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MDRC
MDRC
Formation1974
PurposePolicy research
HeadquartersNew York, NY
President
Virginia Knox
Websitewww.mdrc.org
Formerly called
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation

MDRC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research organization based in New York City; Washington, DC; and Oakland and Los Angeles, California. MDRC conducts rigorous studies of programs and policies that affect people with low incomes, actively disseminates the lessons to policymakers and practitioners, and works directly with programs and agencies to help improve their effectiveness. In 2024, MDRC is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding.

MDRC is led by Virginia Knox, who has served as President since October 15, 2019.[1] Employees of MDRC are represented by Social Policy Workers United (SPWU), which is affiliated with the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME).[2]

History

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In 1974, the Ford Foundation and six government agencies together created the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. to run an ambitious, five-year, $50-million demonstration project called Supported Work. Over the years, MDRC became known for combining rigorous impact and implementation research with on-the-ground operational expertise to deliver policy-relevant findings to decisionmakers. In the 1980s and early 1990s, MDRC conducted evaluations of state welfare-to-work programs that influenced policy reforms. In the 1990s and early 2000s, MDRC expanded into education policy research — developing demonstration and research projects in the early education, K-12, and postsecondary education spheres. In recent years, MDRC has expanded into new domains, including criminal justice, behavioral science, and data analytics. It formally retired its original name and adopted "MDRC" as its registered corporate identity in 2003.[3]

MDRC works across the United States, in Canada, and in the United Kingdom.[4] Their 2021 budget is $66 million, which they derive from government contracts, foundations, corporations and individuals.[5]

In May 2018, MDRC named its first Director for Outreach, Diversity, and Inclusion[6] and made this position part of the executive team.[7]

In 2021, MDRC voluntarily recognized Social Policy Workers United (SPWU) as their staff union.[8] In June 2024, SPWU members went on an Unfair Labor Practice strike in response to MDRC's refusal to bargain over end-of-year raises.[9][10][11] In August 2024, SPWU members voted to ratify their first contract.

Focus areas

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MDRC focuses on five policy areas and has two centers:[12]

Accomplishments

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MDRC helped pioneer the use of random assignment to test social programs.[13] Its evaluations of welfare work programs influenced the welfare reform of the 1990s.[14] In the 1990s and 2000s, MDRC's evaluation of the Career Academies high school reform model, which showed impacts on participants' earnings eight years after graduation, influenced the expansion of the model around the nation.[15] MDRC was the intermediary for the first social impact bond demonstration in the United States, a project to reduce recidivism among 16- to 18-year-olds incarcerated at Rikers Island.[16][17] MDRC's study of the City University of New York's Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) has demonstrated that the program has doubled the three-year graduation rate of students who begin college requiring remedial education.[18]

Affiliated people

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References

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  1. ^ "Our People". About MDRC. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  2. ^ "Careers". MDRC. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  3. ^ "About MDRC: MDRC History". 27 April 2012.
  4. ^ admin (2012-04-27). "About MDRC - History". MDRC. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  5. ^ brad (2012-09-20). "About MDRC - Financial Profile". MDRC. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  6. ^ "Crystal Byndloss Named MDRC's Director for Outreach, Diversity, and Inclusion". MDRC. 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  7. ^ "Our People". MDRC. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  8. ^ "MDRC Voluntarily Recognizes Social Policy Workers United". MDRC. 2024-08-23. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  9. ^ SPWU's Unfair Labor Practice Strike: No Raises, No Work! (Video). 2024-06-05. Retrieved 2024-08-26 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "SPWU Files Unfair Labor Practice Charge with the National Labor Relations Board". Social Policy Workers United. 2024-05-25. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  11. ^ "Social Policy Workers United Holds 3 Day ULP Strike at MDRC". New York City Central Labor Council. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  12. ^ "History of MDRC". About MDRC. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  13. ^ Bornstein, David (October 17, 2012). "Social Change's Age of Enlightenment". New York Times.
  14. ^ Mead, Lawrence (July 8, 2004). "Research and Welfare Reform" (PDF). NYU Department of Politics.
  15. ^ Hoye, J.D.; David Stern (September 10, 2008). "The Career Academy Story: A Case Study of How Research Can Move Policy and Practice". Education Week.
  16. ^ Chen, David (August 2, 2012). "Goldman to Invest in City Jail Program, Profiting if Recidivism Falls Sharply". New York Times.
  17. ^ Porter, Eduardo (July 28, 2015). "Wall St. Money Meets Social Policy at Rikers Island". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-08-12
  18. ^ Scrivener, Susan, Michael J. Weiss, Alyssa Ratledge, Timothy Rudd, Colleen Sommo, Hannah Fresques (February 2015). textDoubling Graduation Rates: Three-Year Effects of CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) for Developmental Education Students. New York: MDRC.
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