On the Evidence

Latest Episodes:

90 | Supporting Families Through Equity-Infused Program Change Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

On this episode, guests Tosin Shenbanjo, Julie Sanon, and Allison Holmes discuss a cross-sector partnership in Memphis, Tennessee, that infused equity into a local nonprofit’s two-generation strategy for alleviating poverty and supporting families. Sanon is the chief operating officer at Agape Child & Family Services in Memphis. Holmes is a senior research associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Shenbanjo is a researcher at Mathematica. They share lessons from a collaboration between Agape, Casey, and Mathematica to implement equity-infused rapid-cycle learning at Agape, with the goal of improving the effectiveness of the nonprofit’s programs that serve children and families. A full transcript of the episode is available here: https://mathematica.org/blogs/supporting-families-through-equity-infused-program-change Read the guide developed by Mathematica and the Annie E. Casey Foundation to help human services providers continuously improve their programs through equitable, collaborative, and innovative approaches: https://www.mathematica.org/publications/championing-change-a-practitioner-guide-for-leading-inclusive-and-equity-infused-rapid-cycle Learn more about the partnership between Agape Child & Family Services, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Mathematica to implement and refine Agape’s place-based, two-generation programs that support children and their families: https://mathematica.org/projects/support-for-agape-child-and-family-services-2gen-model Read a report from Agape Child & Family Services, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Mathematica about Agape’s experience with adapting two of its 2Gen programs in the face of pandemic-related service disruptions: https://www.mathematica.org/publications/learning-to-adapt-helping-agape-child-and-family-services-use-rapid-cycle-learning-to-drive

89 | Teacher Coaching: A Solution to Learning Loss and Teacher Burnout? Mar 01, 2023

Show notes

On the latest episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast, we look at a potential solution to two concerns in K–12 education during the pandemic: student learning loss and teacher burnout. The conversation builds on a national study from Mathematica and the Institute of Education Sciences on a form of individualized, video-based teacher coaching, which improved student achievement. Our guests for this episode include a teacher (Nicole Minor), a teacher coach (Michelle Schmidt), and a Mathematica researcher who studied the impacts of teacher coaching (Jeffrey Max). Find the full transcript here: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/video-based-coaching-offers-potential-solution-to-student-learning-loss-and-teacher-burnout Read a press release summarizing findings from Mathematica’s study for the Institute of Education Sciences about the impacts of teacher coaching on student achievement: https://mathematica.org/news/new-report-finds-student-test-scores-improved-after-teachers-received-individualized-video-based Read the full report from Mathematica and the Institute of Education Sciences on the impacts of teacher coaching on student achievement: https://mathematica.org/publications/study-of-teacher-coaching-based-on-classroom-videos-impacts-on-student-achievement-and-teachers

88 | Helping Job Seekers with Low Incomes During Recessions and Recoveries Feb 15, 2023

Show notes

The latest episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast looks at proven ways to help job seekers with low incomes during economic recessions and recoveries. Guests Tyreese Nicolas, Kimberly Clum, and Alex Stanczyk share insights from the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse, a publicly available website about interventions designed to help job seekers with low incomes. They also discuss what the evidence says about the effectiveness of these interventions. Nicolas served as an assistant director of employment services at the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance for four years and recently became the Deputy Commissioner of Family Access and Engagement in the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. Clum is a senior social science research analyst with the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. Stanczyk is a researcher at Mathematica, where she focuses on public policies and programs that serve individuals and families that face social or economic disadvantage. A full transcript of the episode is available here: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/helping-job-seekers-with-low-incomes-during-economic-recessions-and-recoveries Explore the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse: https://pathwaystowork.acf.hhs.gov/ Read the evidence review from Mathematica and OPRE on what works during economic recessions and recoveries to help workers with low incomes: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/remediated-pathways_recession_brief_revised-jh.pdf

87 | A Conversation with Mathematica’s 2022 Summer Fellows Feb 01, 2023

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Every year, early-career scholars join Mathematica for a summer to work on independent research related to improving public well-being. As prospective applicants weigh whether to submit an application by the Feb. 28 deadline for the 2023 Summer Fellowship program, Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast spoke with last year’s fellows (Jennifer Kirk, Katherine Engel, and Adrienne Jones) about their experience working with Mathematica staff, the policy implications of their research, why they’re interested in applied research, and what they plan to do after defending their dissertations. Learn more about the Mathematica Summer Fellowship, which is accepting applications for 2023 fellows through the end of February: https://mathematica.org/career-opportunities/summer-fellowships A full transcript of the conversation is available here: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/using-evidence-to-reduce-racial-disparities-in-bone-health-improve-mental-health-and-support-self Listen to our interviews with the 2021 summer fellows: https://mathematica.org/blogs/a-conversation-with-mathematicas-2021-summer-fellows Listen to our interviews with the 2020 summer fellows: https://mathematica.org/blogs/examining-racial-disparities-in-school-discipline-and-mental-health-care Listen to our interviews with the 2019 summer fellows: https://mathematica.org/blogs/what-the-next-generation-of-policy-researchers-is-studying

86 | The Present & Future of Computational Social Science Jan 18, 2023

Show notes

Princeton professor Matthew Salganik’s book, Bit by Bit, explores the merging worlds of computer science and social science for timely, policy relevant research in the 21st century. In the book, he shows how traditional research techniques in the social sciences can sometimes be combined with digital tools and big data to generate high-quality evidence on a larger scale, in less time, and at a much lower cost. On the five-year anniversary of his book’s release, Salganik, who is also a member of Mathematica’s Board of Directors, spoke with On the Evidence about the book’s legacy and the evolution of the field of computational social science since he first taught a course on the subject in 2007. A full transcript of the episode is available here: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/princetons-matthew-salganik-discusses-the-evolving-intersection-of-data-and-social-science-ethics Read a free online version of Salganik’s book, Bit by Bit: https://www.bitbybitbook.com/en/1st-ed/preface/ Attend a virtual book talk on February 7, 2023 about Bit by Bit, including a Q&A with the author, hosted by the Washington, D.C. chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dc-aapor-book-club-20-bit-by-bit-social-research-in-the-digital-age-tickets-487575530537 Listen to a previous On the Evidence episode about the Howard-Mathematica SICSS, which features Salganik: https://mathematica.org/blogs/inside-an-initiative-to-diversify-the-field-of-computational-social-science Learn more about the Howard-Mathematica SICSS: https://mathematica.org/news/howard-university-and-mathematica-to-host-computational-social-science-summer-institute Watch Salganik give a Tedx talk at Princeton University about the tension between ready-made data (big data) and custom-made data (with which social scientists usually work): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pj95xXHN2g Learn more about Salganik and his appointment in 2018 as a member of Mathematica’s Board of Directors: https://mathematica.org/news/matthew-salganik-appointed-to-mathematicas-board-of-directors

85 | Human Services Agencies Pursue Environmental Justice Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

On the latest episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast, guests Michael A. Becketts, Tracy Wareing Evans, Shavana Howard, and Matt Stagner make the case for state and local human services agencies to play a central role in the response to climate change. Becketts is the director of the Fairfax County Department of Family Services; Wareing Evans is the President and Chief Executive Officer at American Public Human Services Association; Howard is an assistant secretary for the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services; and Stagner is a vice president at Mathematica. They explain how the field of human services is uniquely positioned to support communities that will be disproportionately harmed by climate change and they identify ways that social science research and other forms of evidence can help develop solutions to environmental injustice. Additional resources mentioned on the episode, plus a full transcript of the conversation, are available here: mathematica.org/blogs/the-role-of-human-services-in-securing-environmental-justice

84 | Advancing Equity and Addressing the Climate Crisis in 2022, the Year of Evidence for Action Dec 16, 2022

Show notes

For the final episode of 2022, we continue our annual tradition of inviting guests to reflect on Mathematica’s work with its partners in advancing equity, addressing the climate crisis, improving public well-being, and the role that evidence played in it. This year’s guests are Nancy Murray, Jill Constantine, and Chris Trenholm, who oversee Mathematica’s International, Human Services, and Health business units, respectively. On the episode, they discuss the following topics: • Where they see signs of progress in the use of evidence • The increasingly important role of evidence in understanding and addressing inequities • Reasons to be optimistic about the growing use of evidence in improving people’s lives in 2023 A full transcript of the episode is available here: mathematica.org/blogs/advancing-equity-and-addressing-the-climate-crisis-in-2022-the-year-of-evidence-for-action Mathematica's year-in-review page for 2022 is available here: https://www.mathematica.org/features/from-inquiry-to-insight-in-2022

83, Pt. 2 | Abigail Aiken on Using Research to Inform Abortion, Reproductive Health Policy Dec 08, 2022

Show notes

The latest episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast features Abigail Aiken, the 22nd recipient of the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize. In Part 1, as part of her acceptance speech at the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management’s fall research conference, Aiken shares details about her personal and professional journey as a researcher in the area of evidence-based reproductive health policy. Listen to Part 1 here: https://soundcloud.com/ontheevidence/informing-reproductive-health-policies-with-timely-evidence-episode-83-part-1 A full transcript of the episode is available here: mathematica.org/blogs/abigail-aiken-on-using-research-to-inform-abortion-reproductive-health-policy In Part 2, Aiken talks with On the Evidence host J.B. Wogan about how she ensures that her research informs the policy debate, even on a polarizing topic like abortion. Read the New Yorker profile of Aiken: www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/w…ortion-look-like Learn more about the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: www.appam.org/about-appam/awards…d-n-kershaw-award/ Listen to an interview with Sanya Carley, winner of the 21st David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: mathematica.org/blogs/understandi…-policy-decisions Listen to an interview with Kirabo Jackson, winner of the 20th David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: mathematica.org/blogs/investing-i…s-in-the-long-run

83, Pt. 1 | Abigail Aiken on Using Research to Inform Abortion, Reproductive Health Policy Dec 08, 2022

Show notes

The latest episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast features Abigail Aiken, the 22nd recipient of the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize. In Part 1, as part of her acceptance speech at the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management’s fall research conference, Aiken shares details about her personal and professional journey as a researcher in the area of evidence-based reproductive health policy. A full transcript of the episode is available here: mathematica.org/blogs/abigail-aiken-on-using-research-to-inform-abortion-reproductive-health-policy In Part 2, Aiken talks with On the Evidence host J.B. Wogan about how she ensures that her research informs the policy debate, even on a polarizing topic like abortion. Listen to Part 2 here: https://soundcloud.com/ontheevidence/informing-reproductive-health-policies-with-timely-evidence-episode-83-part-2 Read the New Yorker profile of Aiken: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/what-does-an-at-home-abortion-look-like Learn more about the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: https://www.appam.org/about-appam/awards/david-n-kershaw-award/ Listen to an interview with Sanya Carley, winner of the 21st David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: mathematica.org/blogs/understanding-the-equity-and-justice-dimensions-of-energy-policy-decisions Listen to an interview with Kirabo Jackson, winner of the 20th David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: mathematica.org/blogs/investing-in-education-for-success-in-the-long-run

82 | Confronting the Climate Crisis with Data and Evidence Nov 09, 2022

Show notes

Climate change represents the single most significant policy challenge in the 21st century. It is a multifaceted and global threat to society that affects a range of concerns, from the environment and food security to health and economic inequality. Recognizing the urgency of the threat, Mathematica recently established a climate change practice to help develop innovative and sustainable solutions that meet ambitious reduction goals for carbon dioxide emissions while helping vulnerable communities become more resilient. On this episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast, Tulika Narayan, the company’s vice president for climate change, talks about how data and evidence can help confront the climate crisis and mitigate its manifold impacts on society. A full transcript of the episode is available here: mathematica.org/blogs/confronting-the-climate-crisis-with-data-and-evidence Register for the webinar on measuring climate resilience: https://www.mathematica.org/events/improving-climate-adaptation-is-measurement-a-barrier Learn more about Mathematica’s interdisciplinary climate change practice: https://mathematica.org/sp/climate-change/climate-action Learn more about Tulika's appointment as Vice President for Climate Change at Mathematica: mathematica.org/news/mathematica-names-tulika-narayan-new-vice-president-for-climate-change

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