Founded in 1974, MDRC is committed to improving the lives of people with low incomes. We design promising new interventions, evaluate existing programs, and provide technical assistance to build better programs.
MDRC develops evidence about solutions to some of the nation’s most difficult problems. Explore our projects and variety of products, including publications, videos, podcast episodes, and resources for researchers and practitioners.
Using The Learning Block Workbook to Strengthen Programs
This post explains how learning cycles—a process of testing, collecting data, and refining practices—can help program operators continually improve their work.
Lessons on how predictive analytics—the use of historical data to estimate the likelihood of future outcomes—can help program operators anticipate and actively address client needs.
An Evidence to Practice case study about an MDRC/Slingshot Memphis collaboration that uses data and community research to strengthen local workforce programs.
This case study is one of four spotlighting how MDRC works with organizations to use data effectively and offer services guided by evidence. It describes how MDRC worked with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies to improve their data capabilities.
Working Together for More Effective Programs and Better Outcomes
Announcing Evidence to Practice, a new approach to technical assistance that draws on 50 years of evidence and collaboration to improve programs and outcomes.
This post describes an exercise for social services organizations that uses program attendance and engagement data analysis as part of a team-building effort—promoting equity by engaging diverse staff members in discussions about how to improve enrollment, service delivery, and participation outcomes.
This blog post looks at how community colleges participating in MDRC’s Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) project use data-driven program management to keep tabs on key performance measures in real time and then act when those measures aren’t moving in the right direction.
Homeboy Industries Managed Its Organization-Wide Transition to a New Data System by Following Five Key Principles
Homeboy Industries’ (HBI) experience implementing a new data system was described in an earlier InPractice post. This post examines the complexities and challenges that must be addressed before successful implementation can take place, and how HBI managed that change process.