{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/5d49d0976eab613b6230c51c/618c2df2249a9a0012be43be?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"How should Rhode Island spend $1.1 billion?","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/5d49d0976eab613b6230c51c/1565205298015-4af37858dcfef5698648e939b420b019.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>How would you spend $1.1 billion? The question sounds like something that most of us only dream about, but it’s a very real question with real implications that Rhode Island faces as leaders decide how to spend the $1.1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.</p><p><br></p><p>Guest co-hosts Jonathan Womer and Lisa Vura-Weis spoke with <a href=\"https://ripec.org/about-ripec/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Michael DiBiase</a>, President and CEO of the RI Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) and <a href=\"https://www.economicprogressri.org/index.php/meet-our-staff-2/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Linda Katz</a>, Co-Founder and Policy Director of the Economic Progress Institute, who helped author a Rhode Island Foundation report called “<a href=\"https://rifoundation.org/community-investments/make-it-happen-investing-in-rhode-islands-future\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Make it Happen: Investing for Rhode Island’s Future</a>”.</p><p><br></p><p>This episode dives into the report, which is a combination of policy analysis and public stakeholder input, and presents a set of spending recommendations including housing, behavioral health, workforce development, and more.</p><p><br></p><p>About our guest co-hosts: <a href=\"https://thepolicylab.brown.edu/about/team/jonathan-womer\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Jonathan Womer</a> is a Senior Advisor and Head of Budgeting at The Policy Lab, and <a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisavuraweis/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Lisa Vura-Weis</a> is a Partner and Associate Director at Boston Consulting Group.</p>","author_name":"The Policy Lab"}