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The Pulte Institute for Global Development
Research Methods Learned Abroad Support 
Local Efforts to End Gun Violence
Lessons learned through global research to improve education 
outcomes in Africa are being applied to the epidemic of gun 
violence in the U.S.
The Youth Anti-Gun Violence Symposium in South Bend 
incorporated a systems thinking workshop for attendees led in 
part by T.J. D’Agostino, assistant professor of the practice and 
core faculty member of the Pulte Institute. D’Agostino, whose 
research focuses on education policy as it affects vulnerable 
children, was exposed to the systems thinking approach to 
problem-solving through his work as a principal investigator for 
SHARE (read more about SHARE studies on page 28). Project 
partners in Africa practiced a method of imagining solutions to 
systemic challenges through discussion and the co-creation of 
maps and models, offering their expertise in the approach to 
D’Agostino and other team members.
“Our partners from Uganda have gotten really good at these, 
and we worked with them in many of our shared research 
projects,” he said of the collaborative approach to developing 
policies that produce positive change.
His involvement in the workshop, co-hosted by Beacon Health’s 
Memorial Hospital and the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Joseph 
County, was D’Agostino’s second time participating in a local 
event in the same capacity. In conversation with friend Don 
Zimmer, an emergency medicine physician and co-director of 
medical education for South Bend’s Beacon Health System, 
he suggested incorporating systems-thinking exercises for 
participants to the healthcare network’s ongoing work to 
engage the community with vital but complex topics. Zimmer 
was enthusiastic and asked D’Agostino to lend his experience 
with the format to support attendees as they moved through 
the exercise.
Going forward, D’Agostino imagines more opportunities to 
connect the Pulte Institute’s broader work to help address 
local issues—‘bringing the world to South Bend and South 
Bend to the world,’ as he remembers Pulte Director Tracy 
Kijewski-Correa’s describing the exchange.
“How can we bring learning from elsewhere here?” 
D’Agostino framed the possibilities of local engagement with a 
question. He added, “But there could be opportunities to test 
proofs of concept here and bring it elsewhere. I love that idea.” 
39 | 2023-24 Annual Review
On this page: T.J. D’Agostino presents as part of ongoing 
research to improve education outcomes in Kenya. 

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