Announcing a Partnership between HudsonUP and JFI

The Jain Family Institute officially announced today a research partnership with the HudsonUP UBI pilot in Hudson, New York. HudsonUP is a basic income pilot created by The Spark of Hudson and Humanity Forward that will provide 25 randomly-selected residents with $500 each month for five years; recipients began receiving payments in fall 2020. The initiative is designed in collaboration with the community and is championed by Mayor Kamal Johnson. JFI Senior Fellow and Associate Professor of Social Work at Appalachian State University Leah Hamilton will serve as principal investigator on the pilot. 

Hudson is a small, diverse community of approximately 6,000 residents, of which 23% live at or below the poverty line. As a result, even a relatively small-scale pilot can have a real impact on the lives of participants and the community at large. The 25 recipients have been selected from a pool of Hudson residents with incomes at or below the city’s median of $35,000 per year. Researchers will focus not just on quantifiable outcomes but especially on the qualitative experience of recipients by conducting regular interviews throughout the pilot’s five year duration. 

HudsonUP is the first pilot of its kind to take place in a small town in America, and one of the first to take place over the course of several years. The pilot’s length will afford tremendous new research and insights on the effects basic income can have on an individual over several years. In addition to data yielded by this research, HudsonUP will also share stories, when possible, from those in the community who have been impacted by the program—whether or not they are a beneficiary. The HudsonUP team will work to amplify these narratives of how a basic income can change lives and transform communities.