On the Evidence

Latest Episodes:

11 | Siloed, Incomplete and Neglected: The Trouble with State Administrative Data Jul 17, 2019

Show notes

At a time when private companies can mine online user data for new, sophisticated insights about their customers, public-sector agencies — particularly those charged with serving clients with low incomes and some of the most urgent needs — are struggling to keep up with their own data practices. Although public agencies collect reams of valuable information that could be used to improve residents’ health and well-being, they rarely have the ability to study, interpret, and use the data the same way many companies can. About six years ago, the federal government funded a study to understand what is holding back state agencies in health and human services when it comes to collecting reliable data and using them to both improve the performance of agencies and the welfare of residents. On this week's episode of On the Evidence, our guest is Beth Weigensberg, a senior researcher at Mathematica who helped conduct the research for that federal study and co-authored an article based on the study's findings that recently won an award from the Public Administration Review, a top-rated, peer-reviewed academic journal about government. We’ll talk about the article, but also about what’s changed in the field since that research and where state agencies might go next in terms of handling and using administrative data. We also have a condensed Q&A version of the conversation available here: https://mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/siloed-incomplete-and-neglected-the-trouble-with-state-administrative-data-and-what-to-do-about-it

10 | Federal Efforts to Overhaul the Way We Pay for Primary Care, Explained Jun 19, 2019

Show notes

Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it would invite medical practices to voluntarily participate in new payment models for primary care in the Medicare program. The initiative is called Primary Cares, and its goals are to reduce Medicare spending and improve both the quality of and access to primary care for Medicare beneficiaries—especially for those with complex, chronic conditions and serious illness. CMS officials believe that the new payment models could affect as many as 11 million Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries and an estimated one in four primary care practitioners. In light of that announcement, I invited three primary care experts from Mathematica to explain the latest push by CMS to change primary care through new payment models. My guests are Jeffrey Ballou, Eugene Rich, and Julie Schilz, who have the combined experience and expertise of a health economist, a general internist, a medical practice leader, a registered nurse, and a former senior executive at a national health insurance company. We also have a condensed Q&A version of the conversation available here: https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/federal-efforts-to-overhaul-the-way-we-pay-for-primary-care-explained

9 | It Shouldn’t Read Like a Crime Novel: Trying to Summarize Police Research Jun 05, 2019

Show notes

For researchers to influence policy, their work must ultimately reach people making or implementing policy, and yet a gap often exists between the two communities. Rebecca Neusteter witnessed this gap when she was the director of research, policy, and planning at the New York Police Department (NYPD). Peer-reviewed journals often published articles about policing—and even policing in New York City—but her office did not have subscriptions to those journals and lacked easy, affordable access to the articles. What was available—typically abstracts written for fellow researchers—too often wasn’t useful to people in the department. It seemed to Neusteter like a missed opportunity for relevant research to inform practitioners. Ultimately, that led her to publish a brief, nontechnical digest of recent police-related research that conveyed important takeaways to readers who were hungry for information to help them do their jobs better, but who lacked the time to find and read the full articles. After Neusteter launched the research digest at the NYPD, she brought the idea with her to the Vera Institute of Justice, a think tank based in New York City, when she became the director of its policing program. Since January 2018, the Institute has published quarterly volumes of the Emerging Issues in American Policing Digest, which covers the latest research on a range of pressing topics in criminal justice, including the effects of body-worn cameras and the relationship between crime clearance rates and the revenue collected by municipal police departments through fees, fines, and forfeitures. On this week’s episode of On the Evidence, I discuss with Neusteter what she has learned so far about translating, packaging and sharing the latest research on policing. We also have a condensed Q&A version of the conversation available here: https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/it-shouldnt-read-like-a-crime-novel-lessons-from-a-project-to-summarize-useful-research-for-police The digest itself is available here: https://www.vera.org/publications/emerging-issues-in-american-policing-digest

8 | To Help Philadelphia’s Workforce, This Nonprofit Had to Take a Look at Itself First May 22, 2019

Show notes

A few years ago, staff at Philadelphia Works, the city’s Workforce Development Board, decided that they wanted an outsider’s perspective to assess their workforce system and to assist them with more effectively helping residents. They partnered with Mathematica to study and address issues keeping them from providing the most effective services in the most efficient way possible. In this episode of On the Evidence, we take a look at early efforts to redesign and streamline the daily operations of the city’s workforce system, starting with a cash assistance program for work-ready adults called the Employment, Advancement and Retention Network (EARN). Our guests include two of the nonprofit’s staff members, Patricia Blumenauer, director of workforce operations, and Eric Morton, a program representative, as well as Annalisa Mastri, a senior researcher at Mathematica. We also have a condensed Q&A version of the conversation available here: https://mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/to-help-philadelphias-workforce-this-nonprofit-had-to-take-a-look-at-itself-first

7 | Boston Invites Community to Set a 'Civic' Research Agenda May 08, 2019

Show notes

The Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, a research and development lab for city hall, develops new and creative ways to provide better services for the city’s residents. About a year ago, the office published the first volume of its Civic Research Agenda. In some respects, the document follows the trend of federal agencies publishing learning or evidence-building agendas. But Boston’s Civic Research Agenda doesn’t look like a formal government document: it’s colorful, with large font, photos, and cartoon-like illustrations. The authors also use personal pronouns to make it clear that Boston’s “new urban mechanics” want to have a conversation with you, the reader. The language is strategic: they want to welcome you in as a participant in deciding what local public policy issues to address, what questions to ask about them, and how to answer them. In this episode of On the Evidence, we discuss the Civic Research Agenda’s one year anniversary with three members of the New Urban Mechanics team: Nigel Jacob, the office’s co-chair and cofounder; Sabrina Dorsainvil, the office’s director of civic design; and Kim Lucas, the office’s civic research director. We also have a condensed Q&A version of the conversation available here: https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/boston-invites-community-to-set-a-civic-research-agenda

6 | What Do We Know About Patients with High Costs and High Needs? Apr 24, 2019

Show notes

In this week’s episode of On the Evidence, we discuss a major question surrounding health care reform: What do we do about the small share of patients who represent a much larger share of overall health care use and costs? For this conversation, I brought in three guests from Mathematica’s deep bench of health care experts—Purvi Sevak, Ann O’Malley, and Dana Jean-Baptiste, who have each studied high-need, high-use patients and efforts to improve their care. We also have a condensed Q&A version of the conversation available here: https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/podcast-on-patients-with-high-costs-and-high-needs

5 | The Case for Increasing the Number of Black Women in Economics Apr 09, 2019

Show notes

Black women are underrepresented in the field of economics, and for those who enter the profession, being one of a few can be lonely. On this episode of On the Evidence, host J.B. Wogan talks with Anna Opoku-Agyeman and Fanta Traore about the Sadie Collective, a group they helped form, which seeks to increase the number of black women in economics and is named after the first African American to earn a PhD in economics.

4 | Do Suspensions Affect Student Outcomes? Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

Almost seven years ago, the School District of Philadelphia revised its student discipline policy, instructing schools not to suspend students for certain types of nonviolent behavior, such as failing to follow classroom rules or making obscene gestures. To examine what happened after the school district made the change, Mathematica’s Johanna Lacoe teamed up with Matthew Steinberg, an education researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. What they found provides the strongest evidence to date that when students are suspended, their academic performance declines after the suspension. On this episode of On the Evidence, Lacoe discusses her school suspension research in Philadelphia and what it might mean for the future of school discipline. We also have a condensed Q&A version of the conversation available here: https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/do-suspensions-affect-student-outcomes

3 | A How-to Guide on Using Evidence in City Policymaking Mar 12, 2019

Show notes

A growing number of cities are interested in using data and research in decision making. Kat Klosek, director of applied research at the Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, talks about a free step-by-step guide she wrote for policymakers who want to incorporate data and evidence in their work. We also have a condensed Q&A version of the conversation available here: https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/how-to-guide-on-using-evidence-in-city-policymaking jW4lpAx21boIXPWVghbh

2 | How a County Engaged More Clients in Employment Assistance Feb 26, 2019

Show notes

Across Colorado, county agencies struggle to get residents on public assistance to attend work orientation sessions that are required for receiving benefits. Adams County staff studied the problem, piloted a solution and assessed the results. Jon McCay, part of Mathematica’s evidence-based technical assistance team, explains the process Adams County staff used to improve client engagement. We also have a condensed Q&A version of the conversation available here: https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/how-a-county-agency-engaged-more-clients-in-its-employment-assistance-program

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