MDRC
Encyclopedia
MDRC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
education
and social policy
research organization dedicated to learning what works to improve programs and policies that affect the poor
. It was originally named the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. Headquartered in New York City
, MDRC designs and studies new approaches to the problems confronting public education; low-income children, families, and communities; and low-wage workers and people with serious barriers to employment. Working in fields where emotion and ideology often dominate public debates, MDRC is seen as a source of objective, unbiased evidence. From welfare policy to high school reform, MDRC’s research has frequently helped to shape legislation, program design, and operational practices across the country.
and a group of federal agencies, MDRC is best known for mounting large-scale random assignment
evaluations of real-world policies and programs targeted to low-income people. It helped pioneer the use of random assignment
— the same highly reliable methodology that is used to test new medicines — in the evaluation of such policies and programs.
Once known primarily for evaluations of state welfare-to-work programs, today MDRC is also studying public school reform
s, employment programs for ex-prisoners and people with disabilities, and programs to help close the academic achievement gap. The organization has been funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
, Ford Foundation
and the Federal Government of the United States to conduct valuable research in every state and major city in America. MDRC helped create a sister organization in Canada
(SRDC) and is currently managing a large project in the United Kingdom
with British partners.
Nonpartisan
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....
education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and social policy
Social policy
Social policy primarily refers to guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare. Thus, social policy is that part of public policy that has to do with social issues...
research organization dedicated to learning what works to improve programs and policies that affect the poor
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
. It was originally named the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. Headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, MDRC designs and studies new approaches to the problems confronting public education; low-income children, families, and communities; and low-wage workers and people with serious barriers to employment. Working in fields where emotion and ideology often dominate public debates, MDRC is seen as a source of objective, unbiased evidence. From welfare policy to high school reform, MDRC’s research has frequently helped to shape legislation, program design, and operational practices across the country.
History
Created in 1974 by the Ford FoundationFord Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
and a group of federal agencies, MDRC is best known for mounting large-scale random assignment
Random assignment
Random assignment or random placement is an experimental technique for assigning subjects to different treatments . The thinking behind random assignment is that by randomizing treatment assignment, then the group attributes for the different treatments will be roughly equivalent and therefore any...
evaluations of real-world policies and programs targeted to low-income people. It helped pioneer the use of random assignment
Random assignment
Random assignment or random placement is an experimental technique for assigning subjects to different treatments . The thinking behind random assignment is that by randomizing treatment assignment, then the group attributes for the different treatments will be roughly equivalent and therefore any...
— the same highly reliable methodology that is used to test new medicines — in the evaluation of such policies and programs.
Once known primarily for evaluations of state welfare-to-work programs, today MDRC is also studying public school reform
Education reform
Education reform is the process of improving public education. Small improvements in education theoretically have large social returns, in health, wealth and well-being. Historically, reforms have taken different forms because the motivations of reformers have differed.A continuing motivation has...
s, employment programs for ex-prisoners and people with disabilities, and programs to help close the academic achievement gap. The organization has been funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. It is "driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family"...
, Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
and the Federal Government of the United States to conduct valuable research in every state and major city in America. MDRC helped create a sister organization in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(SRDC) and is currently managing a large project in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with British partners.