Policy Analysis

Vink Consulting helps governments formulate sound public policy and helps government and non-profits influence, respond to changes in, and propose policies. We delve deeply into an issue to understand the problem, identify policy options, and assess alternative responses to policy challenges. We use robust quantitative and qualitative analysis to produce well-evidenced findings and provide practical policy advice and recommendations. Vink Consulting researches and analyzes various types of public policies, including housing legislation, land use regulation, social programs and services.

Our policy analysis work includes:

Policy studies
Quantitative modeling of the impacts of various policy alternatives
Cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis
Feasibility studies

RECENT EXAMPLES

Reimagining the Delivery of Housing Assistance in Ontario, Ontario Non Profit Housing Association (2015)

Ontario’s rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing assistance system is an important tool for ensuring that low and moderate-income households can find homes that they can afford. However, it is an extremely complex and costly system to administer and deliver. In 2015, the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association engaged Vink Consulting and Focus Consulting to undertake a study to assess and propose reforms to the delivery of housing assistance. As part of the project, we identified several potential reforms to the RGI system and quantitatively modelled the impact of these reforms on tenants, housing providers, and service managers. Based on the modelling, we proposed two sets of reforms that would streamline administration, simplify and reduce delivery and oversight costs, and generate better outcomes for households in need of housing assistance. Read the summary resulting from our research or the full report.

Getting Good Foods and Good Job in Schools: A FoodShare Toronto Report Exploring Sustainable Cafeteria Models, FoodShare Toronto (2016)

The government of Ontario introduced new nutrition standards for schools in 2011. The new standards have resulted in a reduction of sales, and school cafeterias in Toronto and across the province have been struggling to survive. We know that young minds need healthy food to support their learning and growth, and school cafeterias are an important way to promote and support healthy eating behaviours for students. FoodShare’s Good Food Café offers a potential solution to the challenge of sustaining healthy school cafeteria programs, but FoodShare had questions about the Good Food Café’s sustainability, scalability and ability to create jobs. So, FoodShare retained Vink Consulting to: prepare a business case to present the potential for the Good Food Cafe to be a scalable, replicable solution to meeting the needs of schools while contributing to the local economy; to study whether there is anything that could be done to enhance the sustainability and replicability of the Good Food Café model; and whether there are other cafeteria models that the Good Food Cafe could learn from. The Getting Good Foods and Good Jobs in Schools report is the result of that work.