Susan Mettes
PROJECTS
Barna Monographs | Books of original research
By the Barna Group
Susan Mettes was one of the main researchers and writers for several of these booklets.
"Barna Group is a visionary research and resource company located in Ventura, California. Started in 1984, the firm is widely considered to be a leading research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture."
Spurring Savings Innovations | Insight Methods for Savings Programs
By Pamela Chan, Parker Cohen, Dominique Derbigny and Shira Markoff
Susan Mettes was a researcher and adviser.
"Virtually every organization running a savings program has had this experience: you spend a great deal of time and resources setting up what seems like a sure-fire program, yet hardly anyone takes advantage of it. . . . What could you have done differently? The answer to these questions might be found in the design process."
Gates Foundation's Impatient Optimist Blog: To Change Behavior, First Change Your Methods
Susan Mettes was the project lead for this grant on the CAH side.
"If we don’t work with the ways people actually think and behave then even the most wonderful nutritional innovations won’t benefit those they are meant to help."
Tax Refund Savings
Prior behavioral research has shown that people are likely to make better long-term decision if they pre-commit to a decision before they have to face the consequences of that decision. We predicted that using a precommitment device to to get people to commit to saving, before they even received their tax refund, would increase the amount of saving.
Restoring Gulf Oyster Reefs
Susan Mettes was one of the main researchers and writers for this study.
"The Gulf of Mexico’s oyster reefs are a vital resource whose true economic value is often overlooked. In addition to providing a delicious source of food that helps define cultural cuisines, oyster reefs also benefit other industries vital to the U.S. economy. Yet several factors threaten Gulf oyster reefs, and put them at risk of being lost. . . . This study analyzes . . . all types of firms across six categories of the value chain."
Conflict Analysis Training for Children and Youth
"The purpose of this project is to enable World Vision to reach its objective of 'empowering children as agents of transformation.' That is, to make informed recommendations for all World Vision’s conflict analysis programs for youth in conflict zones, using the completed Empowering Children as Peacebuilders (ECaP) project from the World Vision Development Foundation, Philippines as a baseline."
Profile: 'I Wanted to Be a Foreigner'
Christianity Today's editor-in-chief, David Neff, profiled Susan Wunderink in 2008.