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The Case Study houses that made Los Angeles a modernist mecca

Mapping the homes that helped to define an era

Los Angeles is full of fantastic residential architecture styles, from Spanish Colonial Revival to Streamline Moderne. But the modernist Case Study Houses , sponsored by Arts & Architecture and designed between the 1940s and 1960s, are both native to Southern California and particularly emblematic of the region.

The Case Study series showcased homes commissioned by the magazine and designed by some of the most influential designers and architects of the era, including Charles and Ray Eames, Richard Neutra, and Pierre Koenig. The residences were intended to be relatively affordable, replicable houses for post-World War II family living, with an emphasis on “new materials and new techniques in house construction,” as the magazine’s program intro put it.

Technological innovation and practical, economical design features were emphasized—though the homes’ scintillating locations, on roomy lots in neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades and the Hollywood Hills , gave them a luxurious allure.

With the help of photographer Julius Shulman , who shot most of the homes, the most impressive of the homes came to represent not only new styles of home design, but the postwar lifestyle of the booming Southern California region.

A total of 36 houses and apartment buildings were commissioned; a couple dozen were built, and about 20 still stand in the greater Los Angeles area (there’s also one in Northern California, a set near San Diego, and a small apartment complex in Phoenix). Some have been remodeled, but others have been well preserved. Eleven were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

Here’s a guide to all the houses left to see—but keep in mind that, true to LA form, most are still private residences. The Eames and Stahl houses, two of the most famous Case Study Houses, are regularly open to visitors.

As for the unconventional house numbering, post-1962 A&A publisher David Travers writes that the explanation is “inexplicable, locked in the past.”

Case Study House No. 1

J.R. Davidson (with Greta Davidson) designed this house in 1948 (it was actually his second go at Case Study House No. 1). It was intended for “a hypothetical family" with two working parents and was designed to require "minimum maintenance.”

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Case Study House No. 2

Case Study House No. 2 was designed in 1947 by Sumner Spaulding and John Rex. Arts & Architecture wrote that the home’s layout “achieves a sense of spaciousness and flexibility,” with an open living area and glass doors that lead out to adjoining terraces.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Samuel Dematraz (@samueldematraz) on Oct 28, 2018 at 1:07am PDT

Case Study House No. 7

Case Study House No. 7 was designed in 1948 by Thornton M. Abell. It has a “three-zone living area,” with space for study, activity, and relaxation/conversation; the areas can be separated by sliding panels or combined.

Eames House (Case Study House No. 8)

Legendary designer couple Charles and Ray Eames designed the Eames House in 1949 and even Arts & Architecture seemed kind of blown away by it. The home is built into a hillside behind a row of Eucalyptus trees on a bluff above Pacific Palisades. It's recognizable by its bright blue, red, and yellow panels. The Eameses lived in the house until their deaths. It’s now open to visitors five days per week, though reservations are required.

Entenza House (Case Study House No. 9)

The Entenza House was built in 1949 and designed by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen for Arts & Architecture editor John Entenza. According to the magazine, “In general, the purpose was to enclose as much space as possible within a reasonably simple construction.”

Case Study House No. 10

Case Study House No. 10 was designed in 1947 by Kemper Nomland. The house is built on several levels to mold into its sloping site. Recently restored, the home sold to Kristen Wiig in 2017.

Case Study House No. 15

Designed by J.R. Davidson in 1947, Case Study House No. 15 has south walls made of huge glass panels. Its flagstone patio and indoor floor are at the same level for that seamless indoor-outdoor feel. According to the magazine, the floorplan “is basically that of another Davidson house, Case Study House No. 11,” which has been demolished.

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Case Study House for 1953

Craig Ellwood’s Case Study House for 1953 is usually numbered as 16 in the Case Study series . It has a modular steel structure and “the basic plan is a four-foot modular rectangle.” But the interior walls stick out past the exterior walls to bring the indoors out and the outdoors in. The Bel Air house hit the market in November with a $3 million price tag.

Case Study House No. 17 (A)

Case Study House No. 17 (A) was designed by Rodney Walker in 1947. A tight budget kept the house at just 1,560 square feet, “but more space was gained through the use of many glass areas.” The house also has a large front terrace with a fireplace that connects the indoor living room fireplace. The house has been remodeled .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Case Study House #17, 1947 (@casestudy17) on Jun 11, 2016 at 2:20pm PDT

Case Study House No. 17 (B)

Case Study House No. 17 (B) was designed in 1956 by Craig Ellwood, but “governed by a specific program set forth by the client.” Ellwood took into account the clients' collection of contemporary paintings and made the living room “purposely undersized” to work best for small gatherings. The house was extensively remodeled in the sixties by Hollywood Regency architect John Elgin Woolf and his partner, interior designer Robert Koch Woolf.

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West House (Case Study House No. 18 [A])

Case Study House No. 18 (A) was designed by Rodney Walker in 1948. The house is oriented toward the ocean, but set back from the cliff edge it sits on to avoid noise issues. As A&A says, "High above the ocean, the privacy of the open south and east exposures of Case Study House No. 18 can be threatened only by an occasional sea-gull." The house features a "bricked garden room" separated from the living room by a two-sided fireplace.

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Fields House (Case Study House No. 18 [B])

Case Study House No. 18 (B) was designed by Craig Ellwood in 1958. Ellwood didn’t attempt to hide that the house was prefabricated (the magazine explains that he believed “that the increasing cost of labor and the decline of the craftsman will within not too many years force a complete mechanization of residential construction methods”). The components of the house, however, are “strongly defined with color: ceiling and panels are off-white and the steel framework is blue.” According to A&A' s website, the house has been remodeled.

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Case Study House No. 20 [A])

This two-bedroom house was meant “to serve young parents who find they can afford just that much,” according to architect Richard Neutra’s description. He also wrote that he used several different kinds of natural wood in the house.

Bass House (Case Study House No. 20 [B])

The Bass House was designed in 1958 by Buff, Straub, and Hensman for famed graphic designer Saul Bass. It's “unique in that it was based upon the experimental use of several prefabricated Douglas fir plywood products as part of the structural concept,” including hollow-core plywood vaults that covered the central part of the house.

Case Study House No. 21

Pierre Koenig designed Case Study House No. 21 in 1958. It was originally completely surrounded by water, with a walkway and driveway spanning the moat at the front door and carport, respectively. The house was severely messed with over the years, but restored in the ’90s with help from Koenig.

Stahl House (Case Study House No. 22)

Pierre Koenig's Stahl House , designed in 1960, is probably the most famous house in Los Angeles, thanks to an iconic photo by Julius Shulman . The house isn't much to look at from the street, but its backside is mostly glass surrounding a cliff's-edge pool. Tours are available Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday—but book well ahead of time, as they sell out quickly.

Case Study House for 1950

The unnumbered Case Study House for 1950 was designed by Raphael Soriano. It's rectangular, with living room and bedrooms facing out to the view. However, in the kitchen and eating areas, the house “turns upon itself and living develops around a large kitchen-dining plan opening upon a terrace which leads directly into the living room interrupted only by the mass of two fireplaces.” According to A&A 's website, the house has been remodeled.

Frank House (Case Study House No. 25)

The two-story Frank House was designed by Killingsworth, Brady, and Smith and Associates in 1962 and it sits on a canal in Long Beach. A reflecting pool with stepping stones leads to its huge front door and inside to an 18-foot high courtyard. The house sold in 2015 with some unfortunate remodeling .

Case Study House No. 28

Case Study House No. 28 was designed in 1966 by Conrad Buff and Donald Hensman. According to the magazine, “the architects were asked to design a house that incorporated face brick as the primary structural material to demonstrate its particular advantages.” They came up with a plan for two symmetrical wings joined by glass galleries.

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The Eames House (also known as Case Study House No. 8) is a landmark of mid-20th century modern architecture located in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was designed and constructed in 1949 by husband-and-wife Charles and Ray Eames to serve as their home and studio.

It was one of roughly two dozen homes built as part of The Case Study House Program. Begun in the mid-1940s and continuing through the early 1960s, the program was spearheaded by John Entenza, the publisher of  Arts & Architecture magazine. It was developed to address a looming issue: a housing crisis. Millions of soldiers would be returning from the battlefields of World War II, and were wanting to start families. John Entenza recognized that houses needed to be built quickly, inexpensively, yet without sacrificing good design. In a challenge to the architectural community, the magazine announced that it would be the client for a series of homes designed to express man’s life in the modern world. These homes were to be built and furnished using materials and techniques derived from the experiences of the Second World War. Each home was designed with a real or hypothetical client in mind, taking into consideration their particular housing needs.

Click here to see their design brief more clearly from the December 1945 issue of Arts & Architecture .

First Design: Bridge House (unbuilt)

The first plan of the Eameses’ home, known as the Bridge House, was designed in 1945 by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen. The design used pre-fabricated materials ordered from catalogues, a continuation of the idea of mass-production. The parts were ordered and the Bridge House design was published in the December 1945 issue of the magazine, but due to a war-driven shortage, the steel did not arrive until late 1948.

While they were waiting for delivery, Charles and Ray picnicked in the meadow with family and friends, flew kites and did archery.  By then, Charles and Ray had “fallen in love with the meadow,” in Ray’s words, and they realized that they wanted to avoid what many architects had done: destroy what they loved most about a site by building across it.

Second Design: Eames House

Charles and Ray then set themselves a new problem: How to build a house that would 1) not destroy the meadow and trees, and 2) “maximize volume from minimal materials”.  Using the same off-the-shelf parts, but notably ordering one extra steel beam, Charles and Ray re-configured the House. The new design integrated the House into the landscape, rather than imposing the House on it. These plans were published in the May 1949 issue of Arts & Architecture .  It is this design that was built and is seen today.

Charles and Ray moved into the House on Christmas Eve, 1949, and lived there for the rest of their lives.  The interior, its objects and its collections remain very much the way they were in Charles and Ray’s lifetimes.  The house they created offered them a space where work, play, life, and nature co-existed.

While many icons of the modern movement are depicted as stark, barren spaces devoid of human use, photographs and motion pictures taken at the Eames house reveal a richly decorated, almost cluttered space full of folk art, thousands of books, shells, rocks, prisms, etc. The Eameses’ gracious live-work lifestyle continues to be an influential model.

The House has now become something of an iconographic structure visited by people from around the world.  The charm and appeal of the House is perhaps best explained in the words of the Case Study House Program founder, John Entenza, who felt that the Eames House “represented an attempt to state an idea rather than a fixed architectural pattern.”

Help us share the Eameses’ joy and rigor with future visitors, so they may have a direct experience of Charles and Ray’s approach to life and work.

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LA’s Iconic Case Study Houses (Finally!) Make National Register

• Written by Karissa Rosenfield
• Published on August 22, 2013

Ten of Los Angeles ’ Case Study Homes have been deemed historically significant an worthy of being included on US’s National Register of Historic Places . Despite the Los Angeles Conservancy’s belief that all of them deserve “equal preservation protections,” the 11th home was not included due to “owner objection.”

The Case Study Houses spawned from a post-WWII residential experiment, presented by the Arts & Architecture magazine in 1945, which introduced modern movement ideas for affordable and efficient housing. The homes - designed by the likes of Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, Pierre Koenig, Eero Saarinen and others - redefined the modern home. And, with the help of Julius Shulman, placed Los Angeles as an epicenter for mid-century modernism.

The 11 homes included on the register are:

Los Angeles County Case Study House #1, 10152 Toluca Lake Ave., Los Angeles Case Study House #9, 205 Chautauqua Blvd., Los Angeles Case Study House #10, 711 S. San Rafael Ave., Pasadena Case Study House #16, 1811 Bel Air Rd., Los Angeles Case Study House #18, 199 Chautauqua Blvd., Los Angeles Case Study House #20, 2275 N. Santa Rosa Ave., Altadena Case Study House #21, 9038 Wonderland Park Ave., Los Angeles Case Study House #22, 1635 Woods Dr., Los Angeles

San Diego County Case Study House #23A, 2342 Rue de Anne, La Jolla, San Diego (determined eligible) Case Study House #23C, 2339 Rue de Anne, La Jolla, San Diego

Ventura County Case Study House #28, 91 Inverness Rd., Thousand Oaks

A selection of photos from the Case Study Homes can be found here .

References: LAist , Curbed Los Angeles

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The Mid-Century Fairytale of LA’s Case Study Houses

Featured image credit: mbtrama

It’s not often that we get to witness experiments in architecture while they’re in motion. Yet, that’s exactly the experience case study houses offer. Arts & Architecture magazine challenged notable architects to create affordable homes to address the U.S.’s residential housing boom. With World War II finally coming to an end, millions of soldiers were returning home to start families or pick up where they’d left off. The need for new housing was crucial. Arts & Architecture funded the experiment which ran just over two decades from 1945 until 1966. While one of the homes was built in Northern California and another in Phoenix, Arizona, most were erected in the Southern California region. Today, we take a closer look at this innovative moment in California’s housing history. 

The Mid-Century Fairytale of Case Study Houses

It’s safe to say that the project piqued the public’s curiosity, drawing over 350,000 visitors to the initial six houses revealed in 1948. But Arts & Architecture did what it could to bring the case study houses to the Americans who couldn’t make the pilgrimage themselves. 

The magazine regularly featured the completed homes in its pages, often supported by the keen eye of photographer Julius Shulman. Working in moody black-and-white, Shulman brought a classiness to his legendary shots of the forward-thinking domiciles. Furthermore, having specialized in architectural photography, Shulman fit naturally into the ambitious project. 

Of course, his photographs benefited from the otherworldly glamor of Southern California. Homes perched proudly atop Hollywood hilltops with the stars seeming to bow at their feet. Other times, the open promises of the Pacific Ocean lapped at the perimeter while palms kissed cloudless skies. 

In a world that had recently clawed itself out of the burned out crater of a devastating war, Arts & Architecture offered a “happily ever after” that was just sensible enough to believe. Soon, the case study houses became synonymous with the aesthetic of post-war Southern California. 

Seeking Protections for SoCal’s Case Study Houses

The completed case study houses haven’t always had an easy time over the resulting decades. Some owners remodeled homes beyond recognition. Others razed them altogether.  

But in 2013, the Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee petitioned to include 11 of the homes in the national registry. These homes range throughout Southern California, from Ventura to San Diego, though most stand in the Greater Los Angeles area. 

Ultimately, the National Register of Historic Places accepted ten of these homes. The 11th would have made the list as well, but the private owner requested the home not appear on the official register. However, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has protected all 11 of these case study houses since July 24, 2013.

While the Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee nominated whatever case study houses they could, some didn’t make the list. They excluded extensively remodeled properties. Yet, the successful inclusion of the 11 petitioned properties paved the way to potentially include remodeled properties in the future. Additionally, the committee neglected to nominate other well-known case study homes, such as the Eames house, simply because they already appeared on the register. 

Of the 11 homes submitted for registry, eight stand in Los Angeles County. Two more are located in San Diego County and another in Ventura County. Perhaps we’ll review those at a later date in our Los Angeles Home Spotlight column. But for today, we’re going to focus on the Los Angeles County offerings to the registry. 

Case Study House #1

10152 Toluca Lake Ave, Los Angeles

Architect: j.r. and greta davidson, year completed: 1948.

Don’t let the number system fool you. Case study house #1 was not the program’s first home to be constructed. Thus, we introduce the notoriously irrational numbering system of the case study program. Even the editor of Arts & Architecture admitted there’s little to no rhyme or reason to the numbers. 

J.R. Davidson, a force in the early days of California architecture, designed this home with the assistance of his wife, Greta. Efficiency was at the heart of the architecture as the Davidsons envisioned the busy lives of two working parents. Case study house #1 would allow working families more free time by keeping daily maintenance to a minimum. 

This case study abode also introduced a series of features that became hallmarks of the program including:

• Open floor plan
• Floor-to-ceiling windows
• Keeping corridors to a minimum
• Multi-purpose rooms
• Garden access from all primary rooms
• Standardized materials (ie. concrete, plywood, and industrial glass)

Case Study House #9

205 Chautauqua Blvd, Los Angeles

Architect: charles eames and eero saarinen, year completed: 1949.

Case study home #9 is popularly recognized as the Entenza House since it was built for Arts & Architecture ’s editor and publisher John Entenza. Designers Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen challenged themselves to offer a wealth of space with simple, minimalist construction. The home, built from a steel frame and covered in wood-paneling, overlooks the Pacific Ocean from a scenic hill in Pacific Palisades. 

Case Study House #10

711 S. San Rafael Ave, Pasadena

Architect: kemper nomland and kemper nomland, jr., year completed: 1947.

This tri-level structure would have existed regardless of the case study program. That’s because it wasn’t built in response to the program. Rather, it just happened to fit many of the ideals of the program including:

• Utilization of contemporary materials
• Employing modern building techniques
• Affordable to working class Americans
• Simple construction
• Economic use of materials
• Blending of indoor and outdoor features

So, how did this unrelated structure come to be case study house #10? Just two years into the case study program, Arts & Architecture were having trouble keeping a consistent pace. Without the completion of a new house on the horizon, they needed to find a way to keep the inertia. 

So, despite the fact that Kemper Nomland and son had already built the home without regard to the program, its symbiosis found it ripe for inclusion. The Nomlands used the home’s multi-level design to fit it to a Pasadena hillside. In 2017, it sold to comedian, actress, and Saturday Night Live alum Kristen Wiig. 

Case Study House #16

1811 Bel Air Rd, Los Angeles

Architect: craig ellwood, year completed: 1953.

The designer of case study home #16 (although that number changes depending on who you ask) was one of the most prolific in the program. So, it may come as a surprise that Craig Ellwood actually had no formal design instruction. Rather, he learned what he knew through his contracting work. It was enough to place his homes not once, not twice, but three times in the case study program. 

Sadly, two of Ellwood’s designs have been remodeled beyond recognition. Thus, case study home #16 is the only remainder we have of his unique vision in relation to the program. Ellwood was noted for his propensity to use industrial materials and techniques for residential purposes. 

But, as this home illustrates, he also had a gift for blending interiors and exteriors. This Bel Air home blurs the lines between the inside and outside by stretching inner walls beyond the outer walls. 

Case Study House #18

199 Chautauqua Blvd, Los Angeles

Architect: rodney walker.

Pacific Palisades was a popular place for the case study program. Though it appears later on the list than home #8, home #18 (sometimes referred to as 18A) was the first to be completed in the area. Overlooking the tumultuous Pacific Ocean, the structure is built atop a cliff far away from the battering waves. It’s also positioned back from the cliff’s edge to reduce the roar of the sea. 

But perhaps the most notable feature of Rodney Walker’s contribution to the program is the fireplace. The floor-to-ceiling double-sided brick fireplace is shared by a living room on one side and an interior garden room on the other. Three neighboring homes, including the aforementioned #8, would join #18 in the case study program over the next few years. 

Case Study House #20

2275 N. Santa Rosa Ave, Altadena

Architect: conrad buff iii, calvin c. straub, and donald c. hensman, year completed: 1958.

While the majority of case study houses being built in the late 1950s employed steel, case study house #20 was crafted from a variety of natural woods. The design team from architectural firm Buff, Straub, and Hensman leveled a decaying estate in Altadena to bring their economical vision to life. The idea was to create a home for young parents who couldn’t afford more than the essentials. However, the home went to industrial designer Saul Bass and his biochemist wife Dr. Ruth Bass. 

Case Study House #21

9038 Wonderland Park Ave, Los Angeles

Architect: pierre koenig, year completed: 1959.

Pierre Konig was a regular contributor to the case study program with his steel framed take on residential living. It was a trend that never quite caught on, but not for his lack of trying. One of the most notable case study houses, the Stahl House (#22 for those counting at home), was a result of Koenig’s lust for steel. 

Case study house #21 was dreamt up as a model for efficient modern living with the possibility of mass production. But it was originally distinguished by a surrounding moat. The home was accessible via walkways at the front entry and carport. Though this property was extensively remodeled over the decades, Koenig returned to it in the 1990s to attempt to aid in its return to its original vision. 

Case Study House #22

1635 Woods Dr, Los Angeles

Year completed: 1960.

Easily the most iconic of the case study homes on this list, case study house #22 is reserved for Koenig’s aforementioned Stahl House. It seems to float above the Greater Los Angeles area, kissing the interminable blue sky with the corners of its flat roof. To create this effect, Koenig employed the largest piece of glass available to commercial enterprises at the time. Furthermore, Koenig worked with the cliff’s edge site instead of against it to create a piece of LA history you can visit to this day. 

The Aftermath of the Case Study Program

While the case study program aimed to build 36 examples of modern living, builders never completed (or even started) several planned homes. For example, case study house #19 would have been erected in the San Francisco Bay area. On the other hand, home #27 wouldn’t have even been in California. It was marked to be constructed in Smoke Rise, New Jersey. 

The majority of LA’s remaining case study houses are private residences, yet two remain open to public tours. The Eames and Stahl Houses can be visited by scheduling a tour through their respective websites. 

Will we ever see another age of innovation like the case study houses commissioned by Arts & Architecture magazine? It’s hard to say, but we hope it doesn’t take us another war to get there. 

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Inside L.A.’s Ultimate Mid-century Modern Home

By Mark Rozzo

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In March 1954, Clarence “Buck” Stahl and Carlotta May Gates drove from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and got married in a chapel. They each worked in aviation (Buck in sales, Carlotta as a receptionist), had previous marriages, and were strapping, tall, and extremely good looking—California Apollonians out of central casting. Buck was 41, Carlotta, 24. Back home in L.A., as the newlyweds pondered their future, they became preoccupied with a promontory of land jutting out like the prow of a ship from Woods Drive in the Hollywood Hills, about 125 feet above Sunset Boulevard. It was as conspicuous as it was forbidding, visible from the couple’s house on nearby Hillside Avenue. “This lot was in pure view—every morning, every night,” Carlotta Stahl recalled. Locals called it Pecker Point, presumably because it was a prime makeout venue. For the Stahls, it became the blank screen on which they projected their dreams of a life together, a place to build a future, a family, and a house like no other.

Buck Stahl teaches his infant son Mark how to swim, 1967.

Carlotta with daughter Shari on the lounge chair and Bruce in the pool.

About two months after their dash to Las Vegas, the Stahls decided to drive up to this mystery spot and have a look around. They found themselves gawping at the entirety of Los Angeles spread out below in a grid that went on for an eternity or two. While they stood there, the owner of the lot rolled up. He lived down in La Jolla and rarely came to L.A. In the kismet-filled conversation that followed, Buck agreed to buy the barren one-eighth-acre lot for $13,500, with $100 down and the seller maintaining the mortgage until the Stahls paid it off. A handshake later, the couple owned 1635 Woods Drive. On that site, they would construct Case Study House #22, designed by Pierre Koenig, arguably the most famous of all the houses in the famous Case Study program that Arts & Architecture magazine initiated in 1945. For generations of pilgrims, gawkers, architecture students, and midcentury-modern aficionados, it would be known simply as the Stahl House.

The house in 1960, as captured by Julius Shulman during the day.

Sixty-one years since its completion, the modestly scaled L-shaped dwelling still exemplifies everything that is Californian and modern, a built metaphor in prefabricated steel and glass for Los Angeles itself. Yet the Stahl House—which began as a model that Buck fashioned out of beer cans and clay—transcends time and place. Its very image, as the architect Sir Norman Foster once wrote, embodies “the whole spirit of late 20th-century architecture.”

The family’s streamlined kitchen.

You probably know that image, the one Julius Shulman, the architectural photographer, created of the Stahl House in 1960, when the house was barely complete: black and white, twilight, a pair of seated women in conversation, the glass corner of the house cantilevering 10 feet out into nothing except a forever view of glistening, celestial L.A. In 2016, Time Magazine declared it one of the 100 most influential photographs of all time. “If I had to choose one snapshot, one architectural moment, of which I would like to have been the author,” Foster wrote, “this is surely it.” The image continues to hold sway over contemporary practitioners. “That photograph was pivotal in so many peoples’ lives,” the laureled Seattle-based architect Tom Kundig said. “I mean, is there any other photograph that captures in a single image the potential of architecture, the optimism of it? I don’t know if there is.”

Buck and his nephew, Robert, in front of his DIY model of the house.

Carlotta and a family friend (left) with Mark in 1967.

Thanks to a seven-and-a-half-minute exposure, Shulman had managed to capture a serenely futuristic, even utopian, tableau. But the shoot, with plaster dust everywhere and a furniture delivery man taking a detour to visit his mother in Kansas City, was chaos. The backstory of that photograph is one of many spun out in The Stahl House: Case Study House #22 , a sumptuous new book by two of the Stahls’ children, Bruce Stahl and Shari Stahl Gronwald, with the journalist Kim Cross. (Buck and Carlotta, and the youngest Stahl sibling, Mark, are no longer living.) “As kids,” the authors write, “we didn’t know our house was special. It was simply ‘home.’ ” Their book is a startlingly intimate document, chockablock with family snapshots, that goes beyond steel decking, glass walls, concrete caissons, and the geometry of H columns and I beams. It’s a love song to a global icon that was, for the residents themselves, no museum.

Shulman’s famous seven-minute exposure captures the house and its sprawling city backdrop.

As the Stahls tell it, the house may have been a modernist glass bubble, but the glass had smudgy handprints all over it. The towheaded Stahl kids liked to roller-skate across the concrete floors and got up to the usual youthful japery—setting Barbies afire and the like. Jumping off the dramatic, oversailing roof into the swimming pool was an important rite, one eventually passed down to the Stahls’ grandchildren. Buck would shout for the kids to “aim for the drain,” meaning the deep end, and they would take flight, the turquoise water rushing toward them and sky all around. The pool was the center of everything. Shari once rode her tricycle into it, and Bruce developed into a champion swimmer who broke the world record for the 50-meter freestyle. Carlotta, for her part, made delicious treats in a kitchen outfitted with pink GE appliances. Adolf Loos’s dictum “ornament is crime” may have animated Koenig’s minimalist design, but she went to town on a tucked-away powder room: floral wallpaper, shag carpet, framed embroidery, and plastic daisies. Buck was the kind of dad who built the children’s nightstands himself; the Stahls’ decor was no high-end fantasia of Eames, Knoll, and Nelson. Like the prototypical postwar suburban family, the Stahls made do and got by.

Eventually, the Stahl House, like all midcentury houses, fell out of fashion. But in 1989 it was rebuilt, in replica, as the star attraction of the “Blueprints for Modern Living” show at L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art, a surreal experience for the Stahls, who strolled through a parallel-universe version of their family home that had been styled as if for a Hollywood production. And then, more and more, real productions began beating a path up to the real Stahl House: movies, television, Vogue shoots. In 1990, the vocal trio Wilson Phillips filmed the video for their hit “Release Me” there, with director Julien Temple evoking Shulman’s famous photograph. For Carnie Wilson, one of the singers, the experience was the apotheosis of all things Los Angeles. “Here we were in a house that overlooked all of L.A., thinking of the Beach Boys and the Mamas and the Papas,” she said, referring to the group’s pop-royalty parentage. “It just felt all encompassing there.” Modernism came back in style and the Stahl House, owned by the Stahl family to this day and open to hundreds of visitors on guided tours every year, became one of the most photographed buildings in the world. The house was even a guest star on The Simpsons. It doesn’t get much more pantheonic than that.

“When I built in steel, what you saw was what you got,” the plain-spoken Koenig once said. What Buck and Carlotta Stahl got when they drove up to Woods Drive in 1954 was more than they ever envisioned. “They simply built their dream home,” their children write. It’s a dream that never ends.

Photos excerpted from The Stahl House: Case Study House #22: The Making of a Modernist Icon by Shari Stahl Gronwald, Bruce Stahl, and Kim Cross, published by Chronicle Chroma 2021.

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Architectural homes in Los Angeles: Eames House

Architectural homes in Los Angeles: Schindler House

Architectural homes in Los Angeles: Lummis House (El Alisal)

Architectural homes in Los Angeles: Hollyhock House

Architectural homes in Los Angeles: Sam Maloof House

Architectural homes in Los Angeles: Greystone Mansion

Architectural homes in Los Angeles: Gamble House

Architectural homes in Los Angeles: Neutra VDL Research House

Architectural homes in Los Angeles: Avila Adobe

Architectural homes in Los Angeles: Frank Gehry House

House tour: Architectural homes in Los Angeles

Visit these important architectural homes from some of LA's pioneering greats like Eames, Gehry and Neutra.

From tract homes to Case Study Houses, Southern California has always been at the forefront of residential home design ( even Ice Cube knows it ). Whether you’re interested in local history, celebrity digs or plain old house porn, we’ve got a spot for you. So get off the beaten museum track and check out these landmark architectural homes, all within a few mile radius and (mostly) open to the public.

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Eames House

• Historic buildings and sites
• Pacific Palisades

Designing couple Charles and Ray Eames were known for their intelligence and their joie de vivre , both of which are apparent at the Eames House nestled in the Pacific Palisades. One of Southern California’s most beloved examples of modernist residential design, with its Mondrian-style color-block exterior and environmentally-sensitive siting, this home was the Eames’ residence from the time they moved in—on Christmas Eve of 1949—until their deaths in the '70s and '80s, respectively. Visitors park a couple blocks away and walk up the hilly driveway for a self-guided tour of the exterior ($10, reservations required). Interior tours are more difficult to come by: Members are invited for an appreciation day, always scheduled near the Eames’ June 20 anniversary. Anyone can book a one-hour personal tour ($275; $200 for members), but if you’re a real Eames fan, you may want to splurge on the picnic for four in the meadow ($750; $675 for members) and recreate the opening shots of the duo’s popular Powers of Ten video.

Schindler House

• Things to do
• Walks and tours
• West Hollywood

Sleeping baskets on the roof, communal kitchens and a revolving-door salon of artists. Nope, not a Burning Man camp: This is the Schindler House, designed by Austrian architect Rudolf Schindler, who built it as a dual-family residence in which his family cohabited for a time with his frenemy and fellow influential architect Richard Neutra. A quiet, Japanese-influenced concrete building hidden behind a bamboo grove on a street of condos, this experiment in living now houses the Mak Center , a Vienna-based institute that runs a fantastic program of events in the space, including experimental fashion shows, innovative performance art and concerts of new, original compositions. During the week, visitors can wander around the empty house and imagine themselves part of the freewheeling LA bohemia of the 1920s and '30s.

Lummis House (El Alisal)

• Highland Park

Where would we be without those energetic civic boosters that built Los Angeles? The prolific Charles Fletcher Lummis founded the Southwest Museum, was an editor at the Los Angeles Times , and still managed to design this house (the name of which means “the Sycamore” in Spanish) on the banks of the Arroyo Seco. Its exterior is made almost entirely from river rock and the interior is heavily influenced by Pueblo Indian dwellings. Fans of today’s DIY movement will appreciate the rustic Craftsman charm of this home, which is furnished with hand-crafted wood pieces; it’s interesting to see how closely modern-day bohemian design mirrors that of Lummis House. The Historical Society of Southern California is now headquartered here, and it holds several Sunday afternoon programs a year, as well as an annual holiday open house in December.

Hollyhock House

This 1921, Mayan-inflected Frank Lloyd Wright house was originally built as a “progressive theatrical community” space by activist and oil heiress Aline Barnsdall. Today it’s the centerpiece of Barnsdall Park and is open for tours during the park’s popular Friday night wine tasting events . Rudolf Schindler, a protégé of Wright’s, was the overseeing architect on this project (unusual for Wright, who typically was on-site for all of his buildings) and by all reports it was a contentious building process, with the same delays and cost overruns familiar to anyone who’s attempted construction. After it was completed, frequent flooding of the living room in the short yet destructive rainy season and seismic concerns prevented Barnsdall from living in the gorgeous but impractical concrete and stucco house for long—though she did spend the rest of her life in a smaller house on the property, which the family called Olive Hill.

Sam Maloof House

• Inland Empire

Master woodworker Sam Maloof and his carpenters designed and built this lovely, thoughtful home piece by piece in his on-site workshop; no two door openings are the same here, and each joint is a wonder of craftsmanship. A MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, Maloof has had his iconic rocking chairs shown at the Smithsonian; he also designed the chairs that were used on-camera at the history-changing Nixon/Kennedy debates. Visitors can see some of this furniture, as well as the wide-ranging collection of arts-and-craft pieces that he and his wife of 50 years, Alfreda, amassed together. The garden, which he tended, and the house are both open for tours; if you ask, you might be able to peek into the workshop, where he continued building until his death in 2009 at the age of 93.

Greystone Mansion

• Beverly Hills

Is the Greystone Mansion haunted ? The society that runs it certainly wants us to think so—haunted house tours and a popular interactive play capitalize on the 1929 scandal in which the owner of the mansion, oil heir Ned Doheny, died in a mysterious murder-suicide with his boyhood friend and employee. Doheny’s father was mired in the Teacup Dome Scandal at the time, and the deaths meant that he was excused from testifying; rumors also abounded that Ned, who was married with children, was trying to cover up a same-sex affair. Either way, a tour of this 55-room Tudor estate is a good way to get a glimpse into the lives of LA’s historical 1%—costly slate clads the façade and walkways, the windows are leaded glass and guests were entertained in the bowling alley and two movie theaters. When the home was finished in 1929, it cost a reported $3M, making it the most expensive private home in the city at the time.

Gamble House

• Cultural centers
• price 2 of 4

Pasadena may think it owes much of its traditional Arts and Crafts style to Charles and Henry Greene, the brothers and architects responsible for designing many of the city’s landmark buildings, but really, they should be honoring Thomas Greene, the architects’ father. He was the one who decided on their profession, sending them off to MIT and then demanding they move out to Pasadena once they graduated. No word on whether he determined their style as well, but no matter who the progenitor, this graceful house originally built for one of the heirs of the Proctor & Gamble fortune remains one of the best examples of their work. Programming at the Gamble House is exceptional—there are tours that focus on things like the art glass or the details and joinery in the house, as well as more casual events like Brown Bag Tuesday, when visitors bring their own picnic lunch to eat on the grounds, followed by a 20-minute tour. However you decide to experience it, don’t miss the remarkable zig-zag staircase, a joyous element that adds a bit of fun to the perfection of the house.

Neutra VDL Research House

• Silver Lake

The original Neutra VDL Research House, a living laboratory for architect Richard Neutra’s theories on residential design, was built for $8,000 (including the site!) in 1932; it burned down in 1963 and two years later his son oversaw the rebuilding of an updated version. Neutra was something of a control-freak as a designer—he made recommendations to his clients that included the ideal flowers to display, and would occasionally make unannounced visits to see how, exactly, people were living in his homes. This remodel retains Neutra’s clarity of vision and is still a stunner. Today, this glass-walled paragon of modern design overlooking the Silver Lake Reservoir is an active part of LA’s design community and home to occasional art installations. Each Saturday, students in Cal Poly Pomona’s architecture program lead half-hour tours.

Avila Adobe

Visit this 1818 home to see what life was like in California when it was still governed by Mexico. This is the oldest standing residence in the city, built by wealthy cattle rancher Francisco Avila, whose extensive 4,439-acre land grant covered much of Beverly Hills and the Miracle Mile district. Built of tar from the La Brea Tar Pits , clay from the LA River and wood from the riverbank, this adobe structure is located near the Zanja Madre (in English, "mother ditch"), the original aqueduct that brought water to the LA River for El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles (the original name of our fair city). Though visitors only see about half of the original house, it’s well-preserved with an interesting mix of Spanish, Mission and ranchero influences.

Frank Gehry House

• Santa Monica

The neighbors love to hate it, carloads of architecture students drop by to gawk at it: This unexpected intersection of chicken wire, plywood, corrugated metal and traditional Santa Monica house is famed architect Frank Gehry’s actual place of residence. This year the AIA gave it the Twenty-Five Year Award, for a building that has stood the test of time for 25 to 35 years. Rumor has it that when Gehry had a party for his firm here, design enthusiast Brad Pitt knocked on the door and invited himself in. You probably shouldn’t do the same, but you can take it in from the outside. There are no official visiting hours or tickets, but the house is very easy to view from the street.

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What are the Los Angeles Case Study Houses?

It started out simple enough; figure out how to build economic, reliable homes in the Los Angeles area after the end of World War II, that would be suitable and sufficient for families. This quest would continue from the 1940’s to the 1960’s, and its effects are still visible and relevant to this day across L.A.

What are Case Study Houses?

The “Case Study Houses” were an architectural experiment in Los Angeles, California between 1945 and 1966 (The homes are located in the Los Angeles area aside from one in the San Francisco, California area and one in Phoenix, Arizona.) The editor of Arts & Architecture magazine at the time, John Entenza, asked architects to design and create homes that were simple, liveable, cost effective, and allowed owners to revel in the indoor-outdoor lifestyle that California is famous for ( read the magazine’s original call-out here ). In a competition of sorts, he asked for designs to be submitted for homes that would then be built and judged on their ability to live up to this criteria.

How many Case Study Houses were built?

The Case Study Houses initiative began with a total of 36 prototypes to be experimented with. The magazine set the requirement that “each house must be capable of duplication and in no sense be an individual performance.” Despite there being 36 designs, only 24 were ultimately built.

In terms of materials and layout, Entenza did not give much guidance or many instructions about what needed to be done when creating these homes, so the architects were free to use the materials they wanted. Some opted for brick whereas others opted for steel or wood.

Many architects chose to use smaller steel beams, which helped in designing homes that could be replicated easily and at a low cost. The use of cement, industrial glass, and plywood also tremendously decreased the price of building and therefore would be create a more budget-friendly option for families looking to purchase and maintain a home.

Los Angeles Case Study Houses: homes for modern families

In the end, almost every architect involved in this experimental project ended up aiming for an economically reasonable home that promoted a lot of natural light (via huge glass doors and windows that also reduced energy costs), openness, relaxation, and harmony.

Many of the homes were built with a modular layout that made the construction of them easier and quicker. The homes provided a feeling of togetherness for families, typically by rooms that we would now consider living rooms, but they also featured separate rooms to promote privacy when desired.

Famous architects of the Case Study Houses program

Entenza had such a reputation, and the idea of the Case Study Homes project was so appealing that he was able to commission several high-profile architects including Pierre Koenig, JR Davidson, and Richard Neutra.

These architects were already familiar with using these newer building materials materials and construction methods to build homes with the mid-century modernist theme, so they were perfect options for the Case Study Houses.

An announcement released by Arts & Architecture magazine stated that the architects were chosen based on “reasonableness, which they have consistently maintained at a high level.” The announcement concluded by stating that the Case Study Houses project would “assist in giving some direction to the critical thinking on housing being done by good architects and good manufacturers whose joint objective is good housing.”

The initial plan was to have each of the designs of the Case Study Houses built and then analyzed to see which ones could be recommended to be replicated based on sturdiness, structural design, appearance, economic benefit (versus losses), and public acceptance of modern architecture.

Ultimately, the goal was to find the best modern model that could be duplicated and would be reasonable and affordable for a family facing post-war challenges at that time. Many soldiers were returning home after being deployed for several years and needed places to support their families that didn’t come with exorbitant expenses. Seeing as there was a shortage of many materials and a lack of time for construction, a solution needed to be found.

Of course, the project was also geared towards finding out what construction methods and materials wouldn’t be suitable in that era.

The architects were all well aware of the Danish and Bauhaus modernist movements that were unveiled at the 1939 World’s Fair, which likely influenced the choices most of them made for their Case Study homes; many of the homes have modernist designs.

L.A. Case Study Homes today

At the time, these homes were stunning examples of ‘modern’ architecture and technology, and many of them still exist today. Several of the homes have unfortunately been demolished or completely remodeled to the point where they have lost their initial design integrity, but about 20 of the homes still exist much as they did when they were built. The most popular ones are likely the Stahl House, which was designed by Pierre Koenig in 1960 in West Hollywood, and the Eames House, which was designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1949 in the Pacific Palisades area. Both of these homes can be toured today.

Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House #21 has been altered but was initially praised for being completely surrounded by water, and Case Study House #10 is now owned by the actress Kristen Wiig. The Case Study House in Phoenix, Arizona, is an apartment that is still in existence today.

The Case Study Houses are a testament to how the United States tried and succeeded in leading the architecture and building industry after the war. Building economic, sturdy homes with advanced (for that time) technology, modern materials, and lower cost was critical for Americans looking to restructure their lives post-war, and the Case Study Houses project turned out to become one of the most memorable and inspiring ventures in architectural history.

How to tour Case Study Houses: Architecture tours

Coming soon, we will be creating tours for these and other important homes in Los Angeles. To inquire, please click here .

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The Case Study of Los Angeles City & County Fraud, Embezzlement and Corruption Safeguards during times of pandemic

• Published: 02 September 2022
• Volume 22 , pages 593–610, ( 2022 )

Cite this article

• Anaïs Valiquette L’Heureux   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8871-4291 1  

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This exploratory qualitative case study analyzes the risks of misappropriation of COVID-19 relief funds managed by public agencies in the County of Los Angeles. This study documents deviance, sources of misbehavior, vulnerability factors and mitigation strategies in place to prevent fraud and corruption. Results indicate that loopholes in benefits eligibility certification led to massive levels of fraud, and that internal infrastructure and the work climate within public institutions exacerbated fraud risks. Institutional fragmentation, political pressures and human resources practices hindered the effectiveness of prevention mechanisms. Recommendations to strengthen accountability systems and institutional safeguards against fraud and ethical deviance are proposed.

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Introduction

Ethical deficits, such as corruption, conflict of interest and waste of public resources are global phenomena. Common sources of ethical risks can be found in post-scandal research. These include pernicious organizational climates that lack the ability to learn from past mistakes and adopt a learning mindset. Public agencies and the private organizations within public services delivery networks can also lack capacity to implement previously recommended actions, or secure the human-technical infrastructure to promote continuous improvement with regards to ethics and risks. Many resources are wasted during and after a corruption scandal (Liu & Mikesell, 2014 ).

Corruption itself can take on many forms: bribery, extortion, misappropriation, self-dealing, misuse of information, nepotism, and creating or exploiting conflict of interest (Graycar, 2015 ). Some forms of corruption occur openly in organizations and is difficult to prevent due to it occurring through legitimate operations (Ceresola, 2019 ). Some of the other consequences of corruption include erosion of public trust in government and the undermining of democratic institutions (Villoria et al., 2013 ). The County of Los Angeles has a workforce of approximately 100, 000 employees, and comprises 35 departments (Los Angeles, 2020). It has an annual budget of approximately $36.2 billion. Because of the pandemic, the Los Angeles County experienced a drastic loss of tax sales revenue. To meet a $935.3 million budget shortfall, the County proceeded to the elimination of thousands of positions (Daily News 2020 ). However, shortly thereafter, the County felt the need to hire massively – as much as 400 eligibility workers for one local agency alone – in an effort to implement pandemic relief-related programs, such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Unemployment fraud skyrocketed during the period of April to June 2020. Based on longitudinal trends of about 10% fraudulent claims, the Auditor General estimated that at least $87 billion of Unemployment Insurance was defrauded Footnote 1 (Department of Labor 2021). If ethical safeguards were put in place in response to this situation, such safeguards are at risk of being poorly implemented or eroding, more or less gradually. Moreover, many factors exacerbated the risks of corruption in the management of public services including pandemic-relief and unemployment claims approvals. These factors include, the pressure and urgency of approving unemployment, and other forms of emergency reliefs claims, the limited experience of many eligibility workers, and the quasi-absence of supervision reported by those in the frontlines.

The rollout of the pandemic-relief programs occurred after local governments responded with drastic measures to meet drastic revenue loss. Given the toll corruption has on already strained public resources, is as important as ever to assess the effectiveness of our public safeguards against corruption. This project is aimed at exploring workarounds, fraud, discretions, and other types of corruption, that occur through an erosion of safeguards and ambiguities present in the policies of LAC’s pandemic-relief funds managing departments. Using a qualitative methodology, we explore the risk and vulnerability factors as perceived by internal public sector stakeholders within agencies in the County of Los Angeles during the recent Pandemic.

Conceptual framework

Throughout the 20th century, the vision for anti-corruption in the American public apparatus was moved by moral, reformist, scientific and panoptical (surveillance-promoting) imperatives (Anechiarico & Jacobs 1994). During the 1900–1930 period and during the New Deal, a morally-moved, progressive vision introduced codes of conduct and standards in an effort to counter political patronage. The current risk-regimes era is characterized by the need for ethical leadership and bureaucratic transparency. Misconduct is perceived as the product of a lack of leadership support and strategic vision (Gnankob et al., 2022 ; Van Nierkerk, Valiquette L’Heureux & Holtzhausen, 2022 ). Ethical risks, in the current era, are seen by scholars of ethics as potentially curbed by an appropriate ethical climate, supportive leadership as well as sentinel entities designed to oversee the legal and moral standards in organizations (Brown & Trevino 2006 ).

However, in practice, accountability-seeking mechanisms, such as whistleblowing channels, or codes of conduct can fail (Cho & Song, 2015 ; Holtzhausen, 2012 ). As explained in Rose-Ackerman’s ( 1975 ) seminal work , an effective law must do more than impose heavy penalties upon the participants to the illicit bargain; since even a heavy fine whose amount is a function of the bribe paid may fail to deter corrupt activity (see Freudenburg & Gramling 2012 on the case of BP). Three mutually reinforcing processes lead to corruption’s normalization (Ashforth & Anand 2003): institutionalization, where an initial corrupt decision or act becomes embedded in structures and processes and thereby routinized; rationalization; where self-serving ideologies develop to justify and perhaps even valorize corruption; and socialization, where naïve newcomers are induced to view corruption as permissible if not desirable.

Moreover, there are factors that lead to inertia and to serious degradation of ethical commitment, such as bureaucratic protection logics, poor strategic integration of ethical values in organizations’ planning and evaluation mechanisms, and blame games (Atler, 2003; Boisvert 2018 ; Hood, Rostein & Baldwin, 2001). Relative independence of the public service from political imperatives is an important theme in anti-corruption literature (Van Niekerk & Dalton-Brits, 2016 ; Van Niekerk, Valiquette L’Heureux & Holtzhausen, 2022 ). Factors that increase, however, corruption levels, are geographical isolation (Campante & Do, 2014 ) as well as the proportion of a state’s expenditures derived from federal transfers (Fisman & Gatti, 2002 ).

Boisvert’s ethical risks framework

When evaluating risks of deviance and potential for social control there is a need to look into the in-situ, contextual factors . Boisvert ( 2018 ) in a study of municipal corruption, proposes three analytic dimensions for ethical risks: deviant behaviors, risk factors and mitigation/attenuation strategies. Each component is dynamically, interacting. Deviant behaviors are exacerbated by risks factors and weak mitigation strategies. This model underpins the complexity and challenge of dealing with ethical risks through formal and informal processes. Anti-corruption strategies, programs and policies can experience important distortions during their implementation phase (Graycar, 2015 ; Coglianese, 2012 ). Organizations that are designed to mitigate corruption can be themselves experiencing it (Freudenburg & Gramling, 2012 ). When it comes to risk networks, non-linear dynamics are at play (Stacey &Griffin, 2006 ). Discretion, coupled with a laisser-faire attitude pertaining to procedural probity and ethics can greatly increase opportunity for deviant (fraudulent or corrupt) behaviors. Whistleblowing, in turn, requires not only formal mechanisms, but also, psychological safety; (see Davis 2012 ; Lipman & Lipman, 2012 ; Ulmer, 2000 ) because blowing the whistle can often mean the loss of one’s job or, at the very least, ostracism in the workplace (Cant, 2001 ). Such processes are conditioned by many context-specific factors, including institutional infrastructure (policies and other formal, decisional mechanisms), values and socially-constructed perceptions and behavioral norms. A high moral propensity from civil servants is also associated with lower corruption levels (Andreoli & Leftkowitz 2009 ; Veetikazhi et al., 2021 ). Lower corruption levels were associated to factors such as a population’s education and relative wealth (Glaeser & Saks, 2006 ) and law and free press (Kumara & Handapangoda, 2014 ). These dynamic components can be categorized using Boisvert’s theory.

How crises affect ethical risks

Crises, such as natural disasters are positively associated with higher corruption levels (Yamamura, 2014 ; Escaleras et al., 2006 , 2007 ; Green, 2005 ). Crises exacerbate ethical risks, as it may be perceived that other imperatives, such as the need to resume functions, protect core functions or overcome real or perceived threats, outweigh the need for procedural diligence and procedural justice (Vadera, Pratt & Mishra, 2013). Crises, technically should lead to greater levels of vigilance (Busenberg, 1999 ; Freudenburg, 1993 ). However, recent studies indicate that institutions do not always learn from corruption scandals, policy failures or crisis (Van Niekerk, Valiquette L’Heureux & Holtzhausen, 2022 ). As we shall see next, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused important changes and challenges to local governments in Los Angeles. This study will build on prior research to analyze how these changes were managed and to what extent the institutions responsible for distributing COVID-19 relief funds ensured that the funds were being allocated in an efficient, yet, integrity-driven manner.

Background: the case of Los Angeles City & County

California’s population is estimated at around 40 million people (U.S. Census Bureau 2022 ). In March of 2020, the State of California issued Stay-at-home (or shelter-in-place) orders, that had a series of very important, never before seen, ripple effects. The Golden State’s finances were impacted deeply by the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020 alone, 2.4 million people got laid off in California. In comparison, in the last economic recession, between December 2008 and January 2009, 132,800 jobs were lost (Roosevelt, 2020 ). The California Development Department (EDD) had to process, between March 2020 and January 2021, 19.5 million claims, and paid out $114 billion in unemployment benefits through either the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program (PAU) or the California Unemployment Insurance (UI) program (Cal-EDD 2021 ). As means of comparison, during the Great Recession of 2010, only 3.8 million claims were processed. Cal-EDD ( 2021 ) claims that international and national crime syndicates attacked unemployment systems in every State, and that 9.7% of the payments it made were confirmed fraudulent. 95% of fraud targeted the PUA.

Los Angeles County was the one region in California most severely hit by the economic impacts of the pandemic. In 2020, 437,000 people lost their jobs in the County of Los Angeles. In June of 2020, 1 in 5 workers (20%) was out of work, compared to a 16.4% unemployment rate, statewide.

Tracking how the coronavirus crushed California’s workforce. (Source : Los Angeles Times (2021) Coronavirus unemployment: Tracking California’s fallout. (no page) https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/unemployment/ )

Sectors such as hospitality (restaurants, tourism, bars, hotels), arts, entertainment and recreation, film and recording and retail were most deeply hit. As 2020 unemployment claims data indicated, those who lost their jobs in LA County tended to be extremely young (with half claimants being under the age of 35) with low-level educational attainment and over 40% were Latino or Hispanic. In light of projected revenue losses, the government also proceeded to massive layoffs. In California, 205,100 government jobs were lost between February 2020 and August 2020 (California Economic Development Department 2020).

Prior to the Pandemic, Los Angeles already struggled with staggering numbers of unsheltered individuals – living on the streets, in cars, in campers or in makeshift shelters or tents. 49,521 people were homeless in the Greater Los Angeles in 2019 (LAHSA 2020 ). The pandemic increased this number. The most recent homelessness count estimates the total homeless population at 54, 291 Footnote 2 . Also, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a few high-profile corruption cases have weakened public trust and demonstrated the fallibility of California’s largest city’s ethical safeguards. One scandal pertained to one of Los Angeles County’s main financial watchdog itself: the Los Angeles County’s Assessor’s office (LACAO). Three whistleblowers filed a lawsuit claiming that the County Assessor, his top managers and lawyers have allowed certain taxpayers to pay lower property taxes simply because they have ties to elected officials (Winton, 2019 ). As these high-profile cases have demonstrated, there were loopholes in the system that were exploited by malevolent individuals. Thus, legalist, compliance-based ethical programs can fail when presuming that employees will demonstrate judgment and integrity (Weaver & Treviño, 1999 ).

New pandemic-relief programs targeting small businesses also created new opportunities for fraud. Two individuals were convicted to six and seventeen years in federal prison, respectively, in relation to their lead of a fraud ring. They subtilized over $20 million in Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan COVID-19 relief funds (COVID-relief SBA-loans; NBC 2021 ; Nouran, 2021 ). How was this possible? As our case study’s findings will demonstrate, lack of training, improper supervision practices, a risky organizational climate and the feeling of “injustice and helplessness” felt by frontline workers, were underestimated risk factors that hindered fraud detection and perhaps even contributed to higher levels of fraud and losses of pandemic-relief funds.

It is important to address the gap in research that pertains to the Los Angeles County’s institutional failures. As mentioned earlier, the Los Angeles County laid off employees massively in the wake of the pandemic due to projection of drastic cuts in tax revenues, and had to hire massively shortly thereafter to meet the demands of newly established programs. These programs were created out of an economic and political desire to withhold economic breakdown (recession) through heavily subsidizing citizens and businesses – through paycheck protection loan programs. Some individuals found ways to “work the system” and loot public resources: One ex-employee of California Employment Development Department alone having been able to obtain nearly $4.3 million (USD) in fraudulent covid-19 unemployment relief (ABC 7, 2021). As mentioned, a locally-based fraud ring was able to defraud as high as 20 million in forged applications to Small business loans program. Cal- EDD (2021) itself has released information indicating that “international and national crime Syndicates” were using stolen online identities and submitting important volumes of false claims. What has hindered local-level public institutions in their ability to ensure that federal and state COVID-relief transfers were properly allocated? How did local agencies adapt to the meet the demands stemming from the COVID public response and what are the lessons learned from prior mistakes?

Methodological approach

This presentation of results is inspired by Boisvert ( 2018 )’s municipal corruption analysis, which allows for the identification or three dimensions of ethical risks: deviant behaviors, risk factors and mitigation/attenuation strategies. Boisvert ( 2018 )’s ethical risk model provides a relevant theoretical “division” that favors both accuracy in diagnosis and a holistic, process-view of the risk-management system (or regime). This model has proven effective in the capturing of ethical risks faced by municipal-level agencies using similar qualitative methods.

Our case study (Yin, 2017 ; Flyvbjerg, 2011 ) followed a grounded-theory approach (Eisenhardt, 1989 ). No hypothesis was tested; the propositions emerged from an exploratory analysis of the case. The in-depth exploratory character of this analysis allowed for high conceptual validity (Yin, 2017 ). Our conceptualization of ethical drifts (See Table  2 and presented in the analysis section) stems essentially from our interviews, our data-mining and field notes. The triangulation method was used to allow multiple actors, data sources and data types to inform the case’s analysis.

Data collection

The data on which this case study relies includes primary interview data and secondary sources. The primary data was gathered between November 2021 and February 2022. Secondary sources include journalistic inquiries and credible news media reports (NBC4, ABC7, Los Angeles Times), Government reports, such as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public affairs press releases as well as qualitative interviews with one dozen civil servants from three major local agencies of Los Angeles County. The results hereby proposed stem mainly from the in-depth interviews with mid and lower-level workers and managers in COVID-19 benefits-managing entities. For purposes of confidentiality and results’ authenticity, the interviews were conducted with preservation of respondent’s confidentiality and anonymously. The names of employers also remained confidential. A semi-structured qualitative coding scheme was employed to facilitate data aggregation and analysis.

Data analysis

In an exploratory study of risks, whether ethical or of other forms of risks, the boundaries of the system are defined as “self-designed/ self-projected” (Kervern & Boulenger 2007 ; Kervern 1995 ); thus, the local-level agencies included in Table  2 are those mentioned by our respondents. The risk-governance system (risk network or risk regime) that was analyzed is comprised of our three local agencies’ internal and external stakeholders, the general public, as well as their accountability and reporting mechanisms, institutional and public watchdogs – and included political actors and the media. These self-projected boundaries are in fact “interfaces” between multiple levels. This analytical stance is important to promote analytical authenticity in qualitative case analyses of risks. There are dynamic factors that generate risk in the system which was analyzed. The Risk factors, mitigation strategies and deviant behaviors present in are listed in Table  2 .

Table  2 : Findings’ summary – Dynamics of Ethical Risks LA County COVID-19 relief programs and funds. Caption: The Risk factors, mitigation strategies and deviant behaviors present in are listed in Table  2 .

Many interrelated factors caused the failure of preventing the looting of state resources. Local public agencies struggled with communicational fragmentation, changing directives, financial uncertainty. Programs delivery was rushed and preventive measures were not properly in place. The Criminal justice system and investigative bodies such as the FBI had a limited power over the threat as their organizational structure and means were not adjusted until after the fraud crisis struck. The risk factors, coupled with weak and ineffective mitigation and prevention strategies laid fertile grounds for fraud, false applications and ultimately, the looting of public resources.

Main stakeholders in the risk regime

Any risk (governance) regime is comprised of a set of stakeholders (Hood et al., 2001 ). In our case, the main stakeholders are:

(1) Law enforcement institutions, such as Department of Justice, Local Law-Enforcement Agencies, LA County Assessor’s Office; Los Angeles’s Office of Anti-Corruption and Transparency, etc. are the ones managing and implementing core accountability and oversight mechanisms.

(2) The individual groups and cartels perpetrating fraud and looting public finances are those exploiting loopholes. They include those individuals that were never actually caught cheating the system.

(3) The political actors are broadly defined as the elected officials that define the policies and broad program orientations. They include, for the purpose of this analysis, the Executive Branch of the Federal government, U.S. policymakers (such as U.S. Congress and Senate members), the State Governor, elected representatives of the State of California, the Los Angeles’ mayor, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. They are in charge of governing over a wide variety of programs, from rent-relief programs to nutritional, unemployment, health care, social and mental health, child and family services related programs.

(4) Local public agencies in this case analysis are the Departments and Divisions who are responsible for implementing these programs. They are federally or state-funded, and each have their specific authority/reporting structures (General managers, Advisory Boards, politically-appointed Commissioners, etc.). These local agencies find themselves oftentimes partnering with nonprofits or subcontractors, and represent the main interface with the public.

(5) Traditional and non-traditional news outlets (including social media) played an important role as they placed pressure upon policymakers to act. In this sense, the media helped disseminate information about risks, but also contributed to the fast-paced dynamics of risks and crisis within the governance network responsible for the proper allocation of COVID-19 relief funds.

Next, we apply the Boisvert framework to the analysis of this risk governance regime.

Risk factors

The first category of results pertains to the factors (human, political, economic, social, etc.) that shape the state agencies’ vulnerability to fraud and corruption. They comprise punctual contingencies as well as more permanent, historically inherited contextual characteristics. In this case, our results indicate that important shocks , reorganizations, demoralization and the urgency with which the relief funds needed to be encumbered created fertile grounds for fraud. The volatility of public financial environment, coupled with a rush in designing and implementing and distributing emergency-benefits programs – stemming from the State and Federal governments’ political desire to react swiftly to the crisis – created a certain loss of ethical safeguard capacity. In early stages of the pandemic, financial projections and budgetary updates at the local level predicted a steep decline in state revenue transfers and income tax. The stay-at-home orders affected many industries and therefore State, Federal and Local governments’ finances (Cain, 2020 ). Initial budgetary struggles from local governments resulted in massive layoffs, which then were followed by massive hires to meet the demands for COVID-relief-fund allocation Footnote 3 . Competent, but hardly ever trained new hires were asked to perform their duties in crowded spaces, yet empty buildings. Supervisors were allowed to work remotely, but lower-level employees, such as eligibility workers, were not. This contributed to a sentiment of disenfranchisement, and conflicts in directives. As explained by a local agency’s employee: “ When COVID 19 happened right at the beginning of my employment it was a very stressful time. I had no understanding of why actions were being taken or not being taken and it caused myself and other employees with no public background incredible stress and even fear ” (Public Servant involved in Covid-19 relief fund distribution, December 2021). Changes in reporting mechanisms also occurred. Supervision, in some of COVID-19 relief program implementation hubs and centers, was deficient. Employees entrusted with eligibility determination were forced to accomplish tasks for which they were poorly trained, in the absence adequate support and supervision. One employee explains:

“There are times when things become a little more complex and when extra time is needed, as workers, we are questioned by our superiors as to why so much time is being spent on that case. (…) I have felt that I was being accused of wasting time. (…) The way in which we are being monitored can become demoralizing” (front-line bureaucrat working for an agency charged with distributing public COVID-19 relief funds- Interviewed in December 2021).

Indeed, supervision that is not comprehensive is detrimental to the workplace-climate and quality of work. Employees would seek “workarounds” - manners with which to meet quantitative performance metrics and not be the target of critiques and undue scrutiny. As an employee explains: “ workers try to look for ways in which we can cheat the system ” (front-line bureaucrat working for an agency charged with distributing public COVID-19 relief funds, December 2021) because of the pressure imposed by strict “inhuman” employee-oversight and surveillance methods. The system reportedly scrutinized employees’ break times, times on tasks and calls duration, notifying the supervisor when low or high thresholds were met. This created a feeling of disenfranchisement. Literature on social control advances that employees that are demoralized are at risk of disengaging with the mission of the agency, which can create larger scale integrity issues (Alter, 2003 ).

Our findings indicate that frontline workers who determine or have a great role to play in the determination of claimant’s eligibility to relief funds felt undervalued, and that their feedback regarding policy implementation issues was dismissed and did not reach policy-level spheres. Communication channels were not “bi-directional”, but only used to communicate directives from the top-down. These directives about eligibility, how to process claimants’ cases, and the like, were rapidly changing and often, found to be contradictory with earlier stipulations. Several respondents indicated that demands for help in implementing directives and for clarifications have been ignored. Problems of policy interpretation were often left unresolved, and employees felt left behind. What is more, employees felt like their own safety and security were disregarded by their superiors. As mentioned, teleworking was not allowed to lower-level employees, those interacting most with the public, through the phone or in-person. As a consequence of their crowded workplaces, it is believed that there was unnecessary COVID-19 exposure.

In short, risk factors such as a fast-pace news-reactive political environment trickled down to the agencies in charge of implementation of COVID-19 relief funds and direct monetary benefits. The overall administrative environment was characterized by heavy supervisory deficits, informational deficits and important lapses of quality assurance mechanisms, which fostered risks, policy loopholes and fraudulent behavior opportunities.

Forms of deviance

Three major forms of unethical behaviors were identified throughout the analysis of this case: internal, external and international. With regards to internal fraud, there is at least one case of an ex-employee of California Employment Development Department having been able to obtain nearly $4.3 million (USD) in fraudulent COVID-19 related unemployment relief (CARES Act funds; ABC 7, 2021). The ex-civil servant was able to use Social Security Numbers from out-of-state residents through her work as Tax Preparer. False claims have been processed and 197 debit cards were sent at various addresses, such as the residence or workplace of this ex- EDD’s employee’s friends and relatives. Only $600,000 were recovered by prosecuting authorities. Our analysis indicates that there is a strong possibility that other state employees – current or former having access to U.S. Citizens’ SSN lists and other personal information – used their insider’s knowledge to submit fraudulent claims. In other words, this case was probably not an isolated incident, and other State employees could very well have been involved in COVID-relief related fraud, or have been instrumental to some of the cases of fraud.

The second category of deviant practices is external: individuals and groups not associated with the agencies identified ways to exploit faults in state agencies’ oversight using forged documents. A highly mediatized example of this involved a “fraud ring” based in L.A. defrauded over $18 million USD in COVID-relief dedicated to helping small businesses (Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program funds). Several individuals in this case conspired using a complex scheme to loot public resources through 150 fraudulent small-business loans applications. They were caught partly because of the similarity of paycheck information that appeared on forged documents used to defraud the COVID-relief program. After being released on bail, three individuals went missing. They eventually were arrested in Montenegro, in 2022 (Daily News 2022 ).

Finally, a third form of deviance – international fraud – was also identified in documents published by the California Employment Development Department; that is, fraud attempts and fraudulent unemployment applications to California COVID-19 relief funds by international cartels (Cal- EDD, 2021). As of Sept., 31, 2021, nationwide, $872 billion were spent in COVID-relief to “assist American citizens with pandemic-related employment issues and challenges” and the portion of this amount believed to have been defrauded by international-based scammers could be as high as $200 billion (Office of the Inspector General 2021 ).

Hackers easily obtained information necessary to apply – and obtain – COVID-19 relief. The stratagem is quite simple; gather a list of real people, and turn to a database that charges a 2$ fee in cryptocurrency per individual for their date of birth and Social Security number. Most states required nothing more to process unemployment claims (Penzenstadler, 2020 ). Claimant could self-certify for their eligibility and apply to retroactive relief (Icaruci, 2021 ). “Organized crime has never had an opportunity where any American’s identity could be converted into $20,000, and it became their Super Bowl” according to FBI Deputy Assistant Director Jay Greenberg (cited by Dilanian Ramgopal & Atkins 2021 , no page). Transnational organized crime groups based in Eastern Europe, West Africa and Asia benefited most from the policy failure. “In California, this is unquestionably the largest fraud against public agencies in our history”, according to Vern Pierson, president of the California District Attorneys Association (cited by Ramgopal et al., 2021 ). This situation placed public leaders of all levels under intense media pressure. On one hand, they were becoming aware their COVID-19 relief distribution systems were “under attack” by international scammers, but on the other hand, lawful claims were affected by the abrupt halting of services. For instance, many States’ EDD system’s months-long backlog led to public outcry. Because of international scammers flooding their systems, public agencies’ servers were crashing when already overwhelmed by the drastic increase in legitimate claims.

In California, 30 billion dollars are suspected to have been retrieved by International Scammers (Ramgopal et al., 2021 ). According to official accounts, the impact of this form of deviant behavior is believed to have been curbed by the reinforcing some of the initial loopholes in fraud-safeguard mechanisms. However, the sheer volume of applications processed by the State agencies at the height of the pandemic, as well as the lapses in the eligibility-verification mechanisms exacerbated by opportunities of online identity theft and created fertile grounds for the looting of public funds by internationally-based crime syndicates and online scammers.

Effectiveness of mitigation strategies

In September 2020, 100 million were transferred from the federal Department of Labor to States to combat fraud, but as much as 36 billion USD of fraudulent unemployment payments from U.S. Relief funds were already missing (Penzenstadler, 2020 ). Multiple factors, dynamically-intertwined fostered fraudulent behavior. Threats to accountability were numerous, especially given the multiplicity (and disconnectedness) of actors involved in preventing or prosecuting fraudulent activity. At a policy-level, the higher-level executives translate policy directives into actionable programs. They allocate funds and personnel to ensure proper delivery of those programs. However, resources needed for the proper execution of such directives may be misaligned with actual organizational capacity. In other words, the training, supervision, and quality-control mechanisms that must be in place to optimize work efforts from those upon which tasks are being bestowed were questionable in the wake of the COVID-19 relief programs and direct financial aid policies put in place. Training, the pillar of lawful and guidelines-compliant tasks from frontline workers, was particularly problematic. In one agency, what is described as a generalized lack of diligence from co-workers is viewed as hindering the agency’s capacity to efficiently make decisions and recommendations for funding eligible individual or businesses. As an employee explains, missing information is problematic when determining eligibility of an applicant.

“Although they always tell us to annotate a case and to include all information there are many workers that do not, making our job harder as then we need to play detectives and guess what may be the situation on the case. (…) there are those days where it seems that every case that I seem to get is a problematic case, as the applicant has not been processed properly” (local agency employee, lower-management level, interview of December 2021).

Mitigation strategies to COVID-19-related funds misappropriation which this analysis identified took two broad forms: prevention, on one hand, and deterrence and prosecution on the other hand. However, these strategies were not optimal for several risk factors and hindered their effectiveness. Coordination and adaptation capacity remain low for large bureaucracy, as exemplified in this interview excerpt: “[the agency for which I work] adapted too slowly. The administration is so used to red tape and policies, that when a disaster struck, and it was outside of that policy book, they had no idea what to do (…) And they left employees in the dark” (Frontline-level Civil servant employed by an institution that was charged with managing COVID-19 benefits). It would be important, especially in the wake of major disruptions and upheavals, that training and communication be emphasized rather than underestimated. A shared goal, and a common operating picture is critical to efficient crisis management (Comfort, Boin & Demchack 2010 ).

Methodological implications

This project uses a case study approach (Van Thiel, 2014 ) inspired by pragmatism (Dewey, 1922 , 1927 ) and the grounded theory (Eisenhardt, 1989 ). Qualitative research promotes flexible protocols, which create high validity within the case study’s findings. Our interviewees were public agency personnel members who possessed experience of relevant cases, processes, rules and systems in place. The goal of the analysis was to understand organizational dynamics affecting the risk regime. Respondents were asked about their experience with the COVID-19 response, downsizing, personnel re-affectation and relief programs eligibility. They were asked to discuss supervision tactics and ethical climates in local-level agencies. Grounded case study research typically produces highly actionable and transferable results, and in-situ knowledge about the detection and the prevention of corruption is best acquired through case study research (May & Perry, 2013 ).

Methodological limitations are inherent in any study. Case studies are not meant to generate generalizable data, but transferable finings (Creswell & Creswell, 2017 ). This analysis was qualitative in nature, and therefore only offers a descriptive view of the network analyzed. Moreover, for purposes of clarity and succinct presentation of the dynamism shaping risks in the stakeholder network, we selected the Boisvert ( 2018 ) typology and presented the results along three variables (dimensions): risk factors, deviant behaviors and attenuation strategies. Other typologies exist (see for instance Graycar 2015 ), but this one was selected for its sound conceptual clarity. The framework calls for an analysis of transactions between stakeholders which is useful to depict complex institutional dynamics. Dynamic-models (Shrivastava, 1992 ) offer interesting account of the complexity that create risks and crises. It is also worthy of mention that case-elements deemed peripheral to the research study were excluded. Only core results and findings were retained and presented in Table  2 . Further analyses, of longitudinal or quantitative nature, or, focusing on single-institutions, (instead of an ensemble of agencies comprising a regulatory network) should complement this case analysis (Weber 1995 ).

Practical implications

Risk factors, potentially deviant behaviors and available and effective prevention mechanisms need to be well understood when creating – and, most importantly, maintaining over time – a proactive, resilient and inclusive ethical climate in public agencies. While corruption risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have been the object of analysis in specific settings, such as health care systems (Teremetskyi et al., 2021 ), this analysis targets specifically local-level government. Thus, several lessons for local governments can be drawn from this analysis.

First, risk factors may be inevitable but this inevitability in no way should trigger complacency. In other words, political shifts, high demands for quick re-organization of resources, rushed implementation, etc. should not be an excuse not to double down on vigilance and proceed with a thorough analysis of the contextual conditions that will affect policy implementation. Crisis management expertise and readily available risk experts within local governments will alleviate some of the deficits herein identified. Secondly, forms of deviance will emerge as vulnerabilities appear. A commitment to understand the emerging risks associated with crisis-response will lead more effective identification of deviant behavior. Organizational capacity is of critical importance. In this regard, training case workers (and other eligibility-determining personnel) at identifying signs of deviance may represent a viable avenue to support prevention of misallocation of public funds, especially in times of crisis. Reactive attitudes are never as effective as proactive ones. Finally, when designing risk-mitigation strategies, proper emphasis must be placed upon relaying information effectively between workers, hierarchical levels and beyond departments. Strategic, data-driven leadership mindsets are needed for modern-era decision-making in local governments.

Some countries seem to have met the challenge of transparency and preventing misuse with greater effectiveness when designing a monitoring system for desired outcomes (Wendling et al., 2020 ). Transparency International warns against using “extra-budgetary mechanisms/ah-hoc budgetary mechanisms, because of democratic deficits and weakened oversight structures and suggested interesting long-tern solutions, including “the involvement of control and audit institutions in the design of programmes” (Oldfield, 2020 , p. 17). The scale and speed of economic stimulus packages present a particular challenge for corruption prevention.

Conclusions

There are other risks – which have not been addressed here – which threaten process integrity when it comes to the allocation of public funds in terms of crisis. For instance, how much digital literacy is required from applicants? Is the profile of applicants diverse and reflective of minority/majority proportions? Are there fast-tracks that only the more privileged and technologically savvy (or insider-connected) may be aware of? Have benefits been distributed equally and have maximum amounts distributed fairly or has the processes of allocation been flawed due to implicit racial bias, gender bias, or otherwise uncontrolled human factors ? Although these questions are beyond the scope of our analysis, they are legitimate and policymakers, program evaluation professionals, and society at large should continue to use caution with regards to evaluating implementation-related risks linked to emergency relief policies. The Devil is in the (implementation) details. Public administration scholars, and more specifically, the evaluation community must independently appraise the viability, inclusiveness and ethical character of proposed programs. All being said, public trust rests on diligent execution of policy orientations. As shifting, political agendas and priorities affect the public sector’s human resources, we must be cognizant of the risks posed to public funds’ integrity when employees themselves feel utilized, disenfranchised by “mechanistic control” and undervalued.

One lesson this research may offer to other settings and national contexts is the recurring issues of communication and coordination that bureaucracies under pressure almost inevitably experience. The importance of open, multi-directional communication, which enables effective multi-level, multi-partner’s coordination - must never be underestimated, especially in times of crisis. Some research found that public officials may deliberately slow down procurement process to allow more time for bribes (Lui, 1985 ). Information technology can increase corruption opportunities, rather than improve the capacity to curb it (Heeks, 1998 ). Further research could seek to improve our understanding of governmental and political cultures within institutions, federal transfer levels, government size/centralization and technology’s roles and impacts in deterring corruption.

“As of January 2, 2021, based on a conservative improper payment rate of 10%, we estimated that at least $39.2 billion in UI improper payments – including fraud – was at risk of not being detected and recovered. Estimates for the CARES Act and its related extensions range up to $873 billion; therefore, by program end, $87.3 billion in UI benefits could be paid improperly, with a significant portion attributable to fraud. The OIG’s initial pandemic audit and investigative work indicate that UI program improper payments, including fraudulent payments, will be higher than 10%. (Department of Labor/ OIG 2021 no page).

After negotiating reimbursement agreements with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the $150 million limited emergency “Project Roomkey” was launched by the California Governor’s office, securing up to 15,000 hotel rooms across the State (Hayden 2020 ). The goal was to shelter those most vulnerable to COVID-19, seniors, pregnant women and those with underlying conditions. 28, 000 individuals, about 17% of the State unsheltered population was temporary housed through this initiative, but only 5% of them found permanent housing when the project’s funding ended, on January 1st, 2021.

For the full list of programs and COVID-related aid, including Direct Financial Relief, Housing Aid, Nutritional Assistance, Student Aid for Higher Education and Small Businesses Assistant see California State Controller ( 2022a , 2022b ).

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Valiquette L’Heureux, A. The Case Study of Los Angeles City & County Fraud, Embezzlement and Corruption Safeguards during times of pandemic. Public Organiz Rev 22 , 593–610 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-022-00641-w

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Case Study: Los Angeles (Calif.) Public Library: Two Paths, One Destination: Culture Change in a Major Library System

Location: Los Angeles, Calif. | Staff Size: 1,630 (one Central Library, 72 branches) | Service Area: 3.9 million | Download PDF

The Los Angeles Public Library, a massive library system with a service area of 3.9 million people, joined Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC) to generate new ways to deepen their connection to community and help people in communities address issues that mattered to them. The local LTC team started by focusing their work at the Van Nuys Branch, the idea being that if they could demonstrate the power and effectiveness of implementing their training through LTC, it would create a model that could be replicated in other areas of the system. The team saw initial success, but staff changes required them to reevaluate their plans. The team has been working on an alternative strategy that is built on training personnel at all levels across the system to plant the seeds of change and shift the institutional culture.

• This story highlights two distinct strategies for changing norms and culture within an organization. The LTC team started down one path— demonstrating a different way of working in one location, creating a replicable model for change in the process— then shifted gears when circumstances changed.
• To spread the training the team received from The Harwood Institute, they are now building a local training module to help staff members at all levels learn basic competencies to prepare them to engage in the process of Turning Outward. Experienced staff with expertise in community engagement will be trained in a separate track and will begin to conduct Harwood-style work in their communities.
• At the same time, the LTC team is also working on ways to support the good work that began to take off in Van Nuys before staff moved to other positions. The hope is that by seeding a different approach to working across various branches, a new model for community engagement will start to take hold.

The Los Angeles Public Library serves the largest population of any library system in the nation, more than 3.9 million people, through a Central Library and 72 branches. The library district serves a large percentage of non-native English speakers, as well as some of the United States’ wealthiest and poorest residents.

While 80 percent of American public libraries serve populations of less than 25,000, the Van Nuys Branch in the Los Angeles system, alone serves 100,000. This branch was the epicenter of LA Public’s work with Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC), a joint program of the American Library Association and The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation that aims to build better relationships between libraries and their communities, redefining the role of the library in the process.

Kelly Tyler was the Van Nuys Branch manager when the library submitted its application to be part of LTC. Tyler had participated in leadership training through the California State Library’s Eureka! Leadership Program and thought the new opportunity could build on that experience.

“It was really exciting and progressive,” Tyler said. “I already had some interest in doing community engagement work, and this was a different method. A very different method.”

Progress Made

LTC aims to strengthen the role of libraries as positive change agents for their communities, enabling them to connect more deeply with members and respond to community needs, not just library needs. Partnering with the non-pro t Harwood Institute, the program trains libraries in Harwood’s Turning Outward approach, which shifts the organization’s orientation from internal, or library-focused, to external, or focused on the greater community.

Turning Outward means approaching work with the community as the key reference point for choices and actions. When libraries operate this way, they are able to do more than serve as a lender of books and other materials; rather, they can bring groups together to address problems and improve the way the community works. The goal of LTC is to make 21st-century libraries an essential part of strengthening communities. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supported the initiative.

Librarians and staff worked with this “very different method” for 18 months, during which they learned about the Turning Outward goals and processes and experimented with using them in their community. They wound up with a different outcome than they expected.

During the life of the initiative, the local LTC team decided to shift their focus from the Van Nuys Branch to a new strategy: to spread the Turning Outward approach throughout the entire library system.

Even with setbacks — from changes in plans to the inherent challenges in creating change in such a large system — the library’s efforts are starting to take hold and bear fruit:

• The LTC team is working to build a training module to teach junior-level staff members what Turning Outward is and how it can have an impact on their work and community. More senior-level staff members will be trained in a separate track.
• The LTC team exposed a new way of thinking in presenting the Harwood practice to employees throughout the system, across regions and across classi cations. New approaches to working collaboratively using Harwood- style community engagement practices have been integrated into the execution of the Los Angeles Public Library’s strategic plan.
• The LTC team is strategizing ways to expand the Turning Outward approach to a broader group while also gaining momentum in Van Nuys. Additionally, staff trained in the Harwood style will begin to work in select branch communities with a focus on areas with a large Spanish-speaking population.

Why did the LTC team shift from a deep focus on one branch to broad action across the system? They changed course, in part, because of factors outside of their control, but also because of strategic choices guided by what they learned through LTC. Each path — working through a branch library or working through the bigger system — presented its own challenges and opportunities, as well as the need for different commitments and support from different people in the organization.

Their Journey

“We were charged with figuring out how to make this work in a system with 1,600 employees,” said Madeleine Ildefonso, a senior librarian and a member of the Los Angeles LTC team. “We need to get 600 people on board to make this meaningful in our system and, ultimately, we want to get everyone Turned Outward.”

The Los Angeles LTC team thought it made sense to focus on their work at the Van Nuys Branch. Even as a branch library, Van Nuys serves a large population; by comparison, the Hartford (Conn.) Public Library system has 10 libraries and serves the same number of people. Starting with a local branch aligned with a typical change approach encouraged by The Harwood Institute. The team was focused on where they had the best “sphere of influence” and could potentially demonstrate the benefits of working in a different way. Through communications and storytelling, those positive changes could then spread to other branches across the system, where perhaps there were greater challenges or more aversion to change.

The team had ambitious plans for Van Nuys and hoped to develop a model that could be replicated throughout the system’s other branches plus the Central Library. The community faces unique challenges: More than 65 percent of Van Nuys residents speak a language other than English at home, and one out of five residents live below the poverty line. In a recent special election to fill a Los Angeles city council seat representing Van Nuys, only five percent of registered voters participated.

The physical Van Nuys Branch is also in a challenging location. The library sits in an enclosed government center pedestrian- only area, directly across from a courthouse. It’s not an easy building to reach. In Van Nuys, the LTC team saw a community where they could make an impact on a number of different levels, from greater access to their services to reaching people that might not be familiar with the library’s work.

The Los Angeles LTC team — made up of the Van Nuys Branch manager, a Van Nuys Neighborhood Council member as well as two members of the library system’s staff who focus on training and community outreach — went to work applying what they learned after they attended an initial LTC training led by The Harwood Institute. This included conducting 10 Community Conversations in Van Nuys using Harwood’s engagement tools. These gatherings were relatively small, “kitchen table- style” conversations that get people focused on their common aspirations for their community, what’s holding back progress and what it might look like to move forward together.

The conversations included both teenagers and adults and took place in locations such as the library and area schools. As an incentive and welcoming gesture, pizza was served. The Van Nuys neighborhood council helped spread the word about the discussions, and the LTC team also connected with parent groups and other community groups.

While the team was holding conversations in Van Nuys, they did a presentation on Turning Outward to managers of the 11 branches in the Los Angeles Public Library’s Van Nuys region. Tyler said she struggled with explaining the concept to people unfamiliar with it.

“We worked closely with managers. Some asked a lot of questions, and some thought it was interesting and a good idea,” Tyler said.

Some Community Conversations were more difficult to set up than others because of attitudes around what the library does or should be doing.

“The hardest part was just getting our foot in the door to talk about concepts not normally associated with traditional library work, Tyler said. “People have a preconceived notion of what the library does.”

They learned in these conversations that there was common ground among various kinds of people, especially among different age groups. They wanted a safer, more connected community that offered accessible and clean public spaces.

“We worked with teens and adults, and when I looked at their aspirations, many kids stated that people didn’t care about the issues they cared about,” said Gloria Grover, Los Angeles Public Library’s training development manager and the LTC team coordinator. “But their issues matched exactly with those of the adults in their community.”

Based on what they learned, the local LTC team decided to focus on creating events that would bring the community together in some of Van Nuys’ underutilized public spaces, like a lawn outside the library and a nearby park that was affected by gambling and public intoxication. The neighborhood council was enthusiastic, and the project was just starting to gain momentum.

“I think I definitely felt something shift in how the elected leaders (in Van Nuys) saw the library” following the Community Conversations, Tyler said. “I would hear ‘Oh, of course the library should be involved in that.’ I could feel that start to change.”

However, the project in Van Nuys was suspended before the next steps toward action could be taken. Tyler transitioned to a new administrative role at the library, and the other original team members moved on from the Van Nuys project as well.

“That made it a challenge for us to take the project, as it was, to completion,” Tyler said.

There were concerns about trying to replicate the approach in another branch. Staffing in the library system require a certain number and classification of employees at each branch at a time. The branch librarians were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to devote two people in a single branch to community outreach while still maintaining their staffing levels.

The LTC team spent months working on a way to use their training to support the larger library system. Believing in the value of what they had learned, they were determined to find a solution.

Among the core issues was dealing with a large staff, many whom they believed needed the skills to engage and connect with the community in the ways envisioned in the LTC initiative.

“With a staff our size, the training process needs to be as simple and straightforward as possible,” Grover said.

The library’s large staff has a wide range of skill sets, from longtime employees with extensive experience to newly hired employees who are gaining experience. The team found that it’s easier and faster for experienced staff to learn and apply the Harwood practice. The library has made a commitment and initiated training to help less-experienced staff gain the competencies needed to engage in the Harwood practice.

The group decided to provide two training tracks. One will expose as many staff as possible to the Harwood practices and new competencies. The other track will provide more in-depth training and opportunities for real-world practice with professional peers across Los Angeles.

“We’re not sure exactly what the training will include, but it will have a number of competencies that people will engage in, either through webinars or in-person training, before they even hit some of the Harwood tools,” Ildefonso said. “All of these things will be useful in the work that people are doing, and it will be Turned Outward.”

Harwood-trained librarians and the initial team of Tyler, Grover and Ildefonso will be coaching staff on how to use the community engagement tools during actual community conversations.

The LTC team believes this dual-track approach will build confidence among staff in working differently in their daily jobs and with the community.

“We want staff to feel supported in learning and training new skills and ideas,” Ildefonso said. “It’s important that libraries are able to both support communities and learn powerful information to help the library make effective decisions about resources. Turning Outward is something that must happen at all levels of staffing.”

Because it is such a massive library system, the LTC team also is working on internal public relations to “sell” the Harwood approach to staff. They want to be sure that staff sees the value of it and the library’s investment in the process and its long-term commitment.

The LTC group is being assisted by a senior staff member who, while not Harwood-trained, championed the project from the outset and has supported the LTC team. This support has been critical, Tyler said, as explaining this new approach and how it impacts the role of the library is often difficult for people to grasp having not experienced the change themselves. Thus, having senior management endorsement became critical in opening people up to new ideas and ways of interacting with community members.

The LTC group wants to spread Harwood’s approach to more people in the library system but at the same time, wants to ensure that efforts to plan internal training and development maintain the momentum and the community focus.

“How do we do this without totally losing the thread?” Tyler said. “It’s not that people here don’t want to do it, but we want to get it into as many hands as possible.”

Moving Forward

As expected at a large organization, change has taken time, particularly since the initial efforts of the LTC team were impacted by staff moving from Van Nuys and the need for a shift in strategy. While they don’t know yet what the tangible results of their grant will be, the members of the LTC team believe the institution will continue to Turn Outward, for the better, on their own terms as a large institution.

“This process will inform a lot of decisions we make,” Ildefonso said. “It will help us serve our communities better and, in a way, transform them—maybe not in the same way as (libraries in) smaller communities, but never say never. We have to focus on our work on community and in the library and see where that takes us.”

She and others on the team also stressed that it will be important to figure out how to re-engage with people in Van Nuys, where initial efforts were starting to take off before the personnel changes.

“The one thing we felt is important is to continue on with Van Nuys,” Tyler said.

What is clear is that the initiative has helped staff think differently about their jobs, their library and themselves. In one way, they are already seeing changes in their workplace; employees are collaborating across library divisions in new ways, offering insights into how collaboration can work in a library system of this size.

Grover said the LTC experience made her rethink how the library views its place in the community, and the library’s relationship to the community’s needs.

“One of the things I realized during our training is that we need to keep asking communities what they need,” Grover said.

She added that, while community engagement is a big part of librarian training, she felt the Harwood practice gave her solid tools to use to carry out theoretical ideas.

For Ildefonso, Harwood practices have helped her understand why some plans work, and why some are doomed to fail from the start. Harwood language helped her define the general feeling that libraries could be working differently, and that while it’s not always obvious what is wrong or how to x it, Turning Outward and critically examining current work and training are important steps for librarians navigating an always changing landscape.

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Water Reuse Case Study: Los Angeles County, California

EPA and partners have created a series of case studies that highlight the different water reuse approaches communities have taken to meet their water quality and water quantity needs. Each case study contains information about the technical, financial, institutional, and policy aspects of these water reuse systems and the communities they are located in.

On this page:

Policy, institutional, and regulatory environment, financial and contractual agreements, lessons learned and conclusions, appendix: technical details of a stormwater-sewer diversion design, background documents.

Location: Los Angeles County, California

Installed capacity: 440,000 gallons per day (1.7 million liters per day)

Status: 14 projects implemented, with 13+ proposed or under development, as of June 2023

Source of Water: Stormwater

Reuse Application: Diversion of stormwater into sanitary sewers to increase non-potable recycled water supply (agriculture, irrigation, seawater intrusion barrier) and indirect potable water reuse.

Benefits: Increase recycled water supply which may lessen use of other scarce freshwater supplies, reduce the volume and improve the quality of stormwater discharges to receiving waters, improve quality of stormwater, and maximize the use of existing infrastructure.

Los Angeles (LA) County experiences extreme water stress and has implemented numerous reuse projects focused on non-potable and indirect potable reuse of treated wastewater. However, due to increased water efficiency and lowered residential use during droughts, less and less wastewater has been available for existing reuse applications. In LA County, wastewater and stormwater are conveyed through separate sewer networks, which prevent stormwater from overwhelming the sanitary sewer and wastewater treatment plants’ design capacity. However, the separate sewers also prevent stormwater from being available for water reuse at conventional wastewater reclamation plants. Therefore, the LA County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) started building stormwater-sewer diversion projects – engineered structures that bring stormwater into the sanitary sewer at a controlled rate. Stormwater-sewer diversion projects have been funded by the local Safe Clean Water Program and have been implemented after successful collaborations across LA County agencies. These stormwater-sewer diversion projects, which are set for expansion across the region, will help LA County secure a reliable water source for recycled water into the future.

The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) owns and operates one of the largest wastewater recycling programs in the world, providing affordable, high-quality recycled water to public and private water suppliers. Since the 1960s, recycled water produced by the LACSD has augmented surface water and groundwater supplies to help meet the water supply needs of more than five million people within the LACSD service area. This service area includes 78 municipalities surrounding the City of Los Angeles and adjacent unincorporated areas. Recycled water affordability is a priority because approximately 40% of the population served by the LACSD is considered disadvantaged based on income.

Wastewater generated within the LACSD service area is collected in small local sewers managed by various municipalities, and subsequently conveyed by a regional system of 1,400 miles (2,250 km) of large trunk sewers and 49 pumping plants owned and operated by the LACSD. Wastewater flows through this sewer network to the 11 wastewater treatment plants located throughout LA County. Stormwater generated within the service area is managed as a separate system by other local municipalities, the LA County Department of Public Works, and the LA County Flood Control District, with limited involvement from the LACSD.

Water Reuse in LA County

Ten of the LACSD wastewater treatment plants also serve as water reclamation plants that produce around 150 million gallons per day (570 million liters per day) of disinfected recycled water (in accordance with Title 22 of California’s Code of Regulations). The recycled water is used at more than 900 sites for a variety of non-potable purposes, including street cleaning; seawater intrusion barrier injection; irrigation for parks, schools, golf courses, commercial buildings, and agriculture. The recycled water is also used for indirect potable reuse at the Montebello Forebay Groundwater Recharge Project, where it is injected into groundwater supplies for later drinking water use. The eleventh facility, the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant, which currently discharges 250 million gallons per day (984 million liters per day) of treated wastewater effluent to the ocean, is considering implementing a water purification project to provide an additional source of water for indirect potable reuse via groundwater recharge or for another beneficial use.

In recent years, California has experienced several drought cycles that resulted in significant water conservation efforts impacting the quantity of wastewater generated throughout the LACSD system. Since 2001, wastewater flows in the service area have decreased by approximately 30%, which has reduced the amount of recycled water produced by the water reclamation plants. As the wastewater flow and recycled water production decreased, there was a growing interest in developing additional sources of water.

The LA Regional Water Quality Control Board identified diverting stormwater runoff to a sanitary sewer system as an opportunity to reduce the amount of stormwater pollutants discharged to waterbodies, while also increasing the amount of water flowing to treatment plants. Over the last 23 years, the LACSD have worked with municipalities across their service areas to implement 14 stormwater-sewer diversion projects that capture and divert a total of 438,848 gallons per day (1.7 million liters per day) of stormwater runoff into the sanitary sewer. As a result of new stormwater priorities and funding opportunities, the number of potential stormwater-sewer diversion projects in the LACSD service area has almost doubled in recent years (Figure 1).

The regional nature of the LACSD wastewater system creates a shared benefit for a variety of communities, by potentially avoiding large capital costs for constructing a project from the ground up in a smaller wastewater collection system. With key regulatory and funding issues addressed (see sections below), the LACSD have had the opportunity to collaborate with local jurisdictions on a variety of stormwater-sewer diversion projects that increase water recycling, remove stormwater pollutants, and achieve other key community benefits regardless of the economic resources in each location. These projects help to reduce LA county’s reliance on other sources of freshwater, such as imported water or groundwater.

In LA County, the typical process for implementing a stormwater-sewer diversion project begins with a conceptual design phase, as follows:

• A member city or the LA County Department of Public Works approaches the LACSD with a request to divert urban runoff and/or stormwater into the sewer system.
• The LACSD staff identify possible sewer tie-in locations and perform an analysis to determine the conditions under which the sewer can accept stormwater from the project. For example, the LACSD staff will ensure that the stormwater will not overwhelm the capacity of the sanitary sewer. In addition, stormwater-sewer diversion projects must include storage (e.g., underground detention facility) to hold water in case heavy rains bring stormwater into the system too quickly.

Although the public may not be aware of the LACSD’s stormwater-sewer diversion program, there is generally a positive public reaction to multi-benefit stormwater projects and for recycled water projects. The public views these projects favorably in large part because they are typically located in/under public parks and often include community enhancements, such as to ballfields or playgrounds. The LACSD are active participants on these types of projects; however, community outreach about the program and its benefits are largely managed by the LA County Department of Public Works.

Requests to divert captured stormwater to the LACSD sanitary sewer come at a time when many communities across the United States are struggling to manage overflows from their combined sewer systems. Combined sewer overflows release bacteria and other pollutants into local waterways during large rain storms. Although the LACSD Wastewater Ordinance prohibits the discharge of uncontrolled stormwater to the sanitary sewer system, the ordinance allows exceptions on a case-by-case basis if the discharges are controlled and permitted as “industrial wastewater.” The controlled and interruptible diversion of stormwater to the sanitary sewer needs to be managed in a way to prevent overflows. For a diversion to the LACSD system to be approved, a project must have storage facilities and safety features in place to control or halt discharge and can only be located where there is known capacity in the sanitary sewer system. In addition to having a systemic way to record and transmit flow data to a remote user to prevent overflows, the water diverted by these facilities must meet the LACSD pretreatment program’s criteria to avoid impacting the operation of the water reclamation plants.

The first low-flow diversion from the storm drain system to the sanitary sewer system in LA County was constructed in 1991 to protect the health of beach users during dry weather. In the same year, the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board imposed permit requirements on the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) of eighty-four cities in LA County, LA County Flood Control District, and LA County unincorporated areas. The requirements were gradually increased with subsequent permit renewals until the issuance of the 2012 MS4 Permit. The 2012 MS4 Permit prohibited non-stormwater discharges (such as over-irrigation) to the separate stormwater sewer and required minimum control measures to reduce pollutants in stormwater discharges. These expanded regulatory requirements made the reduction of urban runoff and stormwater pollution a key priority for municipalities in LA County.

However, the LACSD, as an operator of a sanitary sewer system, was limited in their ability to manage stormwater until California State Senate Bill 485 (SB 485) came into effect in January 2016. SB 485 gave the LACSD authority to assist local jurisdictions with managing and treating urban runoff and stormwater by accepting stormwater into the sanitary sewer system. However, since most cities in LA County did not have a dedicated funding source for stormwater management at that time, there was seemingly little interest in stormwater-sewer diversion systems due to financial constraints.

The LACSD wastewater management systems are funded primarily through connection fees and service charges. Connection fees are used to fund capital expenditures related to the expansion of sewer and treatment plant capacities and facility replacements or upgrades. Residential service charges and industrial waste surcharges fund operating and maintenance costs. Recycled water produced by the LACSD facilities are provided to local water purveyors pursuant to their individual contracts. The sale of recycled water represents a relatively minor cost recovery for the LACSD that partially offsets the cost of sewage collection and treatment, compared to otherwise discharging the recycled water to waterbodies.

After the passage of SB 485, the LACSD evaluated connection fees and determined they were a significant barrier to implementing stormwater-sewer diversion projects. Because the LACSD rate payers and the residents of local municipalities were the same, and because the sewer system had unused capacity due to water conservation, the LACSD decided to waive connection fees for local municipalities who utilize unused capacity in the sewers and only apply the normal sewer service charges. The costs for LACSD staff to work on stormwater projects are borne by the jurisdiction(s) requesting the service, as SB 485 did not provide funding for managing stormwater and the LACSD are prohibited from using sewer service fees for stormwater projects. Additionally, the jurisdiction that is diverting stormwater or urban runoff is required to pay user fees over the course of the project’s operation. The user fees are based on the stormwater’s chemical oxygen demand and suspended solids concentration, which impact treatment costs, as well as the time of day that discharge occurs, to incentivize discharging during times when sanitary flows are low based on a typical diurnal flow pattern.

In November 2018, the voters in LA County approved Measure W, a parcel tax to increase the local water supply, improve water quality, protect public health, and invest in making communities greener and more livable. Measure W is the funding source for the Safe Clean Water Program , which is administered by the LA County Flood Control District. The Safe Clean Water Program provides funding opportunities for jurisdictions to pursue stormwater projects, including stormwater-sewer diversion projects with the LACSD. The Safe Clean Water Program generates approximately $300 million per year from a parcel tax of 2.5 cents per square foot (approximately 27 cents per square meter) of impermeable surface area (paved/built areas where rainfall cannot be absorbed into the ground and instead runs off as stormwater) on private property in the LA County Flood Control District. The parcel tax amounts to about $83 per year for the median home.

To be considered for Safe Clean Water Program funds, projects are evaluated based on criteria from a combination of five categories: water quality, water supply, community investment, nature-based solutions, and leveraged funds & community. For water quality, a project must estimate pollutant reduction and cost effectiveness. For water supply, a project must estimate the annual average amount of stormwater or urban runoff captured to augment water supplies, whether infiltrated or diverted (such as to a spreading ground or a sanitary sewer for recycled water). Nature-based solutions could include the use of green infrastructure projects which employ managed, restored, or natural wetlands to recharge groundwater aquifers. In areas where soil is not conducive to infiltration, stormwater-sewer diversion to the sanitary sewer is the next best option to secure a water supply benefit through the program. The Safe Clean Water Program has helped make stormwater-sewer diversion projects an economically feasible method to increase water supply. Safe Clean Water Program funds can also be used for operations and maintenance costs, including the LACSD wastewater treatment charges for diversion projects.

To help reduce barriers to obtaining funding for infrastructure projects through the Safe Clean Water Program, a Technical Resources Program provides project proponents with technical assistance to develop project concepts. The Technical Resources Program is structured to help project communities with fewer resources pursue multi-benefit stormwater projects and includes funding for a watershed coordinator to support the involvement of diverse and economically disadvantaged communities. Additionally, the Safe Clean Water Program prioritizes funds for projects that provide benefits to disadvantaged communities, receive community support, or partner with local non-governmental organizations or community-based organizations. Lastly, the Safe Clean Water Program requires that LA County Flood Control District develop public education, school education, and local workforce job training programs with special attention to underserved communities. These equity-focused components of the Safe Clean Water Program have many potential benefits, including increasing the participation of underserved communities in stormwater-sewer diversion projects that contribute to regional water recycling. Projects that have been funded by the Safe Clean Water Program are linked here .

The LACSD stormwater-sewer diversion program contributes to the circular economy by facilitating the conversion of pollutant-laden stormwater into recycled water that can be beneficially reused, thus potentially reducing reliance on other potable water supplies in the region. The program also provides another tool to help achieve water quality compliance for their stormwater system by allowing stormwater to be treated at wastewater recovery plants. While project economics are not evaluated by the LACSD, stormwater-sewer diversions are typically more cost-effective than site-specific treatment and onsite reuse because they take advantage of existing infrastructure that benefit from economies of scale. In the context of the Safe Clean Water Program, which provides funding for water projects, stormwater-sewer diversions are a recognized method to address both water quality and water supply concerns. Diversions to portions of the sewer system upstream of the existing water reclamation plants generate additional water supplies immediately. Diversions of stormwater into portions of the sewer system is connected to the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant have the potential to generate additional water supplies in the future, as that facility is upgraded to produce high-quality recycled water for beneficial reuse.

Multiple factors have led to the success of the LACSD stormwater-sewer diversion program in increasing the supply of recycled water and providing additional benefits:

• Partnerships . The LACSD have partnered with the County, LA County Flood Control District, and local municipalities to implement stormwater-sewer diversion projects.
• Organizational structure . The LACSD use in‑house engineers who have extensive knowledge of the sewer system and the overall organization, instead of contracting outside personnel. This has allowed for the successful implementation of the Safe Clean Water Program, which spans across multiple departments.
• Data to inform operations . Telemetry, or real time data collection and transmission to remote users allows the LACSD to prevent stormwater-sewer diversions from causing an overflow. The LACSD aim for continued enhancements of the diversion program over time. Currently, most diversions require storage and cease discharge to the sewer when there is 0.1-inch (2.54 millimeters) or more of measured rainfall. The LACSD are working on developing more and better data on how rainfall impacts the sewer system and downstream water reclamation plants, which may allow for diversions for longer periods and/or during light rainfall, with the potential to create more recycled water without additional infrastructure costs.
• Sustainability . As a result of water conservation, the unused sewer and treatment capacity have increased over the years. The LACSD stormwater-sewer diversion program utilizes available capacity in existing infrastructure to its fullest potential and allows for urban runoff and stormwater to be beneficially reused, especially when the diversion projects are designed to discharge in the off-peak hours when sanitary flows are lower, such as between 10pm and 6am.
• Funding . Creating stormwater-sewer diversion projects to a regional water recycling program requires a continuous funding stream to cover local costs. Funding focused on multiple benefits can allow for stormwater-sewer diversion projects to have a multi-faceted positive impact on communities.

This case study highlights a mature program that has been accepting stormwater diversions to its sanitary sewer system for several decades. The LACSD program demonstrates that diversion of stormwater runoff into the sanitary sewer system can be an effective way to reduce pollutant loads and increase water reuse. The availability of funding has increased the number of proposed diversion projects and allowed for greater inclusion of local communities, especially those in disadvantaged areas. The LACSD hope the stormwater-sewer diversion program will continue to expand over time.

Figure 2 shows the required design elements of a typical stormwater and urban runoff diversion project. First is the intake structure, which can be a barrier or drop inlet installed across the storm drain that diverts stormwater into a trash collection manhole. The trash collection manhole includes a bar screen to prevent trash and debris larger than 3/8-inch (approximately 1 centimeter) from passing through to the storage area and eventually to the sewer system. The size of the storage basin depends on the stormwater management objectives for the site. The normal requirement is to hold impounded stormwater for 24 hours after a rain event to avoid potential wet weather impacts to the sewer system and ensure the system does not overflow. Projects are required to use variable speed pumps that can carefully control the discharge to avoid high peak flows. An air gap downstream of the pumps is used to prevent a siphon and to ensure that the final connection to the sewer is gravity-fed. The air gap manhole typically incorporates a check valve and acts as a gas trap to prevent the backflow of water and odors into the diversion system.

The stormwater capture and diversion system must include a flow meter and effluent sampling. In addition to providing feedback for controlling the discharge pumps, the effluent flow meter is used for flow-weighted composite sampling and to assess user fees.

A rain switch installed near the pump station automatically turns off the pumps after 0.1-inch (2.54 millimeters) of rain is detected to prevent discharging when the sewer may be experiencing increased levels of infiltration or inflow. A combustible gas detector is used to protect against explosion hazards and stops flow to the sewer at 20% of the lower explosive limit. The project is required to maintain telemetry to the LACSD supervisory control and data acquisition system so the project pumps can be remotely shut off should any sewer emergency arise. Projects are increasingly incorporating real-time sewer level monitoring to make better use of the available sewer capacity.

Safe Clean Water Program, 2023 .

Safe Clean Water Program Reporting Map, 2023 .

Rainwater, Stormwater, Groundwater and Other Water Discharges, 2023 . LACSD.

LA County captures 33 billion gallons of rain from winter storms, 2023 . CBS Los Angeles.

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Safer citizens, stronger communities

Los angeles partners with ibm security to create first-of-its-kind cyberthreat sharing group, simplify threat intelligence sharing, protecting the community from online crime.

The concept of information sharing to combat physical crime has existed for decades, long before the birth of the internet. As the virtual world evolved, it brought along an unwelcome guest: the cybercriminal. The same threat-sharing mindset that can provide an edge against crime in the real world was brought to life in the cyber world, as well, with multiple organizations springing up to better protect companies (and their customers) from online criminal activity.

Now that philosophy has leaped even further with the development of the Los Angeles Cyber Lab—an online community that combines the power of shared threat intelligence from private industry, government organizations, and everyday citizens. The result: a first-of-its-kind powerful arsenal that better protects business, public sector agencies and Los Angeles residents from increasingly sophisticated cybercrime.

Los Angeles: an attractive target

The city of Los Angeles provides a host of services to citizens—from access to public records, permit and license applications, education, infrastructure, health and human services —to name a few. Many of these services, in part or in whole, have been digitized, providing easy access for citizens and businesses.

At the same time, digitization of public sector information provides a uniquely attractive lure for online predators, who often find the trove of unique data held by state and local agencies fetches a lucrative price—whether it’s held hostage in a ransomware attack, or wholly appropriated and sold. The data held by the city of Los Angeles and surrounding metro areas—with its rich diversity of large corporations, expansive population, and high profile—makes it an attractive target.

When it comes to defending against a quickly changing threat landscape and rapid-fire, sophisticated attacks, data alone is insufficient for protecting large populations. However, threat intelligence, when cultivated from a vast pool of trusted contributors, has the potential to change the game quickly on cybercriminals. That data can be taken even further, curated and converted into meaningful knowledge—which means everyone can act quickly and decisively to prevent cybercrime.

“ We wanted to help the business community by providing threat intelligence, and we realized that we needed to automate that, and we knew we couldn't do it alone. 1 ” — Joshua Belk , Executive Director for the L.A. Cyber Lab

Facelessness of cybercriminals

Securing the internet of things is a challenge.

When a physical crime occurs in city streets, law enforcement can quickly respond with myriad physical forces to help protect citizens and businesses. Crime investigators often have insight and physical evidence about a criminal’s tactics and motives, allowing law enforcement to use that information for future crime prevention. In contrast, cybercrime often has no obvious or immediate indications of how an attacker breached a system and what data was stolen or destroyed.

As cybercrime continues to evolve, attackers have a never-ending supply of vulnerabilities to exploit or potential victims to target in social engineering attacks. Threat actors are an opportunistic group and have a catalog of thousands of vulnerabilities available for potential exploitation. However, scan and exploit attacks only accounted for roughly one third of the top access vectors for cyberattacks in 2019, according to the 2020 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index. 2 Other cyber criminals prefer stealing legitimate credentials through phishing attacks to gain access. The use of legitimate credentials enables attackers to hide in plain sight and makes detection even more challenging.

Without valid or trustworthy information, local businesses, communities and concerned citizens can be overwhelmed by an attack and look to state, local and federal government agencies to mitigate or investigate cybercrime.

“ Ransomware attacks have reached the point where governments need to place an importance on them and develop response plans, similar to how they handle states of emergency. 3 ” — Wendi Whitmore , Vice President X-Force Threat Intelligence, IBM Security

Protect important assets

Government must keep data safe from online criminals while educating staff on preventative online behaviors.

The 2020 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index identified government as the sixth-most attacked industry, up one rank from the seventh position it held in 2018. 4 Cyber criminals prefer to target the municipal or local level of government, since these organizations are less likely to benefit from the same level of cybersecurity funding as the private sector. Moreover, government entities hold valuable data assets spanning confidential state and financial information, critical network information, personal identifiable information (PII) and more.

Holding data hostage in exchange for money has become popular with hackers hoping to extort money - between January and July of 2019 alone, two-thirds of ransomware attacks targeted state and local governments. 5 A 2020 survey revealed that the human factor plays an important role in cyber defense: while two thirds of government employees are concerned about cyberattacks on their workplace, only 38 percent have the proper knowledge and training to prevent ransomware. 6

of government employees are concerned about cyberattacks on their workplace

have the proper knowledge and training to prevent ransomware

“ Ransomware attacks on government agencies continues to rise, and as victims pay attacker’s ransom, they indirectly encourage both frequency and cost by making these attacks lucrative for cyberciminals. 7 ” — Wendi Whitmore , Vice President X-Force Threat Intelligence, IBM Security

Build threat sharing communities across sectors

Using intelligence and technology to gain an edge against attackers.

The city of Los Angeles, the LA Cyber Lab and IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence team joined forces to respond to citizens’ expectations and bring threat intelligence to vulnerable local businesses. The partnership enables the sharing of unique threat insights about cyberattacks, business email compromise (BEC) data and phishing to assist government, businesses and residents in the Los Angeles area.

The creation of the LA Cyber Lab provides advanced capabilities to keep cyber-predators at bay. Because of the unique inclusive model—threat sharing between business, public agencies, and the public—it provides a layer of protection not seen in most municipalities.

Information sharing is facilitated by two tools available free of charge to residents and businesses in Los Angeles and nearby counties. One is a mobile application leveraging IBM Security threat intelligence to filter and analyze suspicious or potentially malicious emails. The second tool, and the centerpiece of this collaboration, is an innovative cloud-based platform-the Threat Intelligence Sharing Platform (TISP)-that functions as a digital neighborhood watch. 8

How does TISP work?

TISP anonymously collects threat intelligence and other security information from volunteer organizations spanning city agencies, municipalities, critical infrastructure sectors and private companies. The platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze the data against a wealth of security information from IBM and generates threat intelligence and trend analysis for every member of the LA Cyber Lab.

For example, if a user submits a suspicious email, the platform reviews the email and extracts key information, then searches multiple common and unique data sources to indicate the level of risk. In addition to reporting the risk severity back to users, the platform has the capability to flag threat campaigns in the area, enabling both individuals and businesses to have an overall view of active threats. 9

“ The Threat Intelligence Sharing Platform and mobile app will advance the LA Cyber Lab's work that has made our city a national cybersecurity model, all while better defending Angelenos from cyber threats. 10 ” — Eric Garcetti , Los Angeles Mayor

Inclusive collaboration, potent defense

Community-wide collaboration serves both public and private sectors.

Public and private organizations need to know what to do in the event of a cyberattack and they need to be resilient enough to withstand the aftermath. Many small and midsized businesses and government entities often don’t have the option to suspend operations while defending themselves against malicious cyberactivity.

IBM X-Force brings to the table an advanced and integrated portfolio of enterprise security products and services. Leveraging insight from 800 TB of threat activity data, information on over 17 million spam and phishing attacks, real-time reports of live attacks, reputation data on nearly 1 million malicious IP addresses from a network of 270 million endpoints, 11 IBM X-Force provides users with valuable insight needed to prevent and combat modern day threats.

IBM X-Force strengths

800 TB of threat activity data

Information on over 17 million spam and phishing attacks

Real-time reports of live attacks

Reputation data from a network of 270 million endpoints

The public-private partnership between the city of Los Angeles, the LA Cyber Lab and IBM enables the city to fulfill its key obligation of protecting residents and businesses while facilitating crucial insight into threats that pose significant harm to both government and the community. This solution holds the promise of not only protecting residents and otherwise vulnerable enterprises, but also increasing the city’s attractiveness for new businesses.

This new inclusive level of collaboration is a benchmark that can be emulated by cities and townships across the United States and beyond.

1 - IBM Works With City of Los Angeles to Combat Cybercrime IBM

2, 4 - IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2020 IBM

3, 7 - IBM Security Study: Taxpayers Oppose Local Governments Paying Hackers in Ransomware Attacks PR Newswire

5 - Threat Spotlight: Government Ransomware Attacks Barracuda

6 - IBM Survey: Only 38% of State and Local Government Employees Trained on Ransomware Prevention IBM

8, 9, 10, 11 - IBM Works With City of Los Angeles to Combat Cybercrime IBM

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Case Study Là Gì? Phân Tích, Triển Khai Case Study Đầy Đủ

Case Study là gì? Đây là một cách để nghiên cứu các trường hợp kinh doanh và tiếp thị. Giúp ích cho việc tham khảo và học hỏi kinh nghiệm. Từ đó, bạn sẽ có thêm thông tin để triển khai một dự án SEO và chiến lược quảng cáo hiệu quả. Vậy Case Study là gì? Các loại Case study là gì? Ý nghĩa của Case Study và phân tích cách triển khai Case Study ra sao? Hãy cùng tham khảo ngay bài viết từ InterData.vn nhé.

Nội dung chính:

Case Study là gì?

Theo Hammond, J . S – Đại học Havard, Case Study là phương pháp giảng dạy thông qua nghiên cứu tình huống. Người học được làm quen với một tình huống thực tế cụ thể và được đặt vào vị trí người ra quyết định để giải quyết các vấn đề trong tình huống đó.

Case Study sử dụng lý thuyết để nghiên cứu và phân tích các tình huống thực tế. Có thể nói Case Study là những tình huống, tình huống, sự kiện có thật trong thực tế, có thể sử dụng kiến ​​thức lý thuyết để phân tích, hiểu và mổ xẻ vấn đề.

Case Study có nguồn gốc từ đâu

Có nhiều tranh luận về nguồn gốc thực sự của nghiên cứu trường hợp. Các nghiên cứu điển hình được cho là lần đầu tiên được Frederic Le Play đưa vào khoa học xã hội vào năm 1829 trong nghiên cứu về ngân sách hộ gia đình. Năm 1870, Christopher Langdell từ bỏ phương pháp giảng dạy luật hợp đồng truyền thống tại Trường Luật Harvard và bắt đầu sử dụng các vụ án làm cơ sở cho các cuộc thảo luận trong lớp.

Đến năm 1920, nghiên cứu tình huống đã trở thành phương pháp giảng dạy chính được sử dụng trong các trường luật ở Mỹ và sau đó được Trường Kinh doanh Harvard áp dụng.

Case Study có bao nhiêu lời giải

Mỗi Case Study có nhiều cách tiếp cận và góc nhìn khác nhau nên mỗi người đều có chuyên môn, phong cách giải pháp và quan điểm riêng. Tuy nhiên, mỗi Case Study đều có một giải pháp được coi là tối ưu, và việc giải quyết Case Study đòi hỏi kỹ năng tổng hợp thông tin, xác định thông tin đó đúng hay sai và quan trọng nhất là khả năng lựa chọn.

Thông tin cần thiết phục vụ mục tiêu hoặc đề xuất hướng phát triển hoặc giải quyết các vấn đề mà doanh nghiệp gặp phải. Do Case Study không tập trung vào một ngành hoặc phân khúc thị trường cố định nào đó nên việc giải quyết vụ việc đòi hỏi phải vận dụng kiến ​​thức chuyên môn đa ngành hoặc các bộ phận tương ứng trong doanh nghiệp như tài chính, marketing, nhân sự, công nghệ thông tin, v.v..

Ý nghĩa của Case Study

Tăng tính thực tiễn .

Ở các trường học hay công ty, việc đào tạo, cập nhật kiến ​​thức là vô cùng quan trọng. Hoạt động này diễn ra thường xuyên và liên tục. Tuy nhiên, lý thuyết chuyên môn thường nhiều, khó hiểu, khiến người học khó tiếp thu.

Vì vậy, case Study sẽ giúp tăng tính thực tiễn, đưa ra những ví dụ dễ hiểu, thực tế, giúp người nghe và người đọc cảm thấy dễ chịu hơn.

Tăng sự hứng thú khi học

Người học cảm thấy thú vị và hấp dẫn hơn khi học lý thuyết kết hợp với Case Study cụ thể. Bởi đó đều là những trường hợp đã từng xảy ra trong thực tế quá khứ hoặc hiện tại. Nó sinh động và dễ hiểu hơn lý thuyết học tập khô khan.

Nâng cao kỹ năng làm việc nhóm

Phân tích Case Study theo nhóm là một hoạt động phổ biến trong quá trình nghiên cứu ở trường đại học. Trong quá trình phân tích, đưa ra ý kiến, phê bình cùng nhau, bạn sẽ nâng cao được kỹ năng làm việc nhóm và phát triển các kỹ năng mềm như giao tiếp, đàm phán, thuyết phục.

Có cơ hội áp dụng thực tế

Case Study là những trường hợp ứng dụng thực tế giúp người học kết nối lý thuyết với thực hành. Dựa trên những kết luận này, bạn có thể dễ dàng áp dụng chúng hơn vào tình huống mà bạn đang gặp phải.

Các loại Case study

Tiếp theo, độc giả sẽ tìm hiểu về các loại Case study thường được sử dụng. Việc lựa chọn loại Case study nào để sử dụng sẽ phụ thuộc vào bản chất của từng nghiên cứu.

Case study nhóm: Những nghiên cứu này liên quan đến việc nghiên cứu một nhóm cá nhân. Các nhà nghiên cứu có thể nghiên cứu một nhóm người trong một bối cảnh cụ thể hoặc quan sát toàn bộ cộng đồng. Ví dụ, các nhà tâm lý học có thể khám phá cách tiếp cận các nguồn lực cộng đồng ảnh hưởng đến sức khỏe tâm thần tổng thể của những người sống ở đó như thế nào?

Case study mô tả: Những nghiên cứu này liên quan đến việc bắt đầu bằng một lý thuyết mô tả. Đối tượng sau đó được quan sát và thông tin thu thập được so sánh với các lý thuyết đã được thiết lập trước đó.

Giải thích Case study : Chúng thường được sử dụng để điều tra mối quan hệ nhân quả. Các nhà nghiên cứu nghiên cứu các yếu tố dẫn đến một số sự kiện xảy ra.

Case study thăm dò : Chúng được sử dụng làm điểm khởi đầu cho nghiên cứu sâu hơn. Các nhà nghiên cứu có thể thu thập thêm thông tin trước khi đặt câu hỏi và giả thuyết.

Case study cụ thể : Những nghiên cứu này xảy ra khi một cá nhân hoặc một nhóm cho phép nhà nghiên cứu đào sâu hơn nghiên cứu ban đầu.

Case study nội bộ : Nhà nghiên cứu thu được lợi ích cá nhân từ việc thực hiện nghiên cứu này. Những quan sát của Jean Piaget về chính những đứa con của mình là một ví dụ hoàn hảo. Điều này góp phần vào sự phát triển của các lý thuyết tâm lý.

Ba loại nghiên cứu trường hợp chính thường được sử dụng là nghiên cứu nội bộ, nghiên cứu cụ thể và nghiên cứu tập thể. Nghiên cứu nội bộ rất hữu ích để hiểu các trường hợp độc đáo. Case Study cụ thể giúp hiểu rõ từng cá nhân để hiểu sâu hơn về vấn đề tổng thể. Nghiên cứu trường hợp tập thể giúp xem xét nhiều trường hợp cùng một lúc.

Ưu điểm và hạn chế của phương pháp Case Study

Case Study có cả ưu điểm và hạn chế. Bạn phải cân nhắc những ưu và hạn chế trước khi quyết định sử dụng loại nghiên cứu này. Dưới đây là một số ưu điểm và hạn chế điển hình của Case Study. Bạn đọc hãy cùng nhau tìm hiểu nhé.

Ưu điểm của Case Study là gì?

Một trong những ưu điểm lớn nhất của Case Study là nó cho phép bạn nghiên cứu một điều gì đó khó thực hiện được trong phòng thí nghiệm. Một số ưu điểm khác của Case Study như sau:

• Cho phép các nhà nghiên cứu thu thập lượng lớn thông tin
• Tạo cơ hội thu thập thông tin về các trường hợp hiếm gặp hoặc bất thường
• Cho phép các nhà nghiên cứu hình thành các giả thuyết được phát hiện trong các nghiên cứu thực nghiệm.

Hạn chế của Case Study là gì?

Bên cạnh những ưu điểm, Case study cũng có một số hạn chế cần khắc phục. Chỉ khi bạn hiểu rõ những điểm này, bạn mới có thể chỉnh sửa và hoàn thành Case study của mình. Dưới đây là một số hạn chế cơ bản mà InterData.vn tổng hợp và gửi đến các bạn:

• Không thể khái quát hóa cho một dân số lớn hơn
• Không thể chứng minh được nguyên nhân
• Không chặt chẽ
• Có thể dẫn tới sự thiên vị

Bạn có thể tiến hành Case Study để khám phá những hiện tượng độc đáo được phát hiện gần đây. Những hiểu biết sâu sắc thu được giúp các nhà nghiên cứu đưa ra nhiều ý tưởng hơn. Bạn cũng có thể nghiên cứu các câu hỏi để khám phá trong nghiên cứu trong tương lai.

Kiến thức từ các Case Study không thể xác định mối quan hệ nhân quả giữa các biến. Tuy nhiên, nó có thể được sử dụng để phát triển các giả thuyết. Từ đó, bạn có thể giải quyết những câu hỏi này trong một nghiên cứu thực nghiệm.

Cách tìm kiếm Case Study dễ dàng

Dưới đây là 4 bước giúp bạn tìm kiếm Case Study dễ dàng nhanh chóng.

Bước 1 : Xác định lĩnh vực bạn muốn nghiên cứu và tìm hiểu: đó có thể là một môn học ở trường hoặc một lĩnh vực mà bạn cần học để mở rộng kiến ​​thức về công việc, nghề nghiệp.

Bước 2: Xác định nội dung bạn muốn nghiên cứu. Ví dụ bạn đang nghiên cứu lĩnh vực marketing, phần bạn muốn đào sâu là digital marketing, hay các công cụ SEO, SEM, content marketing,… càng chi tiết bạn sẽ càng thấy các Case Study gần với phần lý thuyết hơn phần kiến ​​thức đã học được.

Bước 3: Sử dụng các công cụ tìm kiếm như Google, Google Scholar để tìm kiếm chủ đề mà bạn xác định cần phải tìm hiểu, nghiên cứu và thêm từ “case Study”. Đặc biệt, Google Scholar hiển thị các bài viết mang tính học thuật, hoàn hảo cho mục đích nghiên cứu và học tập.

Bước 4 : Tạo file lưu trữ các link case study phù hợp và hữu ích với bạn. Đồng thời, bạn cũng phải ghi chú những điều quan trọng vào từng Case Study để thuận tiện cho việc tìm kiếm và theo dõi.

Lưu ý: Để nghiên cứu và phân tích một Case Study một cách hiệu quả, bạn nên tiến hành thảo luận nhóm, thu thập nhiều quan điểm khác nhau và tìm hiểu sâu hơn về các vấn đề được giải quyết. Ngoài ra, việc nêu bật những ý quan trọng khi đọc Case Study có thể giúp bạn tổng hợp thông tin dễ dàng hơn.

Phân tích case study

Đặc biệt trong lĩnh vực marketing cũng như các lĩnh vực khác như kinh doanh hay kinh tế, Case Study ngày càng trở nên phổ biến. Mang tính thực tế và có tính ứng dụng cao đối với các tình huống, bài toán gần như lý thuyết, Case Study là công cụ rất hữu ích cho mỗi người làm marketing.

Phân tích case study như thế nào?

Bước đầu tiên, chúng ta phải nghiên cứu thương hiệu/công ty được đề cập trong case study. Dưới đây là một số câu hỏi gợi ý mà bạn có thể dựa vào để đưa ra hướng phân tích phù hợp:

• Thương hiệu hoặc sản phẩm này là ai?
• Công việc kinh doanh của họ là gì?
• Mức độ nhận biết thương hiệu cao/thấp/trung bình cụ thể như thế nào?
• Các tính năng của sản phẩm của thương hiệu này là gì và điều gì khiến chúng trở nên đặc biệt so với các đối thủ khác trên thị trường?
• Họ cần giải quyết vấn đề gì?

Bằng cách đặt câu hỏi và tìm câu trả lời, chúng ta sẽ hiểu rõ hơn về thương hiệu mà chúng ta phân tích. Từ đó, bạn có thể có được những đánh giá chính xác và bài học rút ra từ các Case Study.

Phân khúc thị trường (Segmentatation)

Sau khi nghiên cứu xong vấn đề chúng ta sẽ chuyển sang bước phân khúc thị trường.

Đầu tiên, hãy nói về khái niệm phân khúc thị trường. Phân khúc thị trường là việc phân chia thị trường thành các nhóm nhỏ hơn dựa trên các đặc điểm nhân khẩu học, xã hội học, kinh tế, v.v..

Ví dụ : khi phân khúc thị trường dựa trên thu nhập của người tiêu dùng, chúng ta có thể chia thị trường thành 3 phân khúc:

• Thu nhập cao
• Thu nhập trung bình
• Thu nhập thấp

Nếu phân loại theo độ tuổi hoặc nghề nghiệp, thị trường có thể được chia thành các phân khúc sau:

Những người chưa đến độ tuổi lao động

• Trong độ tuổi lao động
• Quá tuổi lao động
• Nhân viên văn phòng

Phân tích cách các thương hiệu phân khúc thị trường khi Case Study sẽ giúp chúng ta hiểu được cách các thương hiệu lựa chọn những yếu tố quan trọng trong chiến lược kinh doanh của mình. Không phải tất cả các thương hiệu đều xem xét tất cả các yếu tố khi phân khúc thị trường và một số yếu tố quan trọng đối với một thương hiệu nhưng lại không quan trọng đối với một thương hiệu khác.

Ví dụ : Khi phân khúc thị trường để marketing cho Sản phẩm rượu cao cấp, nhãn hiệu sẽ không quan tâm lắm đến khu vực địa lý của người tiêu dùng. Nhưng sản phẩm trang phục chẳng hạn, khu vực địa lý lại là yếu tố cần được chú ý.

Khách hàng mục tiêu (Targeting)

Ở bước này, sẽ phân tích đối tượng mà chiến dịch đang nhắm mục tiêu trực tiếp. Tại sao lại chọn đối tượng đó? Bước này sẽ giúp ta hiểu rằng có lý do cho các bước mà một thương hiệu thực hiện trong chiến dịch tiếp thị của mình. Lý do ở đây là dựa trên nhóm khách hàng mục tiêu này.

Khách hàng mục tiêu được hiểu là nhóm khách hàng được thương hiệu lựa chọn để truyền tải thông điệp của mình thông qua một chiến dịch quảng cáo. Họ được lựa chọn dựa trên những đặc điểm nhất định từ các phân khúc khách hàng trong phần segmentatation.

Ở phần phân tích khách hàng mục tiêu, khi phân tích trường hợp bạn cần chú ý cách thức triển khai quảng cáo, chiến dịch phù hợp với khách hàng mục tiêu như thế nào? Khi khách hàng đọc có đạt được hiệu quả như mong muốn không?

Định vị thương hiệu (Positioning)

Họ đã đạt được kết quả gì sau khi chiến dịch hoàn thành? Thương hiệu được định vị như thế nào trong tâm trí người tiêu dùng? Có bất kỳ thay đổi nào không? Hoặc sự kiện này tác động đến nhận thức xã hội như thế nào? Khi phân tích kết quả của một campaign, người đọc có thể biết được  campaign đó thành công hay thất bại? Đạt được thành công về mặt doanh thu, thương hiệu hoặc tính viral nói chung không liên quan đến thương hiệu.

Các bước triển khai Case Study là gì?

Bạn đã có một case study hấp dẫn, vậy các bước triển khai Case Study là gì? Cần phải triển khai theo 4 bước sau:

Xác định đối tượng mục tiêu

Đầu tiên, bạn phải quyết định Case Study của bạn sẽ là ai. Nếu bạn đang viết về chính công ty, bạn cần phải xin phép cấp trên để lấy dữ liệu, bạn không thể sử dụng dữ liệu mà không được phép. Nếu bạn đang viết về một khách hàng, bạn sẽ muốn xem xét liệu câu chuyện và Case Study của họ có thể mang lại nhiều bài học hay không, sau đó liên hệ với đại diện khách hàng.

Nhận sự đồng ý của khách hàng

Nếu bạn quyết định viết một Case Study về khách hàng, bạn sẽ cần phải viết email hoặc gặp mặt trực tiếp để được họ chấp thuận. Đồng thời, nêu rõ những hứa hẹn, lợi ích mà khách hàng có thể mong đợi khi triển khai rộng rãi Case Study.

Xây dựng và gửi bảng câu hỏi sơ bộ cho khách 

Bảng câu hỏi sơ bộ dựa trên mục đích của Case Study để xây dựng sườn bảng câu hỏi sơ bộ. Đây là một cách hiệu quả để đào sâu vào những vấn đề khách hàng gặp phải cũng như cách giải quyết và khắc phục những khó khăn này. Sau đó, bạn cần gửi trước cho khách hàng để họ có thời gian suy nghĩ và chuẩn bị câu trả lời.

Đặt lịch phỏng vấn

Bạn nên liên hệ càng sớm càng tốt để khách hàng có thời gian sắp xếp và chuẩn bị cho buổi phỏng vấn. Sau khi đã ấn định ngày gặp mặt, bạn cần chọn hình thức phỏng vấn phù hợp. Lý tưởng nhất là bạn nên thoải mái thảo luận trực tiếp những nội dung quan trọng với khách hàng của mình.

Ngoài ra, nếu gặp trực tiếp không thuận tiện, bạn cũng có thể chọn thực hiện phỏng vấn online qua Zoom, Google Meet hoặc qua điện thoại.

Hoàn thiện Case Study

Trong quá trình phỏng vấn người cung cấp thông tin, cần phải ghi âm hoặc ghi chép cẩn thận. Sau đó, tất cả dữ liệu từ nghiên cứu tại chỗ và phỏng vấn được kết hợp lại để lọc ra những thông tin cần thiết và hữu ích nhất cho Case Study.

Các phần cần thiết của một Case Study là: mở đầu, tóm tắt, giới thiệu về các đối tượng trong case. Ở phần chính, bạn cần nêu rõ vấn đề, quá trình giải quyết vấn đề, kết quả cuối cùng và các vấn đề được thảo luận.

Quảng bá cho Case Study

Khi bạn đã hoàn thành Case Study của mình, bạn sẽ cần gửi nó cho người giám sát và khách hàng của bạn để xem xét. Tiếp theo là lập kế hoạch quảng bá Case Study của bạn và chia sẻ nó trên các nền tảng khác nhau. Bạn có thể xây dựng một trang web để quản lý tất cả các Case Study và Testimonial, Email Campaign hoặc tạo chiến dịch truyền thông xã hội.

Đó là tất cả thông tin hữu ích về định nghĩa của một nghiên cứu điển hình và cách thực hiện một nghiên cứu điển hình. Qua bài viết InterData.vn mong chắc bạn đọc sẽ hiểu được Case Study là gì? Ý nghĩa của nó ra sao? Phân tích và cách để triển khai Case Study như thế nào? Mong rằng bạn có thể tự tạo cho mình một Case Study hoàn hảo.

Nguyễn Thị Mỹ Y - Tốt nghiệp chuyên ngành Marketing thương mại, với 2 năm kinh nghiệm về lĩnh vực Content Công Nghệ, Phần Mềm. Hiện nay, tôi đảm nhiệm vị trí Nhân viên Content tại interdata.vn với nhiệm vụ vô cùng quan trọng là cùng bạn khám phá những kiến thức phần mềm mã nguồn, ứng dụng và thông tin về công nghệ hữu ích. Tôi tin rằng sẽ đem đến những giải pháp CNTT mới nhất, tối ưu nhất, hiệu quả nhất và chi phí hợp lý nhất cho tất cả các doanh nghiệp.

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Case Study House #16

Case Study House #16 is the only surviving, intact example of Craig Ellwood's designs for the Case Study House program.

Place Details

• Craig Ellwood Associates

Designation

• Private Residence - Do Not Disturb

Property Type

• Single-Family Residential
• Los Angeles

Case Study House #16 was the first of three houses in Arts & Architecture magazine’s Case Study House program designed by Craig Ellwood, a contractor with no formal architectural training. It remains highly intact today, and is the only surviving, intact example of Ellwood’s designs for the program; his built designs for #17 and #18 have both been altered through subsequent remodelling.

Ellwood was trained as an engineer and had a passion for using industrial materials and construction techniques in residential architecture. As a result, Case Study House #16 exhibits a highly rational design and is constructed of steel, glass and concrete.

Completed in 1952, the house was innovative in its use of exposed steel structural framing, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls took advantage of spectacular views. 

The one-story, flat-roofed residence was built on a flat pad in the hills of Bel-Air with magnificent views to the south and west. The layout and siting take into account the views and sun orientation, taking full advantage of both.

From the street the house presents itself as a glowing, floating glass pavilion. Translucent glass panels screen the house from the street, while frameless floor-to-ceiling glass walls in the living room merge with floors, ceilings, and a massive natural rock fireplace that extends through the glass to the covered patio.

View the National Register of Historic Places Nomination

Issues including Case Study House #16

Case study houses, related content, lou ehlers cadillac (demolished), la villa basque, bailey house (case study house #21).

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During the 2023 Hollywood strikes, the Los Angeles region’s share of national Film and TV employment fell to 27%, compared to 35% just the year before. The stat is from a new study, “Die Another Day”, Part 2 of Otis College Report on the Creative Economy . It also examines the evolution of the entertainment workforce, which has become less dependent on traditional film and TV business as well as more white collar and racially diverse in the streaming era.

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The followup report (you can read it in full here ) focuses on the sea changes in the entertainment industry’s makeup, with the Film and TV industry accounting for 52% of Los Angeles County’s Greater Entertainment Industry, down from 64% in 2013.

As a result, employment is down 9.1% (12,900 jobs) from 2013 to 2024 for the traditional entertainment industries of Film and TV, Sound, Print Media and Broadcasting.

Meanwhile, aspects of the entertainment industry that have gained 53% in employment, or 28,000 jobs, over the same period in areas include Software Publishers, Media Streaming, Performing Arts, Spectator Sports and Related Industries, and Independent Artists.

As the entertainment industry is becoming increasingly tech, the share of college-educated workers it employs has risen from 46% in 2000 to 68% in 2022. The workforce also has become more racially diverse. For the first time, in 2022, the majority of those employed in LA Greater Entertainment were nonwhite, according to the report.

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Sand in Newport Beach was replenished in 2023. (Photo/iStock)

Beach erosion will make Southern California coastal living five times more expensive by 2050, USC study predicts

The region’s sandy coastlines are vanishing at an alarming rate. It’s a warning sign for coastal communities worldwide, USC research suggests.

Rising sea levels and urban development are accelerating coastal erosion at an alarming rate in Southern California with significant ripple effects on the region’s economy, a USC study reveals.

The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment , predicts that Southern California’s coastal living costs will surge fivefold by 2050 as a direct result of beach erosion. This erosion will require more frequent and costly beach nourishment projects to maintain the state’s treasured shorelines, consequently driving up the cost of living along the coast.

“Our study presents compelling evidence of the rapid deterioration of Southern California’s coastal landscapes,” said Essam Heggy , a geoscientist in the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering/Electrophysics at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the study’s corresponding author.

“The challenges facing Southern California mirror a growing threat shared by coastal communities worldwide. The environmental and economic implications of coastal erosion reach far beyond California’s shores and demand interdisciplinary, global solutions,” he said.

Coastal erosion: Cost of living sure to surge as sandy beaches disappear

To predict future changes along California’s sandy coastlines, the researchers focused on the Gulf of Santa Catalina, which stretches over 150 miles from the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County to the northern tip of Baja California in Mexico.

They used a combination of historical and recent satellite images as well as advanced algorithms to analyze coastline movement and predict future erosion based on different trends and environmental factors.

The study predicts a tripling of erosion rates by 2050, increasing from an average of 1.45 meters per year to 3.18 meters by 2100. Consequently, the annual sand requirement for beach nourishment could triple by 2050, with costs rising fivefold due to the global increase in sand prices. This will exacerbate economic and logistical pressures on coastal communities.

Beach nourishment is adding sand to an eroded beach to rebuild it and create a wider barrier against waves and storms.

“Our investigation suggests that coastal problems start inland due to the rapid growth of cities along the coast, which compromise inland sediment replenishment of sandy beaches,” said Heggy, whose research focuses on understanding water evolution in Earth’s arid environments.

“As our beaches shrink, the cost of maintaining them will rise. Finding innovative solutions is key to securing a sustainable future for our shores and local economies,” he said.

Coastal erosion in California: A case study for a global problem

Coastal cities in Southern California and those in North Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea face a common challenge: a semi-arid climate year-round coupled with the growing threats of rising sea levels and eroding shorelines.

A significant portion of Earth’s landmass, roughly 41%, falls under arid or semi-arid classifications, and these areas support over a third of the global population.

To understand this global challenge, the researchers focused on two specific locations: Corona del Mar in Orange County, Calif. — an example of the typical Southern California coastline — and Hammamet North Beach in Tunisia. Both are densely populated and share similar climates, prone to increasing droughts, flash floods and unpredictable rainfall patterns. These characteristics mirror the challenges faced by countless coastal communities worldwide.

The findings showed that the average rate of shoreline retreat in these areas varies. In Southern California, beaches are receding between 0.75 and 1.24 meters per year. In Hammamet North Beach, the retreat rate ranges from 0.21 to about 4.49 meters annually.

“While beach nourishment can temporarily combat erosion, however, it presents significant challenges for developing countries,” said Oula Amrouni, a sedimentologist at the National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies at the University of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia, and one of the study’s co-authors. “The high cost of acquiring the right sand, with the specific grain size, quality and composition, and the technical complexity of extracting and laying it are major hurdles. Additionally, worsening erosion in previously stable areas compels more frequent nourishment projects, straining already limited budgets and leading to unplanned expenditures for many communities.”

About the study: Co-authors of the study include Oula Amrouni and Abderraouf Hzami of the National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies at the University of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia.

This research is supported by the Arid Climates and Water Research Center at USC under contract from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (AWD#00630), the USC Zumberge Research and Innovation Fund, and the USC Sea Grant.

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Judge allows duct tape to be retested in Scott Peterson case, denies other requests: reports

A California judge ruled that the duct tape attached to Laci Peterson's pants will be retested for DNA over two decades after her husband, now 51-year-old Scott Peterson , was convicted of murdering her and their unborn son, according to multiple reports.

The Los Angeles Innocence Project and Scott Peterson, who joined the San Mateo County courtroom virtually from Mule Creek State Prison, continued to try and secure a new murder trial on Wednesday. The goal of the proceedings was to get Judge Elizabeth M. Hill to allow the DNA testing of 17 physical items of evidence — including 11 items found near or with Laci and Conner Peterson's bodies, two items from a burglary that occurred across the street from the couple's home and four items connected to a torched orange van containing a blood-stained mattress.

"New evidence now supports Mr. Peterson's longstanding claim of innocence and raises many questions into who abducted and killed Laci and Conner Peterson," legal filings say, per ABC News .

Hill denied most of the items Peterson requested DNA testing for, but she did OK the retesting of the 15-inch long piece of duct tape that "was found adhering to Laci's pants on her right thigh," CNN reported, citing the judge's motion. A section of the tape was folded over onto itself and underwent DNA testing, and while "the presence of human DNA was found, no DNA profile could be obtained," according to the motion, per the outlet.

USA TODAY reached out to the LA Innocence Project.

Laci Peterson killed on Christmas Eve 2002

Scott Peterson was found guilty in November 2004 of killing his wife, Laci, and unborn son, Conner, on Christmas Eve 2002 and dumping their bodies into San Francisco Bay from his fishing boat.

Before Peterson's arrest and subsequent conviction, he told investigators that he last saw his eight-month-pregnant wife on that Christmas Eve morning before he went fishing at Berkeley Marina, which is about 90 miles from the couple's home.

After an extensive search, a couple walking their dog found the body of a full-term fetus on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay in April 2003. A decomposed body of a woman was then found a couple of miles north of the Berkeley Marina. The bodies were identified as Laci and Conner Peterson.

Police arrested Peterson on April 18, 2003, and charged with first-degree murder of his wife and second-degree murder of his unborn child. Investigators' cause for arrest stemmed from Laci Peterson's body being found near where her husband went fishing on the day of her disappearance.

Investigators also discovered an extramarital affair with a massage therapist named Amber Frey. Frey worked with law enforcement and testified against Peterson during his murder trial, which began on June 1, 2004.

Did the judge grant Scott Peterson a new trial?

Judge Elizabeth M. Hill only allowed the retesting of the duct tape for DNA evidence and did not permit a new murder trial for Peterson.

Prosecutors argue that Peterson's and the Los Angeles Innocence Project's desire for DNA testing and a new trial only prolongs an already decided case.

"We were right then and we are right now, and … (it) is inappropriate for the defense to continue to try and find the things to drag this case out,” Dave Harris with the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s office said, according to CNN. "The state of California has a powerful interest in the finality of its judgments."

Hill scheduled a hearing for July 1 to discuss the testing stipulations, NBC News reported.

Why were the items Scott Peterson wanted to be tested for DNA denied?

Hill denied the testing of the items found where Laci Peterson's body washed ashore due to the defense failing to prove they had anything to do with the murders, according to NBC News, citing the judge.

The mattress in the van was tested in 2019 and showed no blood, so the judge did not allow DNA testing of that item either, NBC News reported, citing Hill's motion. Attorneys with the Los Angeles Innocence Project also did not prove how the van was related to Peterson's case, the outlet said.

A glove and hammer were found in the home of one of the Petersons' neighbors but police never took the items into custody making them ineligible for DNA testing, Hill declared, according to NBC News.

Scott Peterson given life without parole after death sentence overturned

A month after Peterson's conviction, he was originally sentenced to death.

After two appeals, a California Supreme Court overturned Peterson's death sentence but upheld his conviction in 2020. Peterson was  resentenced in December 2021 to life in prison  without the possibility of parole, and in 2022 he was  denied another murder trial .

Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge and Josh Peter, USA TODAY

Traveler carries measles through LAX as cases rise around the U.S.

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A traveler carrying measles flew from Munich, Germany, through Los Angeles on the way to Fresno Yosemite International Airport this month, exposing thousands of California travelers to the highly infectious disease, health officials have confirmed.

Officials from the L.A. County Department of Public Health confirmed the case late Monday, bringing the total number of measles cases documented in California to nine for the year.

The sick traveler arrived at Los Angeles International Airport’s Tom Bradley International Terminal around 3 p.m. May 19 on a Lufthansa flight, then boarded a connecting flight to Fresno Yosemite around 8 that night, health officials from Los Angeles and Fresno confirmed.

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May 22, 2024

So far, no associated infections have been reported.

It’s not the first time this year that someone traveling in California has toted the virus into Los Angeles.

In February, a local came home on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul, stopping for dinner at a Northridge Chick-fil-A.

In late March and early April, a sick visitor dined on doughnuts and fried chicken in the Simpsons area at Universal Studios, browsed for souvenirs at the Santa Monica Pier, ate at a string of fast-casual chain restaurants across the city and repeatedly hit the gym at Sheraton Gateway Hotel near LAX before they were identified by health officials.

Measles is about six times more infectious than COVID-19 and is frequently deadly in countries where it is endemic. In 2022, about 130,000 people are believed to have died from the virus, mostly children.

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“Measles is spread by air and by direct contact even before you know you have it and can lead to severe disease,” said Dr. Muntu Davis, Los Angeles County health officer. “Measles is highly contagious for those who are not immune to it. Initially causing fever, cough, red, watery eyes and followed by a rash, it can result in serious complications for young children and vulnerable adults.”

The most recent LAX infection is one of more than 140 recorded so far this year across the United States — more than double the total reported in all of last year.

More than half of those cases required hospitalization, officials said. Most were among people who had not been inoculated.

Most Americans are vaccinated against measles as toddlers, though the rate among California children has dipped in recent years, raising fears that the virus could spread locally.

More to Read

L.A. public health officials issue measles exposure warning for Universal Studios, other locations

April 13, 2024

Opinion: How measles reemerged as a threat in California and elsewhere

March 19, 2024

Hundreds of people exposed to measles at California hospital, officials say

March 12, 2024

L.A. County has its first measles case since 2020: What to do if you’re exposed

Feb. 1, 2024

COVID-19 and flu cases are rising in California. How bad will the holiday uptick be?

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Valley fever could hit California hard. The drought-to-downpour cycle is to blame

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Confirmed measles cases in Fresno County prompt renewed calls for vaccination

June 21, 2023

As norovirus spreads in California, how can you protect yourself? Don’t rely on hand sanitizer

April 5, 2023

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Why the CDC is inviting travelers from China to swab their noses at LAX

Jan. 3, 2023

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