The latest episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast features Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service, who discusses the central role that data and research play in making the federal government more effective.
The latest episode of On the Evidence features an interview between Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, and Paul Decker, the president and chief executive officer of Mathematica.
This episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast features highlights from a recent convening on improving the impact of social programs through a more comprehensive approach to design and evaluation.
If we want to grow the practice of evidence-based policy, we can’t simply advocate for more randomized control trials. We need to be passionate advocates for the best available, most accessible research possible. We need to know when to say enough is enough.
As evidence related to COVID-19 has evolved, so too have our plans around bringing workers back in person.
As we encounter more challenges that cut across national borders, organizations like Mathematica must help identify evidence-based solutions that can have global impacts.
To shape an equitable and just world, Mathematica and its peers must more proactively engage decision makers on evidence that can drive impact.
Organizations that gather evidence to improve public well-being can advance equity and social justice through changes in the workforce, in the field, and in the research process.
In 2035, we envision a world where evidence routinely drives decisions to achieve impact. That starts with advocating for evidence now.
Mathematica’s mission is to improve public well-being through better use of data and evidence, and that mission isn’t changing. But as we contemplated the most pressing challenges facing humanity now and in the future, we plotted a course to best deliver on that mission in a world that is changing.
As a mission-driven organization where people bring their passion and their talent to work, Mathematica has an important opportunity not only to meet the moment as America reckons with its history, but to help set the pace.
As a holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day means many things to many people. For some, it is a chance to remember and honor his legacy. For others, it is an opportunity to recommit to his spirit of service. For me, it has often been a time to reflect on his dream and find new meaning in his words.
Lifelong friends Chris Williams, an ophthalmologist and founder of OnPacePlus, and Paul Decker, Mathematica’s president and chief executive officer, discuss race and personal experiences with discrimination.
We need to embrace cutting-edge technology in order to develop tools and methods to better understand and more quickly address the world’s most pressing social challenges.
Paul Decker talks about the important steps Mathematica is taking to ensure we are fostering a deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work and among our staff.
Debates about the role and impact of charter schools will likely not only continue but intensify. There’s room for both sides of this contentious conversation to learn from the evidence and go beyond the rhetoric to find solutions that make a difference.
Mathematica.org focuses on who we are – an employee owned company committed to the public good. You can still count on our rigor, objectivity, and insights, but this is also an important step in articulating how we’re fulfilling our mission to improve public well-being. This is progress together.
Diving into the biggest policy questions with the potential to impact millions of lives requires close examination of the best available evidence from a complex array of multiple sources.
Last fall, we brought the EDI Group into the Mathematica family to help global change makers reimagine the way they collect and use data.
CEO Paul Decker reflects on growing up in a family of educators, his path to Mathematica, and how varied backgrounds and experiences help Mathematica deliver better insights.
The final report from the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking certainly speaks to what’s possible when we as a nation demonstrate a true commitment to this approach. But it also speaks to something much more foundational about the relationship between citizens and their government.
The combination of loving one’s work and loving being at work is a feeling I want for everyone at Mathematica, and it’s a driving force behind our expanded efforts around diversity and inclusion.
Policymakers tend to use research to maintain or defund a program by declaring it a success or failure. While sometimes this is appropriate, the author posits that more often research can and should be used to help policymakers and program administrators improve programs and better serve target populations.
Conducting rigorous policy research is a painstaking process. I’ve even heard it compared to pulling teeth—and there’s some truth to that. After all, designing and executing a high quality study can be arduous, but if all goes according to plan, you’ll have a result that helps improve well-being.
Big Data not only provides more information to analyze, it also profoundly influences the design of studies that address critical policy issues.
While most voters would say that America’s deepening political polarization has been the driving force in Washington, we have observed a more accurate, hopeful, and perhaps unexpected phenomenon: the growing emphasis on evidence-based policymaking.
Economist Peter Orszag recently provided us with perspective on where Mathematica and the field of policy research are headed.
An upcoming vote to establish a national basic income in Switzerland is not the first time such an idea has been considered. In fact, nearly 50 years ago, a similar concept in the U.S. helped start a revolution in social policy research.
I’m sad not to be part of this week’s American Association for Public Opinion Research annual conference in Austin, Texas. Granted, I’m a huge music fan and I love Austin. But more than that, I think this is an incredibly exciting time for data collection.