The past year was another active one for implementation research at MDRC. In this post, we highlight some of our activities and preview what’s in store for 2019. We also want to start the new year with a “thank you” to Jennie Kaufman, our MDRC colleague who edits all the Incubator posts. Jennie sharpens our writing and our ideas, and she’s fun to work with.

In the Incubator in 2018, we discussed matters ranging from the nuts and bolts of implementation research to its contributions to program development and expansion. We presented about the Incubator at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) fall research conference and also organized an APPAM roundtable with colleagues from other organizations on implementation research in large-scale, multisite studies. Meanwhile, our colleagues over on Reflections on Methodology and the Evidence First podcast series also covered topics of interest to implementation research: for example, the development of measures of implementation fidelity and the challenges of implementing a career and technical education program in Colorado and youth employment programs in Puerto Rico.

PUBLICATIONS

In 2018, implementation research was featured in or informed findings in more than 40 project reports and other publications:

Methods and frameworks

• Can Evidence-Based Policy Ameliorate the Nation’s Social Problems?

• Measuring Treatment Contrast in Randomized Controlled Trials

• How the MDRC Center for Data Insights Is Improving Programs and Systems with Actionable Evidence

• Behavioral Intervention Materials Compendium

Work and income security

• New Perspectives on Creating Jobs: Final Impacts of the Next Generation of Subsidized Employment Programs

• Tribal Solutions: Subsidized Employment Programs Serving American Indians and Alaska Natives

• Boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit for Singles: Final Impact Findings from the Paycheck Plus Demonstration in New York City

• Behavioral Insights for Work Support: Lessons from the BIAS Project

• Using Behavioral Insights to Increase Participation in Social Services Programs: A Case Study

College enrollment and student support

• Lessons from 15 Years of MDRC’s Postsecondary Research

• Supporting Latino College Achievement: Insights from the LATIDO Roundtable

• The College Promise Success Initiative Cost Calculator

• Redesigning Advising with the Help of Technology: Early Experiences of Three Institutions

• Making Summer Pay Off: Using Behavioral Science to Encourage Postsecondary Summer Enrollment

• Doubling Graduation Rates in a New State: Two-Year Findings from the ASAP Ohio Demonstration

• Steps Toward Sustainability: A Case Study of Lorain County Community College’s Comprehensive Student Success Program

College course placement and development education

• Early Findings from a National Survey of Developmental Education Practices

• Making It Through: Interim Findings on Developmental Students’ Progress to College Math with the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways

• Toward Better College Course Placement: A Guide to Launching a Multiple Measures Assessment System

• Multiple Measures Placement Using Data Analytics: An Implementation and Early Impacts Report

• A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Modularized, Computer-Assisted, Self-Paced Approach to Developmental Math

• Becoming College-Ready: Early Findings from a CUNY Start Evaluation

Young adults and teens

• Commitment to Building Evidence: The Experience of a New Program for Young People Involved in the Juvenile Justice System

• Lessons from the Implementation of Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP)

• Helping Young People Move Up: Findings from Three New Studies of Youth Employment Programs

• Laying a Foundation: Four-Year Results from the National YouthBuild Evaluation

• Forging a Path: Final Impacts and Costs of New York City’s Young Adult Internship Program

• Making Their Way: Summary Report on the Youth Villages Transitional Living Evaluation

• The Future of Executive-Skills Coaching and Behavioral Science in Programs That Serve Teens and Young Adults: Lessons from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Pilot Project

Elementary and high school

• Student Writing, Teacher Feedback, and Working Online: Launching the Drive to Write Program

• Building College Readiness Across Rural Communities: Implementation and Outcome Findings for the AVID Central Florida Collaborative Study

• An Overview of the NYC P-TECH Grades 9-14 Model

• An Innovative Approach to Preparing Students for College and Careers: YouthForce NOLA

Prekindergarten through early grades

• Strengthening Children’s Math Skills with Enhanced Instruction: The Impacts of Making Pre-K Count and High 5s on Kindergarten Outcomes

• Launching Kindergarten Math Clubs: The Implementation of High 5s in New York City

Families and children

• Behavioral Insights for Child Care: Lessons from the BIAS Project

• Dates and Deadlines: Behavioral Strategies to Increase Engagement in Child Support

• Encouraging Attendance and Engagement in Parenting Programs: Developing a Smartphone Application with Fathers, for Fathers

• Implementation of Evidence-Based Early Childhood Home Visiting: Results from the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation

Community initiatives

• Investing Together: Promising Strategies from a Donor Collaborative

• Investing in Service Coordination and Performance Management for Community Development Corporations: Lessons from the New York City Change Capital Fund’s Economic Mobility Initiative (2014-2018)

Criminal justice

• Implementing the Next Generation of Parole Supervision: Findings from the Changing Attitudes and Motivation in Parolees Pilot Study
  
   

LOOKING FORWARD

We’re excited about upcoming Incubator posts planned for 2019:

• Insights from the implementation research from the 88-site Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE)

• Guidance for assessing the rigor of qualitative research

• Logic models, theories of change, and implementation research

• Implementation research in multisite studies (reflections from an APPAM 2018 session)

• Improvement science, implementation science, and implementation research in evidence-building cycles

. . . and more!