The #2022APPAM Fall Research Conference will feature some fantastic sponsors from across the policy research spectrum. Today we're shining a spotlight on Mathematica.
What is the mission of your organization?
Mathematica is dedicated to improving public well-being by bringing the highest standards of quality, objectivity, and excellence to bear on the provision of information collection and analysis to our clients.
What are your strongest areas of work?
Mathematica applies expertise at the intersection of data science, social science, and technology. Our team of experts come together from different backgrounds and have diverse lived experiences, enabling us to collaborate with other organizations to advance equity and reimagine the way the world gathers and uses data. Across disciplines and sectors, we’re addressing some of the world’s toughest challenges and making progress together.
In the past year, what has been the most influential work from your researchers?
The challenges facing society are numerous and formidable: a pandemic that has cost more than a million lives in the U.S. alone, persistent and systemic racial inequities, increasingly alarming evidence of climate change’s far-reaching and severe impacts, a worsening opioid epidemic, and more. Mathematica is proud to partner with organizations in confronting these and other challenges with innovation, humility, and determination. Together, we:
- Created an interactive impact estimator that enables users to compare the effectiveness of various routine testing strategies
- Developed a Sustainable Agriculture Decision Support Tool to help users evaluate the financial and climate impacts of agricultural technologies
- Released new evidence that, for the first time, quantifies the 2.3 million children who live with and help care for wounded, injured, or ill service members or veterans in America. This research was the basis for new federal legislation intended to provide and coordinate supportive services for eligible veterans and their children.
If you are hiring, what makes your organization a great place to work?
Mathematica hires energetic, talented individuals and provides an environment for them to help steer our work and their careers. Employees at all levels are selected for their superior experience, education, and training. Being an independent, employee-owned firm gives all of our colleagues a voice in defining and advancing our mission and vision; it also enhances our quality, accountability, and financial strength. Our staff aren’t just employees—they are owners working together to help improve public well-being, and each one of them directly contributes to the company’s growth and success
How many early career professionals do you employ?
About 8 percent of Mathematica's staff are early career professionals with one to three years of experience.
What is your employee breakdown in terms of highest degree achieved (Undergraduate, Masters, Doctorate)?
Thirty percent of our colleagues hold an undergraduate degree; 48 percent hold master’s degrees; and 18 percent hold doctorate degrees. Our experts’ fields of specialty include economics, sociology, survey research, public policy analysis, demography, education, and computer technology, among many others.
Where do you see your organization in 50 years?
Mathematica seeks to drive a world which is more reliant on data and evidence to inform decisions, transforming the way decisions are made. We work in an ecosystem of issue-focused clients and partners to bring forward ideas that catalyze solutions informed by data and evidence. For more than 50 years, Mathematica has been at the forefront of assessing the effectiveness of policies and programs to improve public well-being. We will leverage technology and evidence together. We envision helping to shape an equitable and just world where evidence drives decisions for global impact.
Is there any other information that you'd like us to highlight?
Mathematica is 100 percent employee owned. Its more than 1,700 team members work across the country and around the globe, partnering with organizations to deliver solutions that improve programs, refine strategies, and deepen understanding across sectors, including the public sector (federal, state, and local agencies), foundations, international aid organizations, and the private sector, including commercial health. Mathematica is headquartered in Princeton, NJ, and has numerous offices across the United States; our subsidiary, EDI Global, has offices in the United Kingdom and East Africa.