The Solutions Story Tracker® is a curated database of rigorous reporting on responses to social problems. We collect and tag every story, providing you with the ability to find coverage of effective or promising ideas and approaches— by issue, location, journalist, and success factor (strategic insights that emerge as patterns).
https://www.yesmagazine.org/economy/2021/01/14/harvesting-cacao-colombia-peace?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Agostino Petroni
Yes! Magazine
14 January 2021
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Plagued by an internal war, a group of villages in Colombia created a “Peace Community,” declaring themselves neutral in the conflict and focusing their efforts on cultivating the 150 hectares of cacao trees in collectively owned plots to sell to global markets. While villagers still experience violence, the earnings from their crops goes into a collective pot and the community decides together how to distribute the funds. “To them, this is actually a very profound act of transcending traditional capitalist society models and building something together,” says an anthropologist who has studied the community.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/how-denmark-is-administering-vaccines-at-three-times-the-rate-of-ireland-1.4457739?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Naomi O’Leary
The Irish Times
13 January 2021
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Denmark public health workers have been able to distribute nearly their entire supply of the COVID-19 vaccine thanks in part to early preparation tactics and "a capable health system." Although the country had to procure special freezers and pay more by choosing to move forward with the first vaccine on the market, the success to administer the vaccinations to the public "far outstrips other EU countries."
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2021/01/thai-village-created-tiny-fish-reserve-25-years-ago-today-its-thriving?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Rachel Nuwer
National Geographic
12 January 2021
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By setting aside an area of the Ngao River to be off limits for fishing, several villages in Thailand have seen a revitalization of large barb and carp in their waters. Compared to non-protected stretches of the river, reserves saw more than twice the total number of fish, and catches outside of that protected area have also significantly increased. “These small, community-based reserves can be a really effective management strategy for sustaining their own resources and conserving fish,” says a researcher at the Global Water Center.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/business/dealbook/political-donations-ibm.html?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Andrew Ross Sorkin
The New York Times
12 January 2021
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IBM is one of only a handful of companies that doesn’t give money to political candidates. IBM does spend millions on lobbying and runs an in-house government relations team, but the company doesn't have a political action committee and restricts money from going to political candidates when it does donate to trade groups. IBM’s founder set the policy to avoid operating as a political organization and to disinvest from a corrupt system where money buys favorable legislation. IBM’s policies could serve as a model as companies pause their political donations due to acts of violence at the Capital.
https://khn.org/news/article/peer-respites-provide-an-alternative-to-psychiatric-wards-during-pandemic?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Sarah Kwon
Kaiser Health News
11 January 2021
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As the coronavirus pandemic forces people into isolation and social distancing, places known as "peer respites" are providing a space for those "experiencing or nearing a mental health crisis" to seek help. While the peer respites don't offer clinical care by licensed mental healthcare professionals, they are free for those who stay and "offer people in distress short-term (usually up to two weeks), round-the-clock emotional support from peers."
https://www.npr.org/2021/01/11/954881785/we-dont-feel-forgotten-at-all-alaska-fires-up-covid-19-vaccine-rollout?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Nat Herz
NPR
11 January 2021
Radio / 3-5 Minutes
Alaska has achieved one of the highest vaccination rates in the country due to prioritizing access to the vaccine for rural and Indigenous residents. Using a myriad of transportation efforts – including a fleet of chartered plans, a water taxi drove, and sleds pulled behind snow machines – clinicians have been able to deliver thousands of doses to these remote communities.
https://qz.com/1953007/the-countries-with-the-most-effective-covid-19-vaccine-rollouts?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Annabelle Timsit
Quartz
11 January 2021
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Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain have each "vaccinated a higher proportion of their populations than the rest of the world" due to strategies that included early approval of the vaccine, centralized and digitized health care data management, and cross-sector information campaigns. Although it's yet to be seen how these efforts will fare when the vaccine is released to the general public, they have proven to be successful for distribution to vulnerable people and communities.
https://www.nj.com/news/2021/01/newark-cops-with-reform-didnt-fire-a-single-shot-in-2020-moran.html?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Tom Moran
NJ Advance Media
10 January 2021
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In 2020, six years after the Justice Department imposed a series of reforms on the Newark Police Department, Newark police officers have reduced their use of force so much that they didn't fire their guns at all in 2020, nor did the city pay any brutality-lawsuit settlements. Reforms in training, including de-escalation tactics, all backed by supportive leadership and extensive community outreach, turned a "rogue department" of brutality and racism into a more trusted, effective force.
https://flintbeat.com/how-genesee-county-is-changing-criminal-justice-a-new-juvenile-justice-center?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Amy Diaz
Flint Beat
10 January 2021
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A new Juvenile Justice Center that will focus on trauma-informed treatment of children rather than simply jailing them is still more than one year from completion. But, in the years leading to its opening, the county's family courts have cut in half the numbers of children held in detention by emphasizing rehabilitation programs over jail. Many of the services are based on the "Missouri Model" of juvenile justice, which has been shown to reduce incarceration and prevent crime through evidence-based approaches that are more therapeutic than punitive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/world/asia/singapore-coronavirus-universities.html?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Sui-Lee Wee
The New York Times
9 January 2021
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Singapore's aggressive pandemic response in conjunction with strict university rules has helped keep campuses free of COVID-19 cases so far. As a country, free testing and medical care has ensured that positive cases can be isolated quickly, while at the university level, the use of technology, zoning rules, and penalties for those who do not comply have worked to safeguard public health.
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/01/08/how-can-chicago-improve-procedures-to-make-sure-311-requests-are-really-completed-an-expert-has-an-idea/amp?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Tim McNicholas
WCBS-TV
8 January 2021
Broadcast TV News / Under 3 Minutes
San Diego’s 311 program features a before-and-after-photo function which shows allows residents to hold their local 311 government service accountable. The date-stamped photographic proof allows users to see that their complaint has been thoroughly and properly handled. Chicago’s 311 system already features “top-notch” technology but could benefit from implementing the visual aspect to ensure solid results.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-israel-trades-medical-data-for-vaccine-doses-1001356436?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Danny Zaken
Globes
8 January 2021
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A collaboration between Israel's Ministry of Health and pharmaceutical company Pfizer has resulted in the country receiving thousands of COVID-19 vaccination doses. In return, the country is collecting and delivering data back to Pfizer and WHO, which will inform "vaccination strategies in the rest of the world and also [assist] the pharmaceutical companies in continuing R&D for coronavirus vaccinations and other treatments."
Our issue area taxonomy was adapted from the PCS Taxonomy with definitions by the Foundation Center, which is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Photos are licensed under Attribution Non Commercial 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license / Desaturated from original, and are credited to the following photographers:
Fondriest Environmental, David De Wit / Community Eye Health, Linda Steil / Herald Post, John Amis / UGA College of Ag & Environmental Sciences – OCCS, Andy B, Peter Garnhum, Thomas Hawk, 7ty9, Isriya Paireepairit, David Berger, UnLtd The Foundation For Social Entrepreneurs, Michael Dunne, Burak Kebapci, and Forrest Berkshire / U.S. Army Cadet Command public affairs
Photos are licensed under Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license, and are credited to the following photographers:
Ra'ed Qutena, 段 文慶, Fabio Campo, City Clock Magazine, Justin Norman, scarlatti2004, Gary Simmons, Kathryn McCallum, and Nearsoft Inc
Photos are licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons license / Desaturated from original, and are credited to the following photographers:
Burak Kebapci and SCY.
Photos are licensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) and are credited to the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Conference attendee listening to speaker, Jenifer Daniels / Colorstock getcolorstock.com.
Photo Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty Images
Photo Credit: Sonia Narang
