Phillips met with industry experts on August 28, 2018 and shared ..... Read more
Low Labour Productivity And Unpaid Care Work	2017 CAPRI Seeks to Explore and Better Understand the CARE Economy in Jamaica Caring for children, the elderly, and sick relatives, as well as household chores, is largely undertaken by women without monetary compensation nor notional economic value ascribed. As a consequence, ..... Read more	2017 CAPRI Launches A Study on Low Labour Productivity And Unpaid Care Work CAPRI presented the findings of its study on unpaid care work at a public forum on Thursday, November 30, 2017, at the Spanish Court Hotel's Worthington Building. Representatives from the Ministry ..... Read more	2018 CAPRI Meets with Minister Williams, Key Stakeholders to Discuss Care Economy Recommendations While Jamaica is no stranger to the core concepts of the care economy, it has not met its commitments to a host of international agreements that pledge to address the care economy, including and perhaps ..... Read more
Anti Corruption Innovations	2013 CAPRI Explores Anti-Corruption Innovations A high perception of corruption in Jamaica exists, both locally and internationally as the country consistently performs poorly on global corruption indices, with other governance indicators citing ..... Read more	2013 CAPRI Launches Anti-Corruption Innovations Study CAPRI launched its anti-corruption innovations study at a public forum on Monday, May 29, 2017 at the Spanish Court Hotel’s Worthington property. The think tank brought together Colonel Desmond ..... Read more	2018 CAPRI Meets With PSTMU To Discuss CFMP For Jamaica The Public Sector Transformation and Modernisation Unit (PSTMU) is an arm within the Office of the Cabinet that is geared towards creating a more capable and effective public sector by removing bureaucratic ..... Read more