MDRC’s Post

MDRC and Ascendium Education Group have launched the Sector Training Evidence-Building Project (STEP), a new effort to invest in the next generation of evidence-building for sectoral training programs led by nonprofit organizations. STEP will select, fund, and support projects that will advance high-quality research to produce evidence that is relevant to both individual providers and the field at large. Grants will be funded for three to five years, during which grantees will participate in a community of practice managed by MDRC. Funding awards will vary from $250,000 to $2,000,000. Awards will be made in spring 2025. MDRC will release a Request for Proposals (RFP) on September 30, 2024. Researchers and sector program providers interested in participating in STEP can register for an informational webinar on October 9, 2024, at 1pm (CT)/2pm (ET).

Early childhood experiences, both inside and outside the classroom, are crucial to the long-term trajectory of children’s lives. But how can educators, administrators, service providers, and policymakers create effective and supportive programs and policies that leverage this powerful window into children’s development for maximum impact? For two decades, MDRC has worked with practitioners and other researchers to develop and study innovations in early childhood education and in other programs, like home visiting, to improve young children’s chances of success. In our latest 50th-anniversary impact case, read more about our collaborations with partners in child care, preschool and Head Start, home visiting, and community-based programs. #mdrc #mdrc50 #education #HeadStart #ECE #preschool #homevisiting #innovation

Today, 9 am-4 pm! Career & Networking Expo at the Columbia University School of Professional Studies Stop by our table to learn about career opportunities at MDRC! Location: Alfred Lerner Hall, 2920 Broadway, NY, NY

How has MDRC’s approach to data evolved over 50 years? From the beginning, our use of data to evaluate and improve programs has emphasized hands-on, long-term relationships rather than transactional exchanges. MDRC was a pioneer in the use of administrative data in program evaluation. As one administrator recalled, MDRC was always “a ‘roll-up-your-sleeves’ partner” in that regard—the antithesis of “just give us the data and we’ll come back to you.” Yet MDRC’s approach to data has also evolved with changing needs and technologies — in particular, emerging opportunities for programs to build out their own data analysis capabilities. Over the last decade in particular, MDRC has worked to help programs more effectively store their data and then both capture and apply insights that follow from it. For instance, in 2018, we launched the MDRC Center for Data Insights, which helps government agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofits harness new data science techniques (including AI) to improve programs, systems, and services. In 2020, we launched SPROUT (Social Policy Research and Operations Unified Technology), the world’s first comprehensive cloud platform for social policy research. SPROUT helps researchers, agencies, service providers, and other organizations — whether or not they are MDRC partners — collaborate, share, and analyze data in a secure, privacy-conscious way. And some of our most recent work focuses on building a culture of data engagement within partner organizations — for instance, helping participants in the Strengthening Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs initiative make discussion of data part of their team-building activities. MDRC is also building data partnerships, including the TANF Data Collaborative and the State IMPACT Collaborative, to help build data analytics capabilities throughout our field, a new extension of our evidence-building mission. This work will surely continue to evolve with the times. Yet the through-line — using data to empower programs, not just evaluate them — will continue, whatever the next technological breakthrough brings. #mdrc #mdrc50 #data #AI #teambuilding #technology #operations #continuousimprovement

Thrilled to Start a New Journey at MDRC! MDRC was founded in 1974 on the notion that high-quality research and evidence can play a vital role in reducing poverty and inequity in the United States. We hold true to that vision today. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, MDRC conducts rigorous studies of programs and policies that affect people with low incomes, actively disseminates the lessons to policymakers and practitioners, and works directly with programs and agencies to help improve their effectiveness. NEED TO KNOW 📌 ODI - Project Manager  📌 $85,000 -90,000K 📌Reporting to Director, ODI 📌hybrid, NYC WHAT YOU’LL ACHIEVE ✅Help to create an inclusive & transparent culture to build trust with MDRC staff ✅Manage, delegate, and optimize a recently created DEI operational plan ✅Lead the Gueron Scholars Program ✅Develop the leadership team to implement the strategic plan LEARN MORE ✨Check Out: 2024-12: Program Manager ✨Speak to D. Crystal B. to learn more ✨Share with 3+ people in your network who have operationalize DEI goals Comment with people in your network who should know about the role.

MDRC is pleased to announce that Cynthia Osborne has joined its Board of Directors. Osborne is a professor of early childhood education and policy in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. She is also the founder and executive director of the national Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, an academic research center that translates the science of the developing child into state-level policies with the strongest evidence base of effectiveness. “We are delighted to welcome Cynthia Osborne to the MDRC Board of Directors,” said Bridget Long, MDRC Board Chair. “MDRC will benefit from her multiple areas of expertise, including strengthening early child development and family well-being, conducting research that is both rigorous and actionable, and translating research findings and recommendations into changes in policy and practice.” “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join the MDRC Board of Directors,” said Cynthia Osborne. “MDRC has long been a leader in strengthening policies and programs that impact well-being through rigorous research and a deep understanding of those who are implementing and benefiting from the policies. To now be on the Board of this esteemed institution that I have admired for decades—and to be able to work with the other Board members—is extremely rewarding.”