| Principal Investigator: | Greg Cumpton, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities, University of Notre Dame |
| Project Duration: | June 2021 – June 2029 |
| Description: | The Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) at the University of Notre Dame conducts impact evaluations in partnership with non-profit and government agencies focused on reducing poverty by creating evidence based programs that move people from poverty to self-sufficiency. LEO is currently conducting a large research study in Texas to test assumptions about self-sufficiency programs. The research examines the impact of multiple self-sufficiency programs being implemented in locations across the state of Texas. Partners include Catholic Charities of Galveston-Houston, the Goodwill Excel Center in Austin, Catholic Charities of Dallas, Jewish Family Services, NPower, Combined Arms, and Lubbock County, and the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition. This research will help in understanding the impact of anti-poverty programs on populations ranging from school age children, to elderly, to veterans to people and families at low-income levels.
LEO is partnering with the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) at The University of Texas at Austin to utilize state administrative data to support this research. LEO and RMC researchers will use the data to demonstrate the impact of these self-sufficiency programs on outcomes such as earnings, employment and public benefit usage. By testing what works to move people to self-sufficiency, LEO and RMC will inform and improve poverty programming across the state and inform policymakers as they make decisions about funding and programming. |
| Reports Available: |
Nuru Ethiopia, Nuru Kenya, and Nuru Nigeria Impact
| Principal Investigator: | Heath J. Prince, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Nuru |
| Project Duration: | April 2021 – February 2025 |
| Description: | The Ray Marshall Center will assist Nuru International’s M&E team with analyzing and reporting Nuru Ethiopia, Nuru Kenya, and Nuru Nigeria’s impact. |
| Reports Available: | Nuru Burkina Faso 2023 Impact Report 2023 Authors: Heath Prince and Thomas Boswell (Ray Marshall Center); Souleymane Ouedraogo (Nuru Burkina Faso); and Matt Lineal, Casey Harrison, Ian Schwenke, Bethany Ibrahim (Nuru) Date: May 2024 Publication Type: Report, 23pp. This report is commissioned by Nuru. Nuru Kenya 2023 Dairy Impact Brief Nuru Nigeria 2023 Endline Impact Report Nuru Ethiopia 2022 Impact Report Nuru Kenya 2022 Dairy Report Nuru Ethiopia 2021 Impact Report Nuru Nigeria 2022 Short-Term Impacts Nuru Nigeria: 2021 Midpoint Impact Report 2019 Nuru Nigeria Baseline Report |
Pursuit of Advanced Training in High-Demand Skills (PATHS) for Texas
| Principal Investigator: | Heath J. Prince, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas |
| Project Duration: | January 2020 – June 2025 |
| Description: | The Ray Marshall Center will provide research support to the PATHS (Pursuit of Advanced Training in High-Demand Skills) for Texas project in partnership with Workforce Solutions Dallas. The goal of the PATHS project is to implement a statewide retail sector incumbent worker career advancement strategy. The RMC’s primary role under this grant will be to evaluate outcomes in order to provide evidence of success and efficacy for expansion and regional replication. Specifically, the RMC will undertake the following tasks related to (1) performing an independent evaluation of quantitative outcomes for PATHS; (2) conduct an end-of-grant cost-benefit analysis; and (3) the RMC will conduct the final evaluation report. |
| Reports Available: | PATHS for Texas: Interim Descriptive Statistics, Outcomes, Impacts, Survey Results, and Qualitative Summary 2024 Update Author: Thomas Boswell, Patty Rodriguez, and Heath Prince Date: July 2024 Publication Type: Report, 49pp. PATHS for Texas: Interim Descriptive Statistics, Outcomes, Impacts, and Survey Results |
Project QUEST Evaluation
| Principal Investigator: | Greg Cumpton, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Economic Mobility Corporation, Inc |
| Project Duration: | January 2018 – December 2023 |
| Description: | Project QUEST provides employment training and services aligned with the skills most in demand by San Antonio, Texas employers. The Ray Marshall Center will be working with the Economic Mobility Corporation, Inc (Mobility) and building around their recent program evaluation of Project QUEST. This innovative partnership links both QUEST participants and similar non-participants to Texas Unemployment Insurance wage records. By combining self-reported and administrative data, the research will seek to verify self-reported outcomes, enhance the longitudinal tracking of employment and earnings both prior to and after completing QUEST, and measure long-term impacts of program participation. |
| Reports Available: |
Data Linkage for Padua™ Project Evaluation
| Principal Investigator: | Ashweeta Patnaik, MPH |
| Sponsor: | Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities, University of Notre Dame |
| Project Duration: | April 2018 – December 2024 |
| Description: | The Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) at the University of Notre Dame is examining the impact of an innovative comprehensive case management program, the Padua™ Program, created by Catholic Charities Fort Worth (CCFW). The program is designed to permanently lift people out of poverty. It addresses the fact that the disadvantaged face complex, multifaceted, and interrelated challenges by offering a new approach that considers the whole person and his or her environment by providing (a) detailed needs assessment, (b) wrap-around case management, and (c) financial resources. LEO is conducting a study to examine through a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluation whether this innovative intervention improves the well-being of low-income individuals.
The Ray Marshall Center (RMC) is supporting LEO in its research by linking data on Padua™ program participants to administrative data on employment, wages, TANF participation, and SNAP participation. RMC will help LEO evaluate the impact of assignment to the Padua™ intervention on TANF and SNAP participation, as well as on employment and earnings. |
| Reports Available: |
An Evaluation of Workforce Development Services in Travis County
| Principal Investigator: | Heath J. Prince, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Travis County, Texas |
| Project Duration: | January 2006 – September 2024 |
| Description: | For more than fifteen years, Travis County has invested between $1-2.5 million in workforce development programs for disadvantaged residents. The purpose of the evaluation is to examine outcomes and impacts for participants in Travis County-funded community-based workforce programs over time and to provide recommendations and support for County and provider staff based on data analysis and best practice research. Seven providers with long standing County contracts have been the focus of an ongoing evaluation of the outcomes and impacts of local workforce services investments led by the Ray Marshall Center since 2006:
Researchers at the Ray Marshall Center have produced a series of reports documenting the employment outcomes and impacts for participants from these programs over time. Findings from this evaluation have also been presented to the local workforce board, the County Commissioners Court, and at Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) fall research conferences. Other Social Services Recently, the evaluation has expanded to include an analysis of other County-funded social services for disadvantaged residents. The first phase of this evaluation component focuses on analysis of historical Family Support Services (FSS) program data. Specifically, Travis County HHS has asked the RMC to review the evaluation design and methods implemented by BSS (Best Single Source), to create a parallel evaluation of the standard delivery of services (EACO or Emergency Assistance County Only), to help implement the evaluation, and to analyze and report on the results. The second phase of the evaluation will benchmark Travis County’s program with support programs offered by similar counties in Texas and beyond. |
| Reports Available | Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development 2023 Update Authors: Cynthia Juniper, Patty Rodriguez, David McCoy, Heath Prince (Principal Investigator), and Thomas Boswell Date: November 2023 Publication Type: Report, 173pp. Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2022 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2021 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2020 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2019 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2018 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2017 Update Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2016 Update Improving the Measurement and Effectiveness of Family Support Services: A Comparative Review of County Practices Evaluation of Travis County Investments in Workforce Development: 2015 Update An Evaluation of Local Investments in Workforce Development: 2014 Update An Evaluation of Local Investments in Workforce Development: 2013 Update The Local Investment in Workforce Development Evaluation: Travis County-Funded 2009/2010 Participant Plus Longer-Term Outcomes for Capital IDEA Local Investments in Workforce Development: 2012 Evaluation Update Evaluation of Local Workforce Demonstration Projects – Travis County’s REM and GEM Projects Exploratory Return on Investment Analysis of Local Workforce Investments Local Investments in Workforce Development: 2011 Evaluation Update Rapid Employment Model Evaluation – 2011 Update Rapid Employment Model Evaluation: Update #2 Evaluating Local Workforce Investments: Results for Short- and Long-Term Training in Austin (TX) Local Investments in Workforce Development: Evaluation Update Rapid Employment Model Evaluation: Update Local Investments in Workforce Development: Initial Evaluation Findings Rapid Employment Model Evaluation: Initial Findings |
