What is your organization's mission?
MDRC is committed to finding solutions to some of the most difficult problems facing the nation — from reducing poverty and bolstering economic self-sufficiency to improving public education and college graduation rates. We design promising new interventions, evaluate existing programs using the highest research standards, and provide technical assistance to build better programs and deliver effective interventions at scale.
What are some highlights of your work over the past year?
Building on our long history of working with organizations and systems to design, test, and effectively implement new programs and policies, MDRC expanded its efforts in 2023 to help education and social service organizations use data and evidence to improve their practice at a large scale. We named John Martinez as MDRC's first Vice President of Evidence to Practice and have launched two new initiatives: (1) the Economic Mobility Lab to help workforce training organizations scale operations to increase their programmatic capacity, and the (2) the State IMPACT Collaborative to transform state policymaking by leveraging advanced data analytics and collaborative research to foster evidence-based decision-making.
What sets your organization apart in the field?
For 50 years, we’ve worked with our partners to find effective solutions to some of the nation’s most pressing problems. Our services are anchored in: (1) a deep understanding of the education and social policy systems serving people with low incomes; (2) the expertise of our diverse staff, made up of talented researchers, practitioners, and experts in service delivery; (3) a focus on improving programs and policies with data and evidence; and (4) a commitment to equity and to centering the experiences of program participants and staff in our work.
If you're hiring what makes your organization a great place to work?
At MDRC, we offer our staff a unique blend of rigorous research projects, hands-on involvement in real programs, and the chance to help turn research findings into better policies and programs that work to improve the lives of people with low incomes.
Anything else you'd like to mention?
MDRC is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024. We're recognizing this milestone by looking back at some of the accomplishments we've helped our partners achieve and looking forward to what's coming next: https://www.mdrc.org/about/50-years-mdrc.