Gordon Berlin Interviewed About the Role of Research Evidence in Shaping Social Policy from Evidence First

Evidence First

MDRC

Gordon Berlin Interviewed About the Role of Research Evidence in Shaping Social Policy

19 minutes Posted Apr 26, 2016 at 7:12 pm.

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In April, MDRC President Gordon Berlin was interviewed by Denver

Frederick, host of the

of Giving” radio show in New York City, about the role of

rigorous research evidence in informing how government and

philanthropy invest in education and social programs. The podcast

was also

featured on the Chronicle of Philanthropy website.

Berlin describes MDRC’s experience evaluating existing programs

and developing demonstrations of new interventions. He highlights a

number of current projects, including the Paycheck Plus

demonstration of an enhanced Earned Income Tax Credit for single

adults, the evaluation of the City University of New York’s

Accelerated Study in Associate Programs and a replication effort at

three Ohio community colleges, our ongoing evaluation of small

public high schools in New York City, the Jobs-Plus employment

program in public housing, and the Family Rewards test of

conditional cash transfers.

Berlin also discusses what Frederick terms “the quiet

revolution” of increased federal investment in evidence-building

under both the Bush and Obama administrations, how new technologies

can help make research more effective and efficient, and how

behavioral “nudge” interventions can improve social and education

programs.