Building Evidence: Support for QEDs to Evaluate Social Programs and Policies

Overview

The Evidence and Evaluation team aims to identify, evaluate, and scale evidence-based solutions targeting the nation’s most pressing social problems. This funding targets the first two phases of that goal – identifying and evaluating potential solutions – and is geared toward studies examining the causal effects of a policy, program, or intervention that aligns with key AV policy areas. Causal research employing strong, quasi-experimental methods are a critical component of the evidence-building process and are important for increasing the knowledge base for decision-makers and stakeholders. Examples of causal research methods include natural experiments, regression discontinuity, difference-in-differences, and instrumental variable designs. If you are thinking about a study employing random assignment, you should check out our other RFP focused on randomized controlled trials here and if you are focused on criminal justice outcomes see a separate RFP here.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) aims to bolster the knowledge base about potentially effective policies, programs, and interventions by funding researchers to conduct rigorous, causal research using quasi-experimental methods that aligns with key AV policy areas. We seek studies that will advance the knowledge base within key AV policy areas, including higher education, career education and training, infrastructure, contraceptive choice and access, and public finance: 

• Higher Education: The Higher Education initiative seeks to identify and scale policies, programs, and practices that improve student success and address equity gaps. Projects funded under this RFP will help build credible evidence about ‘what works’ in higher education to improve outcomes, including but not limited to retention, persistence, successful transfer, degree or certificate completion, job placement, post-college earnings, and loan repayment. More details on this initiative are provided here. 
• Career Education and Training: The Career Education and Training initiative seeks to identify and expand programs and policies that improve access to good jobs, meaningful careers, and economic mobility, with a focus on pathways other than a traditional college degree. Projects responding to this RFP should build policy-relevant evidence for promising, replicable program models and policies, with an emphasis on assessing impacts on learners’ labor market outcomes (e.g., earnings/wages, employment/job quality, career advancement). Example topics of interest include, but are not limited to, studies that provide causal evidence on apprenticeships and related models, models that seek to integrate career and academic education, the effects of policies that introduce or revise career education-related funding structures and institutional incentives, and the impacts of state-level systems reorganization or governance changes.

LOI is Required. We ask interested researchers to submit a letter of interest for AV consideration (maximum of three pages) via our applicant portal. This RFP will remain open until June 13, 2025, and all letters of interest must be submitted by that date.