Overview

MDRC will conduct a randomized controlled trial of the Eastern Kentucky Runway Program (EKY Runway), a federally funded, multifaceted workforce development intervention in Appalachian Kentucky. The EKY Runway is designed to assist prime-working-aged unemployed people in gaining access to higher education and training, and in securing employment. This project seeks to evaluate whether the EKY Runway improves participants’ employment and earnings by helping them become employed, enroll in postsecondary education, or undertake workforce training. To implement this study, MDRC will partner with Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR-KY), a local nonprofit organization.

The EKY Runway represents a major federal investment aimed at improving earnings and labor force participation in a region with longstanding economic challenges. The evaluation will help generate evidence on how to address workforce development needs in Appalachian counties where prime-working-age employment rates are far below national averages due to economic decline over decades, underinvestment, and the opioid crisis. The research will also help the program to improve its services and inform its long-term sustainability and expansion.